National Finals Steer Roping Concludes Crowning Three Time World Champion

The National Finals Steer Roping finished up in Mulvane, Kansas and concluded with a Pawnee, Okla. cowboy earning his third world title.

Cole Patterson at the 2024 NFSR / PRCA Photo by Ryan Jae

National Finals Steer Roping was held in Mulvane, Kan., where the top 15 steer ropers had 10 rounds of action in only two days to crown their world champions. 

These are the athletes who competed last weekend on the biggest stage that steer roping offers 
1 - Cole Patterson
2 - Scott Snedecor
3 - Slade wood
4 - John E. Bland
5 - J. Tom Fisher
6 - Cody Lee
7 -  Vin Fisher
8 - Trent Johnson
9 - Clay Long 
10 -  Chet Herren 
11 - Jess Tierney
12 - Brodie Poppino 
13 - Thomas Smith 
14 - Blake Deckard 
15 - Dalton Walker

These contestants have been competing all year to secure their spot in the largest purse in steer roping. Totaling $525,000 for the 2024 National Finals Steer Roping round winners earned $10,718 while the average winner would win $32,016. 

Cole Patterson is no stranger to the NSFR. Qualifying for this event for the last six years in a row and arriving into the weekend as the leading money earner for three of those six years. During the 2024 season, he earned $93,403 as he traveled the country doing what he loved. 

Patterson secured the world in 2021 and 2023, and he came into this weekend with his mind set on being a back-to-back world champion. 

Once the finals started it was anyone's game as there’s a title on the line. While Cole Patterson had a cushion from his yearly earnings it came down to how well he performed during the 10 rounds in Kansas. 

In the first round, he placed 5th earning him $2,587. When the second round completed, he had smoked a fast run of 9.2 seconds securing him the round win and $10,718.

During the third round, his run wasn’t fast enough to earn money, but still stayed solid.

We saw a comeback during the fourth and fifth rounds. He placed second in both rounds earning $8,870 to add to his earnings this weekend $7,946. 

Round six-nine was hard on this cowboy from Pawnee, Oklahoma. Placing out of the money in four rounds, the next round was all or nothing and Patterson knew that. 

With his endeavor to be in the money for the final round, he placed second with a time of 10.6 seconds and $7,946. 

Cole Patterson ended the weekend fourth in the average with 121.2 seconds on ten head and was crowned the 2024 PRCA Steer Roping World Champion. 

While he heads home with his family, the 2025 season is underway and he can now call himself a 3x World Champion.