LAS VEGAS – The tiny town of Altamont, Utah, has plenty of reason to celebrate.
Two of its 249 inhabitants came away from the National Finals Rodeo with two major titles and a boatload of money. Bareback rider Dean Thompson won the NFR aggregate title and the world championship, while steer wrestler Cash Robb staked claim to the average crown in his first appearance on ProRodeo’s grandest stage.
“That’s insane,” said Thompson, who utilized an 88.5-point ride on J Bar J Rodeo’s Straight Stick for a second-place finish in Saturday’s 10th round to earn $26,624 and added a payday of $86,391 from the average title to slip past Texan Rocker Steiner by $18,000. “That’s one of my best friends.
“We grew up bulldogging together, and this kid’s a mile from my house. I just call him ‘C Money,’ because it’s Cash Money Robb. He’s the best.”
Thompson placed in eight of 10 rounds and finished with a cumulative score of 854.5 points and earned $239,924. He finished the season with $412,121.
“I wish I could take you back to how I felt before I got on tonight,” said Thompson, who won the Montana Silversmiths gold buckle in just his second full season in ProRodeo and after competing at his second NFR. “It was kind of terrifying again. In the first round, you get some insane nerves, and they climb until it seems like the fifth round for me. Then they waned until this 10th round, and it was like they came back with a vengeance.
“When I got (to the locker room), I had gotten warmed up and was dripping sweat off my nose. The emotions now are just sheer joy.”
His week was strong already, but he put an exclamation point on everything with his final ride of the 2024 season.
“Straight Stick is one of the best animals I’ve ever known, one of the best I’ve ever been on,” said Thompson, who attended Western Texas College on a rodeo scholarship. “She packed me to a couple really good checks this year, and I was really tickled to have that horse. I was really tickled for her to have just a stellar day.”
It was a stellar season for Thompson. He entered the NFR fourth in the world standings and rode the waves that come over that magical 10-day stretch. He would fourth heading into the final night, then he stayed steady and consistent through each ride.
Now, he’s in the ProRodeo history books as the 2024 world champ.