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Facebook/Ellensburg Rodeo The Ellensburg Rodeo kicks off the final stretch of competition with an event-record $320,000 in prize money up for grabs. The final month of the 2026 PRCA regular season has begun, and athletes have just four weeks left to make their marks and earn their NFR bid. Most of the top athletes from around the PRCA will battle head-to-head in the Evergreen State in what is shaping up to be the most impactful Ellensburg Rodeo in years.

Three weeks ago, the Missouri Thunder were in 7th place and faced an uncertain future. Since then, however, they’ve gone undefeated and are in 2nd place heading into their Thunder Days homestand. The Missouri Thunder left Freedom Days in early August with a 3-5 overall record and had covered just 14-of-40 bulls, which was the 2nd fewest in the league. Florida would be the last time the Thunder lost a game.

It’s been a wild start to the 2026 PBR Team Series season, and while the teams battle for supremacy, their riders are fighting a second battle altogether: the MVP race. Leading the league is no other than two-time PBR Teams MVP Jose Vitor Leme, and he’s showing no signs of slowing down after being banged up plenty over the course of the last two seasons. Paulo Eduardo Rossetto, among others, threatens Leme’s hold over the league, but out-riding Leme is no simple task.

Categories: Featured, PBR Gambler Days, the fifth event of the 2026 PBR Teams season, concluded Sunday with some massive team standings shake-ups. The Missouri Thunder went 3-0 for the second straight weekend and now sit just a game behind No. 1 Nashville, who had their first down weekend of the season.

PRCA photo by Tyson Woods The Caldwell Night Rodeo solidified No. 1 rankings and produced plenty of new NFR contenders as the weekend’s highest paying rodeo. Caldwell wasn’t even the only Playoff Series Rodeo in Idaho as Gooding showcased its raucous atmosphere once again. Then, the inaugural Darby Xtreme Bulls shook up the Bull Riding World Standings even more. With each passing week, the pressure rises as the end of the regular season starts to loom.

The Nashville Stampede still top the standings as the Team Series heads into Austin for Gambler Days. Teams like the Arizona Ridge Riders and Carolina Cowboys will threaten Nashville’s crown this weekend. Others, like the Missouri Thunder and Kansas City Outlaws, will look to build on last weekend’s success and continue to climb the standings. Jose Vitor Leme and the home team Austin Gamblers sit in the middle of the standings right now, needing that something extra to reach the top and stay there.

The Caldwell Night Rodeo represents a crucial stop on the way to the NFR. With less than six weeks left to go in the regular season, this is when the World Title and NFR races truly start to take shape. With $240,000 on the line, athletes will be fighting for every dollar as they try to secure one of the Top 15 spots in the PRCA World Standings. Here’s a look at some of the names and numbers to know as the Caldwell Night Rodeo kicks off Tuesday night.

Categories: Featured, PBR The fourth event of the 2026 PBR Team Series season, Stampede Days, came to a close Sunday in Nashville with the unlikely Missouri Thunder finishing on top, undefeated for the weekend. The Music City faithful got their chance to celebrate their Nashville Stampede as they extended their winning streak to eight in a row and finished the weekend atop the league standings once again.

There are plenty of good stories in ProRodeo right now, and some of them were front and center over the weekend as we now have just six weeks to go in the regular season. Ryder Wright has somehow surpassed his brothers Rusty and Stetson in the PRCA Saddle Bronc Riding World Standings, while Shad Mayfield is seemingly unstoppable in the tie-down roping. He continues to make the incredibly difficult look awfully easy.

The Nashville Stampede have never finished a regular season higher than sixth place, but have already secured a first-place foothold this year as they head into a homestand at Bridgestone Arena. Amid a franchise record seven-game win streak, the Stampede have a chance to reach new heights in front of what should be one of the best crowds of the PBR Team season. The Stampede have a history of unexpected success.