You’d have to go all the way back to 2012 to find a ProRodeo season where Riley Pruitt did not finish inside the top 30 of the World Standings with a career-best finish of fourth in 2019 following his second Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR).

Pruitt won the NFR average in 2016 and, after a 15-year pro career, has pretty much done—and won—everything you can in the sport.

Learning the Format, Embracing the Challenge

After so many years on the road, it’s tough to find brand new experiences but that exactly what the Gering, Nebraska roper will get when he competes at the second annual Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo (KRRR) at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on May 16, 2025. The revolutionary rodeo features athletes drafted to one of six teams, all competing head-to-head for braggin’ rights and a share of the $1 million purse.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Pruitt, 33, said. “It’s a new style, like Pendleton in that it’s just something we don’t do very often and we’re not accustomed to it.”

Pruitt will be part of Team Sledge Hammers, coached by eight-time PRCA World Champ Fred Whitfield.

“Fred is on my Mount Rushmore for tie down roping and I grew up watching him rope,” Pruitt admitted. Whitfield competed alongside Pruitt’s father, Troy, the 1990 PRCA World Champion. “To have him be my coach now is pretty neat.”

In addition to being a team rodeo in a sport known for its focus on individual achievements, the KRRR is unique in that athletes from opposing teams compete simultaneously, running off a drag race style start with lights counting down from red to yellow and finally green.

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“When I was in my teens, they had some match ropings down in Oklahoma that ran side-by-side and I went to a couple of those but they didn’t last long,” Pruitt said. “They were fun when they had them.”

While knowing the competition is roping right next to you can create a new level of pressure, the secret, according to Pruitt, is staying in your lane.

“You just have to make your run and not worry about the other guy,” he said. “Just hustle through, throw your hands in the air and if it works, it works.”

Calf Ropers, Start Your Engines

As for the drag race start, Pruitt got a taste of that format at the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo’s KRRR Qualifier back in January.

“I learned a lot in Fort Worth and was glad I went there,” Pruitt said. “It was a learning experience because I had never been in that kind of setup, from the team concept to the way we rope. It’s all unique.”

Timed event athletes have time on the clock to get into the box and get set but must wait for the green light or suffer time penalties just like breaking a traditional rope barrier. The timing involved creates a necessity for good, solid horsepower and Pruitt’s got it in his white horse, aptly named Snowman.

“He’s my best scoring horse, he’s really patient and will stand in there and leave when you want him to,” Pruitt explained.

Registered with one of the best names in the rodeo business, Trouble At The Rodeo, Snowman is eight years old and has been with the Pruitts for three years, with the second half of that time being with Pruitt learning the basics of tie down roping.

“He’s part of a good young group of horses we’ve got and he just started to really get it and to develop,” Pruitt said. “He’s just easy; he’s a pleaser. Whatever you need, he’ll do it.”

“Since we’ve had him there at the barn so long, I know every button on him,” Pruitt continued. “He does his job and has since day one.”

Pruitt took Snowman on the road for seasoning in 2024, concentrating on circuit rodeos and the horse impressed more than just his owner. He was voted the 2024 Mountain States Circuit Tie-Down Horse of the Year and carried Pruitt to the year end and circuit finals average titles.

That win kickstarted Pruitt’s 2025 season and the winning has continued through the winter. He is currently inside the top 10 of the PRCA World Standings with more than $40,000 earned, much of that aboard Snowman.

“I’ve got a couple of mares at home that are ready to go more this year so I’ll have them along too. I’m really looking forward to this summer,” Pruitt said. “It’s been good so far.”

Balancing Big Moments with Life at Home

While another berth to the NFR is always a goal, Pruitt follows his own path when it comes to the rodeo road.

“I rodeo when and how I want to,” Pruitt said. “This year, with how things are shaping up, is the year to try it [getting back to the NFR].”

While the NFR represents rodeo athletes’ best paydays and the chance to rope for a world title, there’s plenty of reasons not to be gone so far from home chasing the Finals for Pruitt. The two best reasons? Daughter Chloe Rose (7) and son Bryant (5).

“It seems like just yesterday I was holding them when they were born,” Pruitt said. “It’s crazy how fast they grow up.”

As young kids do, both are busy with lots of activities and sports but they enjoy riding as well.

“We have some nice horses for them. My daughter has a barrel horse, he basically made himself, but she can do anything on him and he’s handy enough to take care of her too so you don’t have to worry about them.”

For a rodeo cowboy who has spent much of his life on the road, time spent with wife Jenna, taking in all the kids’ antics, has been some of life’s best pleasures.

“It’s been enjoyable the last couple of years,” Pruitt said.

“Honestly, this white horse showed up at a bad time in my life [to go rodeoing],” he joked. “But I’m really glad to have him.”

But while the timing might not be ideal, Pruitt wouldn’t change a thing, recognizing life’s valuable and rare opportunities, including a chance to rope at a $1 million rodeo like Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo.

“I really enjoyed the one in Fort Worth,” Pruitt said. “I’m looking forward to getting the full experience in Arlington.”