Cleared for Launch: All-Around Phenom Stetson Wright Set for Return to Rodeo Competition

The eight-time PRCA World Champion announced to the rodeo world that his comeback can officially begin.

After being sidelined the entire 2024 PRCA season recovering from injury, five-time All-Around World Champion Stetson Wright has been cleared to return to action. / Fernando Sam-Sin/@fsamsin

The wait is almost over. 

After a year of rehab and recovery from an injury suffered at the 2023 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, saddle bronc and bull riding’s dominant force, Stetson Wright, is set to begin his comeback. 

Appearing as a commentator of Teton Ridge’s online NFR preshow before the start of Thursday’s opening round, the Milford, Utah, product informed the public that he will be back competing during the 2025. 

“I’m feeling good. On Monday, I got the go ahead to start riding again. Then, I loaded up came here and got behind a mic,” Wright said. 

During the 2024 season, Wright anticipated a comeback in June, possibly at the Reno (Nev.) Rodeo. While his name did appear on the day sheets for the event, the return to the bucking chutes never came to fruition. In July, he announced through social media that his path back to the arena would be on hold until the 2025 season. 

As the 2024 NFR kicks off, Wright is watching the action for different vantage point. He took the mic with rodeo icons Luke Branquino, Kaycee Feild and Jackie Crawford during Teton Ridge’s hour-long preshow on Thursday and will be back for more commentary and analysis throughout the week. 

Wright earned his fifth straight All-Around World TItle in 2023, despite a short stay in Las Vegas due to the hamstring injury. In all, he has eight World Titles, including two in bull riding and one in bareback. 

While Wright didn’t elaborate on when his first competition back would be, there are several possibilities before the 2024 calendar closes, including the New Years Eve Buck & Ball in Gillette, Wyo., or the Topeka (Kan.) New Years Eve Xtreme Bulls event. If not then, he’ll likely be ready to buck in January as the indoor rodeo schedule officially gets underway.