Buckle Up: For Rodeo Athletes, Winning Means Championship Hardware And Decisions On What To Wear

From world championships to highly sought-after regular season events, rodeo competitors take various approaches to what buckles they wear and what happens to the rest.

Click Thompson for PRCA

Zeke Thurston never gave the decision a second thought.

In 2016, the Big Valley, Alberta native captured professional rodeo’s highest honor, winning the saddle bronc world title. The victory meant Thurston earned a championship buckle, which he quickly put on a belt that went around his waist.

It remained there until 2019 when he won his second title. Three years later, he swapped it for his 2022 championship. And, when he hits the road for 2024, his 2023 buckle will proudly be attached to his belt.

“I won my first title, and that’s the pinnacle of it all. A few years later, I won my next world title, and I was like, ‘Well, that’s the newest one right there.’ Now, I’ve got four of them,” Thurston said about swapping out his hardware. “It’s pretty cool. You rodeo like we do and you win a lot of buckles, but the world titles, those are so special and so sought after. To have a few of them sitting on your mantle is pretty cool.”

Zeke Thurston from Big Valley, Alberta celebrates his 2016 Saddle Bronc Riding World title! pic.twitter.com/sdA54UmGGX

— Pro Rodeo Canada (@prorodeocanada) December 11, 2016

Championship buckles are synonymous with success in the industry as they are generally part of the prize package presented to champions. Whether it’s a regular season victory or a year-ending championship, each buckle has a different meaning, history and prestige.

And for those receiving the hardware, the question of which one to wear and what to do with the rest results in many answers.

Since her career began in 1991, barrel racer Lisa Lockhart has picked up her fair share of championship buckles. She has three National Finals Rodeo average wins, including 2023, along with a Ram National Circuit Finals Title.

But the Oelrichs, South Dakota native continues to showcase a buckle that signifies where her success started – the Canadian Finals Rodeo.

In 2006, Lockhart won her first CFR title, a moment that sparked her career to a new level. For years, that buckle was on her waist, a reminder of her roots. Unfortunately, it was damaged beyond repair in a trailer fire several years ago.

When it came time to pick a new display piece, the choice was easy – her 2012 CFR buckle was next up.

“Some people might want to strap on a buckle because of the aesthetic look of it; for me, it’s meaningful,” Lockhart said. “This was the next one that I chose, and it also was from the Canadian Finals. It’s kind of a sentimental thing for me. The Canadian Finals was kind of the beginning of where things are at now. It was kind of a stepping stone. It’s more of a sentimental thing to me.”

Lisa Lockhart won the average title at the 2023 NFR, one of several buckles she's picked up in Las Vegas. But her 2012 Canadian Finals Rodeo championship is the primary showpiece she wears, a tribute to where her career took flight :: Roseanna Sales/For PRCA

Tie-down roper Caleb Smidt has similar feelings regarding his choice. Over the last 11 years, the Bellville, Texas native has won four world titles, including back-to-back in 2021 and 2022. He also has four NFR average buckles to his credit.

But it all goes back to 2015 when he won his first world crown. Since that day, it’s the buckle he’s proudly displayed at every major rodeo. He does alternate with a homemade buckle that features his branding logo at smaller events and for everyday use.

But, even with all those accolades, Smidt admits there are still buckles he wants to win, even if he wasn’t planning to wear them. Among those was the California Rodeo Salinas, a historic rodeo that eluded him for years.

Last season, that changed.

“I have wanted to win that rodeo ever since I saw it as a little kid and for sure ever since I went for the first time. I think I placed there and made the short-round every year I’ve went, but I’ve never won first until last year,” Smidt said. “I’ll probably never wear it. I guess if the kids want to wear it, maybe, but I probably won’t let them do that.”

While a world title is the ultimate goal, the buckles available at regular-season rodeos hold their own level of significance.

Breakaway roper Joey Williams has worn her Ellensburg (Wash.) Rodeo buckle since 2022. But when she arrived in Las Vegas for the National Finals Breakaway Roping in December, Williams faced some teasing from her fellow rodeo competitors. During the 2023 regular season, she had won both the Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days Rodeo and Pendleton (Ore.) Round-Up, two of the sport's most prestigious regular season events.

As the Volberg, Montana native competed for a breakaway world title last month, neither was on her waist.

“I guess once I put one on, I wear it for a while,” Williams joked. “I actually was getting some crap in Vegas. They were like, ‘Where’s your Cheyenne buckle? Where’s your Pendleton buckle?’ I was like, ‘Well, I didn’t have a screwdriver to change it out.’”

Williams added that because of Cheyenne’s long-standing history in the sport, it holds a special place, which ultimately begs another question.

“I think part of the reason I haven’t put it on is because it is such a special buckle – do you go straight to the wall with it or do you wear it?,” Williams added.

For bareback rider Jess Pope, that question has a simple answer.

Since winning his first world title in 2022, the Waverly, Kansas native has worn his gold buckle. Throughout his house, he proudly displays other hardware he’s earned at NFR, during circuit finals, and at some of the more historic regular-season rodeos.

For some of the smaller or newer events he’s captured, Pope uses the buckles as inspiration for the next generation of rodeo competitors. There’s only one spot on his belt and only so much wall space available, so he puts them to good use.

“There’s a lot of kids that have a lot of interest in rodeo hanging around the house,” Pope said. “I’ve got so many of them that are just sitting in a tote, I try to give them to little kids. It’s something that they’ll remember forever, and at least I know where they’re going, and it brings a smile to a kid and draws interest to our sport.”