FORT WORTH, Texas – Gus Gaillard is looking for any advantage he can get in his first year of competing in ProRodeo.
He’s a 22-year-old bronc buster from the tiny hamlet of Morse, Texas, not far south of the Oklahoma border in the Texas Panhandle. He’s been among the top 15 in the world standings early this season and working toward some incredible goals for his 2025 campaign.
Like all cowboys who make a living in rodeo, he wants to advance to the National Finals Rodeo and battle for the world championship. He’d also like to be the top money-earner among first-year saddle bronc riders, which is why he’s looking forward to the Resistol Rookie Roundup presented by The Cowboy Channel, set for 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 25-Saturday, April 26, at Cowtown Coliseum in the historic Fort Worth Stockyards.
“The Resistol Rookie standings are going to change every week,” said Gaillard, the reigning intercollegiate champion who also helped Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas, win the men’s team title last June. “Ira (Dickinson), Bailey (Small) and I go to school together, and we’ve been good buddies for a while now. We’ve all ride pretty dang good, and we all have a chance at it.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a new guy leading the rookie standings every week, so winning the Rookie Roundup will dang sure help a guy put his name a little higher.”
The event will feature the top 15 rookies in each event competing on opening night. The best eight scores and times will advance to Night 2’s semifinals round, with the top four moving on to the championship. The contestant in that round with the best score or time will win the tournament-style rodeo and carry that momentum into the busiest time of the season over the summer run.
“I’m going to do my best to be there and be ready for it,” Gaillard said. “I’m really excited about the Rookie Roundup. It’s something they’ve done for rookies and have done a pretty good job with it. It pays good, and the horses are good.”
That’s because the organizers have entrusted the production to Dallas-based Pete Carr Pro Rodeo, one of the elite stock-contracting firms in the PRCA. The cowboys understand they’ll have a good shot at big money and a big title in their inaugural year of competing on the sport’s top level.
“I’ve gotten along with Pete’s horses for a long time, and he’s dang sure got some buckers,” Gaillard said. “He’s got some stuff that will try you pretty hard, but Pete sure gives you a chance to win every time you get on one. If you do a good job and take care of business, you’ve got a pretty good chance of placing.”
The Texan has been doing that and is riding momentum from 2024 into this season. In addition to the college titles, he finished the year with the most earnings of any PRCA permit-holding bronc rider with more than $70,000.
“Winning that college team title was a pretty big deal, and then I was lucky enough to win the bronc riding, too,” Gaillard said. “I don’t want to be average; I want to be the very best, so that’s what I’ve set out to do.”