Kincade Henry capped the 2025 ProRodeo regular season with a $34,978 win at the Governor’s Cup in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, pushing him to No. 3 in the world standings heading into his fourth NFR.
Henry collected $2,978 for a fourth-place finish in the first round after an 8.7-second run, then sealed the Governor’s Cup title with a 7.4-second run worth $32,000 in the finals. The payday brought his season earnings to $186,718 and gave him momentum heading into Las Vegas in December.
“It feels good to finish off the season like that,” Henry said. “I just wanted to capitalize these last two weeks and finish the year how I started.”
A Season of Highs and Lows
Henry’s 2025 has been full of milestones. He got married, put together the strongest winter run of his career, then had to weather a summer filled with frustration.
“I had a lot of tough breaks this summer and some weeks where I didn’t do my job,” Henry said. “It was still, on paper, the best year I’ve ever had because of my winter. But I felt like I let a lot of money get away. I just had to keep a short-term memory and focus on what was ahead.”
Thanks to a strong mental game, Henry stayed ready for the next one.
“Three years ago, if I’d had a summer like I did this year, I don’t think I would’ve been able to recover from it as fast,” Henry said. “Now I know any calf can turn around the whole year. Every year I feel like I grow as a competitor and grow mentally and physically as a calf roper. The goal is to just keep growing.”
Click here to read about Kincade Henry’s mental strategy.
Cornerstone Horsepower
Henry was aboard Duals Crescent Boon, better known as Mario, for the win in Sioux Falls. At 19 years old, Mario remains the cornerstone of Henry’s career.
“Everything I own, everything I have, is because of that horse,” Henry said. “Whenever I bought him, I was a broke college kid trying to rope calves for a living. Everything I’ve won is because of him. Every calf I get to run on him is a blessing.”
Henry changed his strategy for Mario this year, riding him at the building rodeos and then giving him the summer off before bringing him back for Sioux Falls and the NFR.
“Our plan has paid off so far, and I’m hoping it pays off come December,” Henry said.
The Rest of the String
Mario may be Henry’s cornerstone, but his horsepower doesn’t stop there.
“I have two sorrels, CD and Captain,” Henry said. “Everyone but me won on CD at Pendleton. He’s a trooper and wherever I need to ride him, I know I can get on him and win. I bought Captain last fall before the NFR, and he’s been awesome. It took a little while for me to get with him, but things started clicking at the end of August. I feel a lot more confident in him, and I think the future is going to be great.”
With Mario rested thanks to that early season strategy and newfound confidence in Captain, Henry is confident in his NFR horsepower.
“It’s looking like I’m going to take Mario and Captain with me to the Finals, unless something changes,” Henry said. “Mario’s the man on that setup, and that’s why we gave him the summer off. He gets better and sharper the more you run on him, so my plan is to keep him legged up at jackpots and the circuit finals leading into Vegas.”
Breaking Down Sioux Falls
Henry barely squeaked into the 8-man round after splitting seventh in the average with 18.6 on two.
“I barely made it in the top eight, and I was second out,” Henry said. “Dylan (Hancock) was first out, and we said on the way to the arena that we were going to win first and second and didn’t care which one of us won which. He was a 7.5, so I didn’t have the opportunity to safety up.”
Henry drew the same calf Marty Yates had run in round two, where Yates stopped the clock in 7.7 seconds to place second, giving Henry confidence.
“The calf I drew in the 8-man was amazing with Marty the night before, so I knew I had a good shot,” Henry said. “I missed the barrier just a touch and the calf slowed up and stepped left, so I had her roped deep. Mario might’ve been a stride free, but the calf popped around square, luckily. I ended up being a 7.5 and splitting the round with Dylan.”
Then came the final 4-man round.
“I was last out and there wasn’t any backing off I could do,” Henry laughed. “John (Douch) was 7.7 and Dylan was 7.5, so I knew I had to go at it. Honestly, I missed the barrier an inch or two and the calf was trying, so I reached at her and the rest went smooth.”
What’s Vacation?
The 2025 season officially ended Sept. 30, but Henry won’t see much downtime.
“This next week I’ll go to the Hempstead jackpot, then the circuit finals in Waco and then that leads right into (Shane) Hanchey’s roping and the Fiesta,” Henry said. “Once November comes, it’s hardcore practice every day. I still feel like I’ve got so much room to grow as a calf roper, so I’m going to keep working to keep climbing.”