With the PRCA regular season ending on September 30th, October 1st can be a day of celebration for rodeo contestants or a day to regroup and think about the next rodeo season. Team SUCCEED® is very proud of everyone, whether the NFR was their goal or not. To those on our team who battled until the end to qualify for a trip to Las Vegas and accomplished their goal, congratulations, you did it! Now we can talk about how the last weekend of the season went because our team had some major wins to finish their season strong In Sioux Falls, South Dakota at the Governor’s Cup.
Shelby Boisjoli-Meged took home 1st place with $30,000 and a blazing 1.6-second run in the final four-man round. Shelby didn’t have as high a winning/placing percentage as in past years, so this win was a perfect way to end her season. The winnings moved her from 5th in the World Standings to #1. Congratulations! The reigning World Champion will head back to Vegas leading the pack once again to defend her World title.
Tyler Wade and Wesley Thorp were on a heater the last two weekends of the season. They took home $15,000 in Mandan, before going to Sioux Falls. Placing 1st in round 1 for $11,000 in Sioux Falls along with 3rd in round 2 for just over $4,000, and 3rd in the Finals added another $15,000 to their total. During the last two weekends of the season, these reigning World Champions earned nearly $45,000 to wrap up their season. This moved them to 2nd in the World Standings and well within striking distance of 1st in the World to defend their World Title in December.
Zack Jongbloed is another one who made the most of the massive payday at the Governor’s Cup. Zack’s consistency placed him in the Final 4 round where he placed 3rd and received a $15,000 check. Zack is someone we have talked about continuously since August. He won at nearly every major rodeo in the Northwest which skyrocketed him to 10th in the World. Zach has made waves in the Calf Roping these last few months.
Team SUCCEED Heading to the NFR
The road to the NFR is long and grueling. The struggles often outweigh the wins, even for those lucky few that end up in the Top 15 at the end of the year. Just because you have made the finals before, or maybe you’re even a World Champion, it doesn’t guarantee you a trip to the Thomas and Mack in December. For those who fell short, we hope that there were lessons learned and growth to be had that will propel you into the next year even stronger. To those who fought until the end and did accomplish their goal of qualifying for the NFR, job well done, it is no easy feat! Let’s take a moment to talk about Team SUCCEED’s NFR qualifiers, it is a star-studded lineup, and we are so proud of them!
First, we have our reigning World Champion, Shelby Boisjoli-Meged who heads back to Las Vegas in the number one position again. This will be Shelby’s fifth National Finals Breakaway Roping qualification. She continues to prove each year why she is one of the best in the business. At only 26 years old she is already becoming considered one of the sports all-time greats!
Next, we must talk about Shelby’s husband who is also a World Champion, Haven Meged! Haven is becoming an NFR veteran and is a contender for another World Championship. Haven is 2nd in the World after jumping Ty Harris who had held down the number 2 spot most of the season. Haven is positioning himself to have the incredible NFR that he always has. Haven won over $10,000 in the last two weekends of the season and we expect to see him keep up that momentum as the 2025 starts.
Next, we have Ty Erickson who is a new addition to Team SUCCEED this year but is not new to the lights of Vegas. Ty is ranked 10th in the World after the season and has had major career wins this year such as the Calgary Stampede. This year marks Ty’s ninth NFR qualification which speaks to his ability to endure the hardships of rodeo and continue his winning ways year after year. In 2019 Ty walked away from Las Vegas as the World Champion Steer Wrestler and we are excited to see him compete again for possibly another World Championship come December!
The next two we have to mention together because they are in fact a team. Tyler Wade and Wesley Thorp are the reigning World Champion Team Ropers and have been winning everywhere they go. This pair head into the NFR ranked 2nd in the World and are ready to defend their World Title. Between the two of them, Tyler and Wesley have 14 NFR qualifications combined, making them veterans of the game and a force to be reckoned with at the NFR.
Lastly, Zack Jongbloed who came from behind but made the last couple of months count in a big way to qualify him for his second NFR. We can’t wait to see Zack back in the Thomas and Mack in December. On Zack’s first trip to the NFR, he performed like a veteran placing in multiple rounds and getting a good check in the average. We look to see the same grit and determination at the NFR that we have seen all year from Zach.
At SUCCEED we want to be more than a sponsor — we want to be your biggest support system. We are extremely proud of the team we have headed to the NFR this year. Team SUCCEED has a field of NFR veterans headed back to Vegas and we hope all of them have a safe and successful rodeo finals. We are proud of all our team members and their successes whether they made the top 15 or not. We know this road isn’t easy and success is never guaranteed. SUCCEED hopes to see all our athletes return even stronger next year. No matter the journey, we are so proud of our Team SUCCEED!
