Riley Webb concluded a year of domination with the 2023 PRCA Tie-Down World Championship, amassing $452,851 in earnings—$172,446 of which was earned at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo
“It hasn’t sunk in yet,” Webb, 20, said. “I bet when I see my family it’ll sink in. I am so very blessed for this. My career is just getting started, and I am very fortunate that it’s at the highest it can be.”
Webb won 14 ProRodeos throughout the 2023 season, including a $50,000 payday at RodeoHouston that started the undeniable momentum he carried throughout the summer.
“Some guys don’t go to all the rodeos and come to the NFR to see if they can make [the world championship] happen,” Webb said. “Me, I didn’t want to regret anything. I went to every rodeo I could go to, and tried to ride my best horse at every one because I wanted to lay it all on the line. It paid off because I wasn’t backed into a corner, having to win in Round 10.”
Riley Webb’s 2023 NFR
Webb says his second NFR got off to a slow start, and after riding gelding “Boots” in Round 1, he decided to make the change to “Rudy,” registered as Marked Up Cat.
“I had a Finals where I didn’t have to go out and win rounds to make [a world championship] happen, I could just go knock them down,” Webb said. “I won Round 3, placed in a couple more with some of the mediocre calves and had a good one tonight.”
Riley Webb’s 2023 NFR Round Times
| Round 1 | 8.7 | $6,438 |
| Round 2 | 9.8 | |
| Round 3 | 6.9 | $30,706 |
| Round 4 | 7.1 | $24,268 |
| Round 5 | 7.4 | $24,268 |
| Round 6 | 7.7 | |
| Round 7 | 8.1 | |
| Round 8 | 8 | $12,877 |
| Round 9 | 8.3 | |
| Round 10 | 10.9 | |
| Average | 82.9/10 | $63,889 |
Round 10 was Webb’s slowest time of the week thanks to a traffic jam with his calf at the end of the rope.
“You can’t panic,” Webb said. “You just have to keep going forward—I wanted to make sure I got him tied good.”
Despite the $70,000-plus lead Webb had going in to the NFR, No. 2 Haven Meged worked hard to unseat him, setting a new arena record in Round 7 with a 6.4-second run and breaking the average record with a time of 77.4 on ten head in the process.
“Haven Meged roped great all week to have a chance at the end,” Webb said. “He’s a great guy and it’s fun to battle it out with people like him.”
“My mindset is: You can only control what you do, you can’t control what everyone else does. You’ve got to back in there and place as deep in the money as you can with the calf you’re given and do your job. I’m not roping against Haven, Shad or any of the other guys. I am roping against myself and the calves when I back in there.” —Riley Webb
Riley Webb’s winning horsepower
Webb praised Rudy’s solid nature through nine runs in the Thomas & Mack pressure cooker. He was Tie-Down Reserve Horse of the Year in 2022 when owned by Lane Livingston, and Webb thanked Livingston for the chance to buy him.
“Boots should get all the credit for the year, though,” Wedd said. “I bought him two days after the NFR last year and rode him at every rodeo until I set the season earnings record this year.”
Building on Resistol Rookie of the Year
Webb’s 2023 success comes right on the heels of his first NFR qualification and 2022 Resistol Rookie of the Year title.
“I learned so much from last year’s NFR to this year,” Webb said. “The first year is great for learning how to set up for your second year, and my NFR last year didn’t go great. I won about $60,000, which is a great week, but considering all the money to be won out here, it’s not that impressive.”
Webb said the lessons he learned from his 2022 NFR served as motivation for 2023, spurring him to keep his eye on the prize through the ups and downs of ProRodeo.
