Six cowboys in the 2026 rookie race and six past Resistol Rookies of the Year earned spots in the Cheyenne Frontier Days tie-down roping semifinals.

The next generation of ProRodeo tie-down ropers—and a handful of the sport’s most accomplished rookies from years past—will be well represented in the Cheyenne Frontier Days semifinals. Six calf ropers currently ranked in the 2026 Resistol Rookie standings advanced through the qualifying rounds, joining six former Rookies of the Year headed to the semifinals at the Daddy of ’em All.

Current 2026 Rookies in the Semifinals

Colton Suther | No. 3 in the rookie standings

Suther finished fourth in Performance Six with an 11.9-second run.

Ace Reese | No. 4 in the rookie standings

Reese finished fifth in Performance Four with a 12.5-second run.

Sam Lewis | No. 5 in the rookie standings

Lewis won Performance Two with a 10.7-second run, good for $2,000.

Jayden Broussard | No. 7 in the rookie standings

Broussard finished second in Performance Five with a 12.2-second run.

Dalton Porch | No. 8 in the rookie standings

Porch finished fifth in Performance Three with a 13.6-second run.

Tate Talkington | No. 11 in the rookie standings

Talkington finished second in Performance Three with an 11.6-second run.

Past Rookies in the Semifinals

Shane Hanchey | 2009 Rookie of the Year

Hanchey finished second in Performance Four with an 11.7-second run. Although not his rookie year, Hanchey won Cheyenne in 2018.

Haven Meged | 2019 Rookie of the Year

Meged finished second in Performance One with an 11.3-second run.

Luke Potter | 2020 Rookie of the Year

Potter tied for first in the second Wild Card round with an 11.4-second run to punch his ticket to the semifinals. Potter has also won Cheyenne in a year other than his rookie year, in 2023.

Dylan Hancock | 2023 Rookie of the Year

Hancock won Performance One with a 10.4-second run, good for $2,000.

Cole Clemons | 2024 Rookie of the Year

Clemons won the first Wild Card round with a 10.6-second run to advance.

Tyler Calhoun | 2025 Rookie of the Year

Calhoun won Performance Six with a 10.2-second run, good for $2,000.

Only Rookie to Win Cheyenne

In more than a century of tie-down roping at Cheyenne, Ricky Canton is the only man to win the Daddy and the Resistol Rookie of the Year title in the same year, doing it in 1987. Canton would come back and win Cheyenne again in 2005.