Shad Mayfield and fan-favorite gelding Rampage earned a total of $24,000 during a tough week of tie-down roping at Rodeo Corpus Christi 2025.

Mayfield steadily advanced through the rounds, picking up $5,000 for winning Progressive Round 2 with a 9.63-second run and adding $1,000 for placing third in the average on two head. He followed with a 9.56 in the Showdown Round to earn another $5,000 and a spot in the final three. There, Mayfield clinched the victory with an 8.67-second run, securing the $18,000 top prize and Rodeo Corpus Christi’s signature surfboard.

Despite adding new equine teammates in recent years, the now 16-year-old Rampage remains a key part of the 24-year-old world champion’s success.

“Getting to win on Rampage again made it that much more special,” Mayfield said. “It’s been a while since we had a big win together. He’s 16 now and used to be my No. 1, but he’s kind of been bumped down. He’s been hanging out, turned out at home, living the good life. I didn’t rope on him before this—just rode him one day, brought him over, and he showed up like the good old soldier he is.”

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The right horsepower helped Mayfield focus on his biggest obstacle of the week—the stoplight barrier system. In the WCRA’s progressive format, a timer counts down from 15 seconds, and the chute opens when it hits zero. Once the light turns green, the calf is live in the arena, regardless of what the horse, calf or roper are doing.

“That light system just had me all messed up, honestly,” Mayfield admitted. “I’m used to being back in the box with a specific plan in my head, but here, I’m trying to count down to when the chute’s going to open—it’s a whole different timing deal. I’d be looking up at the clock, then back down, trying to count it in my head, and it just wasn’t working.”

Eventually, Mayfield took a cue from breakaway ropers, who often have someone in the corner call the countdown for them. In the final round, he asked fellow competitor Blake Carter to do just that.

“All my runs were good, I just kept being late at the barrier and having to run them way down there,” Mayfield said. “In the six-man round, I knew I just needed to go catch to make it back to the final three. But once I got there, I told myself I needed to get the best start I could if I wanted a shot. Jarvis [Demery] had been on fire all week, and I knew he wasn’t backing off—so I couldn’t either.”

While some athletes were competing for a chance to qualify for Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo, Mayfield was already drafted to Fred Whitfield’s team, the Sledgehammers. He was simply glad to be competing at another WCRA event.

“I’ve been going to the WCRA events since 2020—I’ve competed at every one they’ve put on, and I’ve always had success there,” Mayfield said. “It’s hard to walk away from that kind of money, especially when they run a great event every time. Even their production is top-tier. It reminds me a lot of what the PBR does—lights, energy, crowd interaction. It’s not your regular rodeo setup, and that’s part of what makes it fun.”

With teammates like Martha Angelone and Stephanie Fryar also competing at Corpus, Mayfield believes his squad has a leg up going into KRR.

“A bunch of our team members were down there, which I think gives us a real edge heading into Kid Rock,” he said. “We’ve already got reps on that red light, green light system, and trust me—that’s going to be the biggest game-changer.”

Although his health has been a concern in recent ProRodeo seasons, Mayfield said he’s managing it with consistent maintenance and has no plans to slow down.

“Honestly, things haven’t gotten better, but they haven’t gotten worse either,” he said. “It’s all about staying on top of the maintenance—doing everything I can to feel right. After I left the NFR in December, I told myself I’m not done yet. I’ve still got more to give.”