DODGE CITY, Kan. – For the past several years, Brody Cress has been one of the “rankest” saddle bronc riders in rodeo.

He’s made the National Finals Rodeo seven straight times and is on pace to make it eight. He has finished among the top five bronc busters in the world standings five times and is a three-time winner of the NFR average, meaning he had the best cumulative score after 10 go-rounds in Las Vegas.

The defending Dodge City Roundup Rodeo champion has returned to the scene of the crime in hopes of repeating that feat. He rode Frontier Rodeo’s Big Sister for 87 points Thursday night to take the bronc riding lead and almost assure himself of a chance to compete again during Championship Sunday at Roundup Arena.

“It’s awesome coming into a rodeo that I won last year,” said Cress, 28, originally from Hillsdale, Wyoming, but now living in north Texas. “It gives you a little bit of confidence, but my main thing is to take every rodeo and focus on doing the same thing every single time: Show up, run through the same process. (It) allows me to be successful no matter where I’m at, whether it’s at a rodeo I’ve won multiple times or the practice pen.

“I’ve got the same thing I’m doing before I get on a bucking horse to prepare my mind and my body and just be ready to go out there and do my job.”

He’s pretty good at it. A year ago, he won the first round in Dodge City and finished second in the short go-round, which features only the top 12 contestants in each event from the four days of competition that precede it. He had the highest two-ride cumulative score to claim the coveted Roundup buckle and $7,646.

He finished the year fourth in the world standings with $313,949, with $180,206 coming those magical 10 days in the Nevada desert. The wizardry didn’t end there. Just a little more than a month ago, Cress and his wife, Sierra, welcomed their first child, a boy they named Roweler Rank Cress. Life has changed for the man known to spur massive broncs as well as anyone.

“He’s absolutely a true blessing to his mother and I,” Brody Cress said. “It’s way different when you have a kid. He’s been an amazing baby so far. They just got to be up in Cheyenne (Wyoming) for the whole week, and I just sent them home to the airport yesterday. It’s definitely a lot harder to leave them than it was before.

“I told my wife, ‘I’m going to make sure and focus and make the time away I have worth it.’ I’m going to take every horse and do my job no matter if they’re ones you’re supposed to win on or not but make it worth being away from home and missing days with them.”

Life on the rodeo trail is already difficult. After his ride in Dodge City, he was off to two other stops before returning to Sunday’s final performance. It’s a life he loves, traveling North America riding bucking horses and showcasing his abilities.

“I’m going to ride bucking horses for as long as the Lord blesses me,” Cress said. “It’s an amazing way to make a living and to get to see all this. I’m going to focus and work hard, work out and take care of my body and get as long of a career as I can out of it.” 

Dodge City Roundup Rodeo
Dodge City, Kan.
July 31-Aug. 4, 2024
Bareback riding leaders: 1. Rocker Steiner, 88 points on Frontier Rodeo’s High Heels; 2. Waylon Bourgeo0is, 85; 3. Mason Clements, 83; 4. (tie) Cooper Cooke, Jacek Frost and Bradlee Miller, 81; 7. Darien Johnson, 80; 8. Cole Franks, 79.5; 9. Brayze Schill, 77.5; 10. Tanner Fine, 74; no other qualified rides.

Steer wrestling: First round leaders: 1. Jacob Edler, 4.0 seconds; 2. Brady Reneau, 4.1; 3. Dakota Eldridge, 4.3; 4. (tie) Kalane Anders, Will Lummus and Gage Hesse, 4.4; 7. Garrett Curry, 4.7; 8. Stan Branco, 5.0. Second round leaders: 1. Will Lummus, 3.8 seconds; 2. Sam Goings, 4.1; 3. Bridger Anderson, 4.2; 4. (tie) Winsten McGraw and Tanner Brunner, 4.3; 6. (tie) Trevor Nelson, Jacob Edler, Jesse Brown, Chance Howard and Ty Cochrane, 4.4; 8. (tie) Jace Melvin and Kalane Anders, 4.7. Average leaders: 1. Will Lummus, 8.2 seconds on two runs; 2. Jacob Edler, 8.4; 3. Kalane Anders, 9.1; 4. Dakota Eldridge, 9.6; 5. (tie) Justin Shaffer and Bridger Anderson, 10.5; 7. Grant Peterson, 11.2; 8. Grady Payne, 12.4; 9. Colt Honey, 13.9; 10. Garrett Curry, 14.5; 11. Brady Buum, 14.7; 12. Jesse Brown, 14.9.

Team roping: First round leaders: 1. Tyler Wade/Wesley Thorp, 4.9 seconds; 2. Coy Rahlmann/Ross Ashford, 5.2; 3. Tyler Tryan/Logan Moore, 5.4; 4. Curry Kirchner/Jake Edwards, 5.5; 5. Coleman Proctor/Logan Medlin, 5.6; 6. Luke Brown/Travis Graves, 5.7; 7. Trey Blackmore/Whip Pop Peterson, 5.8; 4. Erich Rogers/Paul Eaves, 5.9; 5. Jesse Boos/Jace Steenhoek, 6.3; 6. Hagen Peterson/Chase Tryan, 6.4;8. Erich Rogers/Paul Eaves, 5.9. Second round leaders: 1. Trey Hall/Cale Morris, 5.4 seconds; 2. Tyler Tryan/Logan Moore, 5.7; 3. Coy Rahlmann/Ross Ashford, 6.1; 4. Curry Kirchner/Jake Edwards, 6.6; 5. Chad Masters/Wyatt Cox, 7.8; 6. Tyler Wade/Wesley Thorp, 7.9; 7. Luke Brown/Travis Graves, 10.4; 8. Nelson Wyatt/Jonathan Torres, 10.9. Average leaders: 1. Tyler Tryan/Logan Moore, 11.1 seconds on two runs; 2. Coy Rahlmann/Ross Ashford, 11.3; 3. Curry Kirchner/Jake Edwards, 12.1; 4. Tyler Wade/Wesley Thorp, 12.8; 5. Chad Masters/Wyatt Cox, 15.0; 6. Luke Brown/Travis Graves, 16.1; 7. Jesse Boos/Jace Steenhoek, 17.3; 8. Nelson Wyatt/Johnathan Torres, 17.4; 9. Hagen Peterson/Chase Tryan, 22.1; 10. Erich Rogers/Paul Eaves, 28.9; 11. Trey Hall/Cale Morris, 5.4 seconds on one run; 12. Coleman Proctor/Logan Medlin, 5.6.  

Saddle bronc riding leaders: 1. Brody Cress, 87 points on Frontier Rodeo’s Big Sister; 2. Colt Gordon, 84; 3. Tegan Smith, 83; 4. Jake Finlay, 82.5; 5. (tie) Parker Fleet and Logan Cook, 82; 7. Jackson Ford, 81; 8. (tie) Cooper Thatcher and Tucker Bourdet, 80.5; 10. Cameron Messier, 80; 11. Walker Reszzonico, 79; 12. (tie) Skinny Parsons and Tyler Pruitt, 77.5.

Breakaway roping: First round leaders: 1. (tie) Ashley Goforth and Erin Johnson, 2.5 seconds; 3. Layni Masters, 2.6; 4. Kaitlyn Ricke, 2.7; 5. (tie) McKenna Brennan, Timber Allenbrand and Shayla Hall, 2.9; 8. Haley Sage, 3.3; 9. Nicole Hadley, 3.5; 10., Jessica McMaster, 3.7. Second round leaders: 1. (tie) McKenna Brennan and Danielle Lowman, 2.1 seconds; 3. TiAda Gray, 2.4; 4. Chenoa Vandestouwe, 2.7; 5. Shelby Whiting, 2.8; 6. Kelsie Domer, 3.0; 7. Kaitlyn Ricke, 3.4; 8. Amber Coleman, 3.5; 9. Kristy Farris, 3.6; 10. Sarah Angelone, 11.8. Average leaders: 1. McKenna Brennan, 5.0 seconds on two runs; 2. Kiatlyn Ricke, 6.1; 3. Kelsie Domer, 6.9; 4. Chenoa Vandestouwe, 14.9; 5. Jessica McMaster, 16.3; 6. Mataya Eklund, 17.0; 7. Jenna Lee Adams, 19.8; 8. Brooke Curuchet, 24.8; 9. Danielle Lowman, 2.1 seconds on one run; 10. TiAda Gray, 2.4; 11. (tie) Ashley Goforth and Erin Johnson, 2.5.

Tie-down roping: First round leaders: 1. Haven Meged, 7.9 seconds; 2. Riley Webb, 8.6; 3. Riley Pruitt, 8.7; 4. (tie) Ty Harris and Marty Yates, 9.3; 6. Clint Graves, 9.4; 7. (tie) Cash Hooper and Luke Potter, 9.6. Second round leaders: 1. Dylan Hancock, 8.1 seconds; 2. (tie) Riley Webb and Blane Cox, 8.4; 4. (tie) Ty Harris and Bryce Loyd, 8.7; 6. Cash Hooper, 8.8; 7. Chet Weitz, 9.5; 8. Cason Kingsbury, 9.6. Average leaders: 1. Riley Webb, 17.0 seconds on two runs; 2. Ty Harris, 18.0; 3. Cash Hooper, 18.4; 4. Blane Cox, 18.9; 5. Clint Graves, 19.1; 6. Marty Yates, 19.4; 7. Dylan Hancock, 19.5; 8. Bryce Loyd, 22.9; 9. Ryan Belew, 23.4; 10. Booker McCutchen, 24.4; 11. Chet Weitz, 25.5; 12. Riley Pruitt, 27.0.

Barrel racing: First round leaders: 1. Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi, 17.50; 2. Loralee Ward, 17.51; 3. Cindy Patrick, 17.56; 4. Megan Albrecht, 17.62; 5. Jessica Routier, 17.74; 6. Suzanne Brooks, 17.77; 7. Ari-Anna Flynn, 17.82; 8. Emily Griffin, 17.85; 9. Kallie Gates, 17.90; 10. Stephanie Yoder, 17.97. Second round leaders: 1. Cindy Patrick, 17.36 seconds; 2. Kallie Gates, 17.46; 3. Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi, 17.49; 4. Austyn Tobey, 17.54; 5. Jessi Wade, 17.60; 6. Megan Albrecht, 17.65; 7. Jessica Routier, 17.66; 8. Wenda Johnson, 17.68; 9. (tie) Bailey McClure and Loralee Ward, 17.72. Average leaders: 1. Cindy Patrick, 34.92 seconds on two runs; 2. Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi, 34.99; 3. Loralee Ward, 35.23; 4. Megan Albrecht, 35.27; 5. Kallie Gates, 35.36; 6. Jessica Routier, 35.40; 7. Emily Griffin, 35.58; 8. Ari-Anna Flynn, 35.76; 9. Kelly Ferguson, 35.91; 10. Austyn Tobey, 35.94; 11. Jessi Wade, 36.09; 12. Sami Jo Buum, 36.15.

Bull riding leaders: 1. (tie) Bubba Greig, on Frontier Rodeo’s Front & Center, and Jate Frost, on Championship Pro Rodeo’s Spotted Rust, 90 points; 3. T.J. Gray, 87.5; 4. Ethal Skogquist, 84.5; 5. (tie) Jestyn Woodward and Trevor Reiste, 83.5; 7. Cooper James, 74; no other qualified rides.