SAN ANGELO, Texas -- Ryder Wright finished last season as the fourth-ranked saddle bronc rider in ProRodeo, but he didn't compete at the San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo.

He wasn't old enough.

The second-generation Wrangler National Finals Rodeo cowboy didn't turn 18 until March, so he wasn't eligible for the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. Once he was of age, he didn't turn back, pocketing nearly $71,000 in six and a half months to earn his first NFR bid, where he put on a masterful performance.

On Saturday night, Wright made the most of his first experience inside San Angelo Coliseum with an 81-point ride on Pete Carr Pro Rodeo's Pendleton Whisky Django. That pushed him into the bronc riding lead after three performances.

"I'd never seen that horse before, but I talked with (2015 world champion) Jacobs Crawley about him, and he said the horse was pretty good," said Wright, the son of two-time world champion Cody Wright.

I just went at him like he was another horse. He was bucking good, and I rode good, so it worked out.

Yes, it did, but that's been the case for the young bronc buster from Milford, Utah. In Las Vegas this past December, won the first four go-rounds, then earned another on the ninth night of the 10-round championship. In all, he won $141,154 in Sin City and tripled his season earnings, finishing the campaign with $211,758.

That's not bad for a cowboy who a season ago was still in high school.

"I have more confidence in my riding after getting on the best horses in the world for 10 days in a row," said Wright, who was one of six members of his family competing at the NFR, where he was joined by his dad, Cody; a brother, Rusty; two uncles, Jake and Jesse; and an uncle-in-law, CoBurn Bradshaw. "It went good for five rounds, and the other five rounds wasn't so good.

That is the nature of bronc riding. Great rides can turn in to no-scores in the blink of an eye. Many cowboys wish they had as much fortune as he had in the Nevada desert.

Since then, though, things haven't quite gone his way. He's earned just $6,821 so far in the 2017 season. Still, he's 20th in the world standings and has seven full months remaining.

"I haven't won near as much as I'd like to," Wright said, explaining that the new season actually began Oct. 1, 2016. "I got off to a slow start last fall. I won a little bit in Denver (in January), but not as much as I'd like. I'm just trying to get the ball rolling again."

Once it starts, there may be no stopping it. The short-term goal is to return to San Angelo Coliseum for the final round on Friday, Feb. 17, where champions will be crowned.

"This is a cool rodeo with great fans," he said. "I was excited to come here. It was packed, and it's really loud and awesome.

"Fans are what makes rodeo, and they have some good ones here."

By Ted Harbin, Rodeo Media Relations

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