Saddle Bronc Rider Gets New Season Started With Turquoise Circuit Title

Zachary Dallas will finish out his rookie season at the NFR in December but already has a jump on his sophomore campaign thanks to a big win over the weekend.

Zac Dallas captured the Turquoise Circuit Finals title over the weekend as one of just two saddle bronc riders to post a ride during all three goes. / Fernando Sam-Sin/@fsamsin

Zachary Dallas is proof that the adage ‘third time's the charm’ is a real thing. 

In two previous trips to the Turquoise Circuit Finals, the Las Cruces, N.M., saddle bronc rider has been in contention but fallen just shy of claiming a championship. 

Over the weekend, he left Camp Verde, Ariz., with a decidedly different outcome. 

“This is my third Circuit Finals and I’ve always done well. I’ve finished third both times I’ve been there, so it was nice to finish out on top and get to go to the NFR Open (next July),” Dallas said. 

His 232-point aggregate total on three rides was more than enough to claim the championship as Dallas and Noel Johnson (218) were the only two cowboys to cover three head at the event. 

Dallas set the tone in the opening go thanks to a re-ride option. As his first horse came out of the chute, the flank strap got stuck in the gate for about half the ride, allowing Dallas a second chance. He capitalized with a 79-point effort on Honeycutt Rodeo’s Captain America to finish second in the round. 

Then came the rematch Dallas has been longing for against Honeycutt Rodeo’s Shack Dragger. Back at the 2022 Turquoise Circuit Finals, they were paired up in the second go, but Dallas was bucked off for a no score. 

Since then, Shack Dragger has bucked off every cowboy he’s matched up against, with 10 straight no scores in 2023 and another six in 2024, including Dallas back at the Yuma (Ariz.) Silver Spur Rodeo in February. That streak came to an end over the weekend as Dallas rode for 79 points to win the round.

The finish was a bit anticlimactic as Dallas’ third round matchup with Salt River Rodeo’s Matilda only went for 74 points, putting him two spots away from earning another check. While there was a re-ride option, Dallas made the business decision to keep the score since the result locked up the average championship. In all, Dallas left the Turquoise Circuit Finals with $7,576 in his ledger for the 2025 season. 

The outcome was exactly what the 2024 Saddle Bronc Resistol Rookie of the Year needed heading into his first appearance at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo next month. After a bit of a slow finish to the 2024 regular season, Dallas took some time off in October to decompress. 

Now, he’s back in rodeo mode, picking up four practice horses to take home for the next month that will allow him to gear up for Las Vegas. His focus is on finishing his rookie campaign with a big showing at Thomas and Mack Arena, but having a jump on 2025, including a spot at the NFR Open in the summer, is a nice confidence boost to build on. 

“Obviously I’m not even thinking about next year really, but to have one rodeo and three good checks? That’s great,” Dallas said. “I haven’t been going to a ton of rodeos, so it was good to go compete, get on some broncs, get some more practice for the Finals. It was a good deal all around.”

Other results from the Turquoise Circuit Finals

Tyler Ferguson captured the bareback riding championship with an aggregate total of 230.5 points on three head. He finished with $11,080 in prize money, the highest payout of any athlete at the rodeo. 

The steer wrestling average title went to Cimarron Thompson as he edged out Koty Kamm with an aggregate total of 15.1 seconds on three runs, claiming $6,410 in earnings. Kamm finished at 15.5 seconds. 

The team roping duo of Colter Todd and Derrick Begay each took home $6,410 after finishing their three runs in a combined time of 19.9 second to win the average. 

Pecos Tatum secured the tie-down roping championship with three runs in 26.3 seconds to earn $9,907. 

Barrel racer Katelyn Scott blazed her way to $8,159 in earnings after posting a total time of 52.78 seconds on three runs. 

Steer roper John Clark won the average by more than five seconds with a three-run aggregate of 34.1 seconds to claim $7,011 in prize money. 

Nicole Baggarley and LeighAnn Scribner tied for the breakaway average championship after they each finished their three runs in 8.7 seconds. Both competitors left with exactly $5,099 in earnings. 

Vinell Mariano was one of two bull riders to cover multiple rides at the rodeo, combining for 160.5 points to win the average title and take home $6,119 in earnings. However, Mariano was not the money leader as Avery Mullins finished with $7,576. He was the only bull rider to post a score in the first round and then finished third in the average. 

Seth Hall took home all-around honors after earning $1,748 between tie-down and team roping.