Wright Family Generations Continue to Prove ‘Tough Doesn’t Quit’

Rodeo On SI had the exclusive privilege to spend a few days with rodeo royalty, the Wright family.

Dan K Haus - Courtesy of Polaris

SI Rodeo had the exclusive privilege to spend a few days with rodeo royalty, the Wright family. Guided by Pro Rodeo Hall of Famer Cody Wright, along with his sons Rusty, Ryder, Stetson, Statler and daughter Lily, they embody the true essence of 'Tough Doesn't Quit.'

With numerous world titles in bronc riding, bull riding and all around, the Wright family is set to compete in this year's Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, Nev. Balancing their lives as full-time ranchers and each with families of their own, they showcase relentless perseverance. Mom, ShaRee, the force behind the scenes, ensures everything runs smoothly.

For them, giving up is never an option. Their mutual support and determination are inspiring. It was truly a privilege to see such a strong family unit working together and achieving so much, both in their professional careers and personal lives. This kind of bond is a testament to the power of family, perseverance and shared values.

1. Cody Wright
2. Stetson Wright
3. Ryder Wright

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Cody Wright

SI Rodeo: Your family is six generation of ranchers, but you were the first to go pro and rodeo? What made you get into rodeo? 

Cody Wright: I don't know. I just kind of wanted to do it my whole life. I really wanted to ride bulls, barebacks, and you know, do what Ty Murray did. Then, things changed as I got older, went to college and had a family. I had a family by the time I graduated from college. So, I just figured that saddle bronc riding was my best event. I loved riding broncs. I just decided I'd have the longest career riding broncs or hoped I would. So, I took off riding broncs and never looked back.

SI Rodeo: Is it fair to say, riding broncs is more challenging than riding bulls?

Cody Wright: Well, you know what, to learn it I think it probably is, because you've got to put quite a bit of time and effort into perfecting and getting the timing of it all. It's harder to get on the right horses and to get to the level that you need to be at to compete professionally. In this area, it feels like bull riding is everywhere. You can easily find a bull to ride and it's like shaking a bush would make a whole bunch of bull riders run out of it. (laughs) It takes more time and more practice to really fine-tune your bronc riding maybe than the bull riding. 

SI Rodeo: In addition to being a champion saddle bronc rider, you've been a full-time rancher your whole life and you have this amazing family, who are also rodeo athletes. How do you keep all that going? 

Cody Wright: Well, when I was rodeoing full-time, my dad mostly took care of all the ranching. When I'd come home in my off times, I'd help him. We would all help back then when we were all rodeoing.

SI Rodeo: So, when you were competing with your brothers, did you encourage each other, or was there ever any competition between you?

Cody Wright: Well, we all tried to help each other. It takes, as you can see from today, a lot of help to practice. Like with the horses, you have to have somebody pushing their head out and tying them in—a whole bunch of different things. So, we all take turns and help with practice and competitions. Like they needed Spencer, my brother, today and so he came and helped.

When we were all riding, and we'd practice, we would have a text group and say, “we're going to buck tomorrow night at five.” Everybody comes and it’s just kind of everybody encouraging everybody and helping that way. You just kind of change your position when somebody else is riding.

SI Rodeo: It’s not that ranching and competing aren’t enough, but you also do clinics and mentoring for young riders as well?

Cody Wright: We do rodeo schools in November. We'll have rodeo schools. I try to help as much as I can. I mean, I'd love to have a whole herd of horses for beginners. What we have, the horses we have, just aren’t for beginners.

SI Rodeo: Is there such thing as a beginner's bronc? 

Cody Wright: Oh, yeah. They're usually older horses. There’s one of the horses out there that's been to the NFR. I've won a round on him, and some of my brothers have as well. He's a roan horse. He is kind of retired here. He still isn’t really a beginner horse, but we've had some through the years that are. 

Horses like the horse the boys got on yesterday at practice, the paint horse, is not really a beginner horse. He's got kind of a trick to him. He wants to throw you; make you get to the outside. Some of them you just can't hardly fall off.

You can kind of think on some of them, but some of them don't let you think. You've got to think on your feet. Some of them go out there and just buck straight and, up and down and they're a lot better to start on. We use this bucking machine as well and it’s great to practice on and especially for beginners.

SI Rodeo: You and your family were chosen for the Polaris Off-Road campaign; “Tough Doesn't Quit.” What does that mean to you? Not just for rodeoing, but for life in general.

Cody Wright: You know, I think you just kind of live by it. We just roll with the punches. We just have to be tough. You know, if you need to get something done, figure out how to do it. Try not to complain about it, but you figure it out and just don't quit. It’s definitely a lifestyle. It is tough. It can be cold, it can be snowing, it can be wet. You still have to go, just like milking cows. I didn't ever dairy, but when I was like twelve, we had two cows I milked. It was an everyday morning and night thing. It didn't matter what was going on, it had to be done. I put two buckets on my pedal bike, as we lived two blocks from where we kept them. I'd pedal down there and milk two cows and pedal home and go strain it. 

SI Rodeo: What's some advice would you have for young athletes coming up in rodeo? 

Cody Wright: My best advice is getting in the best shape you can and go to someone that's had a successful career. Go to a school even and learn the basics. Don't make it any harder than it is. Practice, consistently practice. You need to be all in. This isn't something you can just do as it’s not really a hobby if you ask me. You have your elite kids sometimes that are so talented, but this is something you've got to live, breathe, eat, sleep and drink to be good at it. Try to get somewhere and learn the basics of whatever event you're wanting to do and stick with it and never quit.

SI Rodeo: Like Stetson, he does both bull and bronc riding.

Cody Wright: Yes, at first, I think he just wanted to ride bulls, but then the bronc riding clicked for him. He just kept consistently going and working at it and finally it's all clicking and now it's just whichever one he's winning is the one he likes the best. If he's winning both, he loves them both.

SI Rodeo: Spending time with your amazing family this week, I’ve noticed it takes so much for the rodeo side as well as the ranch.  Your wife, ShaRee, is kind of the glue and toughness of the family behind the scenes, right? 

Cody Wright: That's for sure. Family support is imperative. ShaRee does things I can't even express or say all the things that she does behind the scenes. All the scheduling. She pretty much did all the communicating with Polaris Off-Road and the crew to put this thing together. When you are dealing with four boys that don’t want to answer the group text, I have to jump in sometimes. She's a huge part of it all, and we couldn't do it without her.

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Stetson Wright

Despite starting the year at the top, Stetson Wright faced consecutive injuries that tested his resilience. His mental toughness is truly remarkable. Reflecting on his journey, he sometimes becomes emotional, crediting his father, Cody, for instilling a positive mindset in him from a young age. We sat down to discuss this challenging year and what lies ahead.

SI Rodeo: First off, you had to make the decision to take this year off to heal from back-to-back injuries. How are you and how is that going?

Stetson Wright: I mean, I feel good. I guess taking a year off from getting beat up all the time, it's really been nice but it's something that I didn't want to do. It was kind of forced upon me and then it was my decision to make sure I was fully ready. That's kind of why nobody's seen me, and I've just kind of been in the shadows this year, but, I mean, it's all going well. It's part of the process, and it's something I don't want to experience ever again. 

I've learned a lot from start to finish, that it doesn't matter how good you are, you can go from top to bottom in just a snap of a finger. Pretty much your life can be changed at any given time in rodeo, which I kind of knew that growing up, but then once you go on a run of winning eight straight world titles you kind of believe that it doesn't apply to you. That's one thing that kind of opened my eyes this year, is I need to be more cautious the rest of my career on what I do, but also not being cautious. Like, I have to be cautious before the rodeo, but when it comes to doing my job, I still have to be that guy that isn't afraid to get hurt, and that goes at it every single time to win. 

SI Rodeo: As far as your training and stuff that you've had a year off from, I mean, you're still riding, but I'm sure you took a little time out of the saddle.

Stetson Wright: Yeah, I'm still not cleared to get on a bucking horse or a bull. I went through two hamstring surgeries to get back to normal, and with the training, it might be one of the signs that I need to work out more, because I worked out, and then I tore it again, and then I had to do the next surgery. It feels like this entire year, all I've done is strictly work out and just kind of watch everything. It’s opened my eyes to what I need to put into my body, what I don't, and all the exercises I do. It's just been kind of a crazy thing, because when you're twenty-four, well, I guess I'm twenty-five now, but when you're young, you don't really feel like you need to work out. But now I've done more working out this year than I did probably all of high school playing sports and stuff. I guess now I've kind of got myself in a routine of it, so hopefully I'll just continue to do it the rest of my career.

SI Rodeo: I think a rodeo athlete is probably one of the toughest out there, considering the abuse and injuries. How much and what type of training are you doing? 

Stetson Wright: I’d like to think so, because you are putting your body through so much. When they cleared me to ride the first time when I tore it again, I hadn't been on in seven months, so it was kind of a big deal. Like, I'd never been sore like I was when I got off, I was like, I've never hurt like this since I started. I've never sat out, so, I would just never feel sore. Well, I got on one bull, and I felt like I'd been on twenty head in one day. 

I was just hurting, and I could not figure out what it was. My dad told me when you're not doing it every day, you’re going to feel it.  You use every single muscle in your body to ride, which I of course didn't realize how much you use your hamstring also. The first bull and horse I got on, I could feel it down my whole leg. 

Working out in rodeo is so different, because a lot of guys like to be flexible and stuff. Most cowboys won't say it, but if they're working out, they do some form of yoga to stay flexible. So, with this hamstring injury, you don't stretch. Like, you're not supposed to stretch it out. You're supposed to build the muscle back up in it, so it's been kind of a funny process to do, because I'm zero stretching and just strictly building strength in it. 

My whole life, sports to rodeo, the working out I did was always yoga and stretching. I never really picked up weights. To this day, I've still never bench pressed or anything. So now that it's been a full year of strictly leg workouts, nobody likes leg day, and I have a full year of it. It's kind of been a different way I've had to go about things. 

SI Rodeo: Your entire experience through this set back has truly exemplified 'Tough Doesn't Quit.' How has your mental toughness held up through all of this? What has it been like for you, and what does that phrase mean to you personally?

Stetson Wright: So, the mental side of things, I've been lucky, because that's what my dad has raised and instilled in all of us. I accepted that that was the way to get to the top, and there's no other way. I've rode with broken ankles, wrists, fractured bones in my leg, I've done it all torn ACL, MCL, PCL, everything you can tear in your knee. 

I can still ride because I'm so mentally there. This injury, not many people can sit out a full year and be okay with it, unless you absolutely don't love doing it. But when somebody loves it, it's hard to do. Fortunately, that's one thing that I haven't really struggled with. I want to do it. 

Every day I think about the sound of the crowd when you get off, and just everything to do with rodeo. There's one thing my dad told me when I was younger, whenever you have a bad thought in your head, you're supposed to say, I'm healthy, wealthy, handsome, and happy. Because your mind can only focus on one thing at a time, it might as well be a good thought. So, anytime I get to where I'm down in the dumps and feeling like, poor me, I'll just say that. I'll just say it and say it, until I literally forgot what I was even thinking about. 

So, the mental side of things, that's been everything for me my whole career, and especially during this injury. Where I had rodeo taken away from me was at the NFR. I mean, that's something we worked all year, our whole lives for, to get there. So, to have it taken away from me there, it was dang for sure a hard pill to swallow, but at the end of the day, there's way more to be thankful for. There's more to life than rodeo. 

That’s all the kind of things I was saying to myself, just trying to stay out of the, I guess, depression side of things. So, I mean, any positive thought, I would be thinking it. When I would think, I can't believe I tore my hamstring, then I'd be like, ‘no, no, no, luckily, you can still do life.’ I could still walk around; I just couldn't do what I was wanting to do. I was grateful that I got to sit down there and not be stuck in a hospital bed, bedridden. There's a ton of things I got to do. 

I got to come home and spend the whole year with my daughter and, I guess, start creating the place that I want to live at forever. It's been a process. But like I said, I don't want to deal with it again until I'm done rodeoing. I want to get back to rodeoing and doing what I love.

SI Rodeo: I'm sure you will. You have a great family and support system here. 

Stetson Wright: Yes, for sure. Well, that's another thing. I said I did it by myself. I dang for sure didn't. Like, my mom, my dad, brothers, little sister, they were all big, big parts in every aspect. 

When I tore it again, I was kind of lost for a few days and trying to figure out, what did I do to deserve this? Like, I did all the training that I was supposed to. I was just kind of confused on everything. But I think there's reason behind everything that happens. I just was not meant to get back to the NFR this year. 

I knew mentally if they gave me even a month or two of rodeo, that's all I would need. I didn't need a full season like most guys because I'm so mentally prepared. I've always been that way even when I wasn't very good. I could just make myself believe that I would dominate everybody. 

Some people have mental coaches, and I also do, but it's my dad. He's been there, done that, bought the t-shirt. So, everything he says, I believe fully in it. Everything that comes out of his mouth. It might be a bad thing, but I think he walks on water. That's just always the way it's been for me with him. 

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Ryder Wright

With just a one round win separating him from the current leader as he heads into this year's National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, Ryder Wright possesses the grit and mindset to go all the way.

SI Rodeo: First off, Ryder, it was so great watching you at the Governor's Cup in Sioux Falls. With that said and NFR upon us tell us, what's your mindset? 

Ryder Wright: Oh, this time of year it seems like I try not to even think about rodeo, you know, I'm just home, helping my dad with cows when I can. I ride a lot of colts, so I don't even think about rodeo until it's time to rodeo. 

SI Rodeo: Wow, that is great! Given your strong position going in, I am sure Vegas is going to be successful for you. Tell us, what's it like competing with your brothers? 

Ryder Wright: It's awesome, you know. We've grown up doing it. We each started rodeo, and I've always competed against one of my brothers from the time I started. It's just normal to me. But it is awesome having them there behind the bucking chutes. You know, a lot of those guys, their closest family are either behind the TV screen or sitting in the stands, but mine are down behind the bucking chutes helping me, so it's pretty cool. You've got to have all hands-on deck.

SI Rodeo: Did you start out on broncs? 

Ryder Wright: I actually started out riding bulls. I didn't start riding bucking horses until my freshman year in high school. I started on calves and steers and rode them forever, but I was a bull rider first. We’ve rodeoed forever, so there’s no other way of life.

SI Rodeo: I know you said you don’t think about rodeo much right now, but day to day, how do you balance your own family, the ranching and rodeo? 

Ryder Wright: I usually try to get up pretty early in the morning and try to get horses rode. That usually doesn't always happen, because they're horses and sometimes things take longer than you plan on them taking, but I'll just try to get that done and then just hang out, go with the flow. I don't really try to plan out days. Usually it doesn't work out anyway, so I just kind of go with the flow of whatever needs to be done.

SI Rodeo: I know your dad said that you guys do some rodeo clinics. Do you help out with those? 

Ryder Wright: Yes, we do one every year. Stetson does a bull riding one too, but we do the bronc riding one. I’m not very vocal so I don’t really teach, but I help out and I really enjoy them.

SI Rodeo: You mentioned how most other rodeo athletes have families behind the TV or in the stands, but having the family that you have, their understanding and support, what does that mean to you? 

Rider Wright: It's awesome, you can't beat it. You know, we have them everywhere during rodeos. My dad gets behind the chutes, even my grandpa Bill runs an out gate. Not very many people get their family down there behind the bucking chutes, so luckily our family has jobs down there. We wouldn't be able to do it without them.

SI Rodeo: The sport, it's, well, it's everything, right? With the 'Tough Doesn't Quit' slogan with Polaris Off-Road, it's clear that it's more than just saying it's a way of life. After speaking with your dad, it's evident he instilled in you and your siblings the value of perseverance, always putting one foot in front of the other. What does it mean to you personally, now that you're a husband, father, and rodeo athlete?

Ryder Wright: Just, tough, I mean, yeah, just to not give up. Nothing in life worth having comes easy. So, you know, everything worth having is going to be a little bit tough, you know, especially this one here. (Ryder’s 18-month-old son, Rebel runs up.) He's a wild man.

SI Rodeo: Has he started riding yet? 

Ryder Wright: Oh, he rides with me. You know, I enjoy things that don't come easy, like, for instance, breaking colts. That’s a challenge from the beginning, not that there's ever really an ending to that. It's tough all the way through, and also just so rewarding. You know, the risk is worth the reward, it seems like.

SI Rodeo: What about advice for young athletes that are just starting out? 

Ryder Wright: Oh, have a strong mental game. Having a strong physical game is good, too, but there's nothing more important than being mentally strong. This game takes a huge toll on your mental strength. From being gone, because we're gone two hundred days out of the year.

SI Rodeo: Oh, wow. Does your family go with you? 

Ryder Wright: They go when we can, but yes, it's hard. Then just bronc riding in the rodeo, you go from champ to chump in one jump. So, it's so important to be mentally strong and let things like that just go. If you sit and dwell on that, you're not going to do good on the next one. Try to just stay positive. That would be my biggest piece of advice.

SI Rodeo: What about the physical aspect, I mean, you guys must work out every day, right?

Ryder Wright: I don't work out. You know, I think the physical activities I do every day on the ranch are enough for me. Some people do work out and enjoy it, going to the gym and stuff. I just don't really enjoy it that much. 

I'd rather go outside and chase horses around. I'd rather work on the ranch. My wife loves to work out. I mean, I know she doesn't rodeo, but people are different, that's just not my thing. I do think you need to be physically fit; you can't be out of shape on the back of a bronc. It usually doesn't work out very well. But, you know, you look at all the top guys, they're in pretty good physical shape for the most part.

SI Rodeo: I know Bexley, your daughter, is starting on barrels, but what about when Rebel comes up and he wants to be a bronc rider? 

Ryder Wright: I'm going to let him do whatever he wants. I'm not going to push him to do anything. Whatever he wants to do, I'll support him in it. I won't make him rodeo. That's what I do and that's how I grew up, so, that's probably what he's going to do as well, just always being around it anyways. If he doesn't want to do it, that's no big deal to me.

SI Rodeo: Well, good luck in Vegas!

Ryder Wright: Thank you very much, we will see you there.

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The Zion Wright family ranch is a six-generation ran working ranch in Smith Mesa Virgin, Utah. To find out more, and to book a visit to the beautiful ranch, check it out here: Zion National Park | United States | Zion Wright Family Ranch. With everything from horseback riding, camping and more, it is definitely worth the trip to Southern Utah.

Polaris Off-Road profiled The Wright Brothers (Family) as part of their Tough Doesn't Quit series this fall/winter. The Wright’s are Rodeo Royalty and the “First Family of Toughness,” with all three brothers established competitors in pro rodeo, riding broncs and bulls. They have all followed in the footsteps of their father, Cody Wright, World Champion Saddle Bronc Rider inducted into the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame.  

For more information on all of the amazing off road vehicles Polaris has to offer, please click here: Polaris Off-Road Vehicles (ORV): SxS, UTVs, ATVs & Four Wheelers.