Richmond Champion’s sigh of relief could probably be heard down the Bitterroot Valley.
After a year of rodeo and countless battles with bucking horses that outweigh him by hundreds of pounds, the bareback rider held his breath as the regular season came to a close. He knows only the top 15 men on the money list make the National Finals Rodeo, and he was teeter-tottering on the edge.
“That was the toughest year I’ve ever had competition-wise,” said Champion, 31, who lives in Stevensville with his wife, Paige, and their son, Forrest, who turned a year old in September.
He’s right. After tens of thousands of miles and about 100 rides on bucking horses bred for excellence, he finished the 2024 campaign 15th in the world standings with $128,965. He slid into that magical spot to secure his ninth NFR in 11 years of doing business, edging fellow bronc buster Tanner Aus by a mere $218.
“You can pick any of these rodeos where that dollar amount comes into play,” he said. “Caleb Bennett taking his re-ride in Mona (Utah) played into it, because he ended up winning it, bumping both Orin (Larsen, who finished 17th) and Tanner down. Jacob Lees went to San Bernardino (California) and won it, so it dropped those guys down in the placing. If those things don’t happen, I’m not going to the NFR.”
Those events were on the final weekend of the regular season. Champion continued to hold his breath a couple weeks longer until an audit was complete, verifying he’d secured his spot in ProRodeo’s grand championship, a 10-round affair that features a $12.5 million purse.
“I’m super thankful, and it’s hard to believe this is my ninth NFR,” he said. “I think the closest guys to me in the bareback riders’ locker room this year will have five NFRs. When you start your career, you think that’s a possibility, because you want to make NFRs and have a shot at the world title, but to have done it this many times is pretty cool.”
He made the championship for the first time a decade ago, won two go-rounds and placed six times. During that NFR, nightly winners pocketed about $19,000. This year’s finale will pay round winners $33,687, an incredible leap in payout. That’s just one of the aspects of ProRodeo’s premier event that has changed since he first walked inside the Thomas & Mack Center on the University of Nevada-Las Vegas campus.
“The money, the competition and the horsepower have all changed,” said Champion, who credits part of his success to his sponsors, Cinch, Yeti, Hooey, Hyer Boots and Turtle Box Audio. “Every year it feels like it’s leaping and bounding toward the better, which is super fun to be part of and see. I feel like there’s a new age of guys that are different than the guys I first shared a locker room with by a long shot.
“They’re a good group of guys. They’re excited, they’re hungry and they push you. I’m looking forward to sharing the room with them.”
There are also other differences. While he still travels a great deal with other bareback-riding wolves who are just as eager, Champion also hit the rodeo trail with his family. It was just too difficult to leave them at home for much of the summer, so the family loaded in an RV and spent weeks together at rodeos across North America.
“We put 20,000 miles on the motorhome,” he said. “It was an adjustment and fun at the same time. It was also a lot of work, but I’m glad we made it happen. We had a lot of really good memories and pictures and experiences … and early mornings and long drives. We had probably a handful of 12-hour drives, but Forrest handled it like a champ.”
When that wasn’t feasible, the Tarleton State University graduate made adjustments on the fly to make sure he hit the rodeos he needed to make. While the family and RV stayed in one locale, he found other cowboys who were willing to take him on their adventures.
“I’d jump in with Caleb and go or I’d get on a plane with Leighton (Berry) and Cole (Reiner),” Champion said. “It was definitely different rodeoing as far as not being in a set group of guys, but we just made it work. It was different every day, but we were able to find our routine.”
With each modification came new circumstances. The rodeo campaign is long, running 12 months from Oct. 1-Sept. 30, with world champions being crowned at the NFR, set for Dec. 5-14. There were many ups and downs that came Champion’s way over that time, but he rode the waves like the seasoned veteran he is. He was comfortable with his work in the winter months at the big, indoor rodeos in Texas, then found a hot streak in the heat of the summer. Things didn’t stay steamy, though, and he found himself falling in the standings.
“It got to a point where I wasn’t drawing good, so I was turning out of some places,” he said, explaining that he’d take a rodeo off if he wasn’t matched with a horse that could help him to the pay window. “Then, all of the sudden, I started looking at the standings and was seeing how tight everything was. I thought, ‘Oh, we’re about to play a whole different ballgame than we’ve ever played before.’ ”
It was a mad scramble to the finish line. Champion sweated his position as the regular season drew to a close. His work and dedication, combined with a little bit of luck, paid off, and he’s about to experience Las Vegas with a strong mindset, a brewing confidence and years of lessons of playing the sport of his choice at an elite level.
“I have been in the gym every single day, if not twice a day, for more than a month now, and I’ll have a chance to get on some good horses leading up to it,” Champion said. “I’ll keep going to the gym, make sure I’m ready and my equipment’s ready and make sure everything’s the way I want it.
“I think I’m more proud of this NFR qualification. I’m proud of them all, but this one means a lot because I had to work so hard for it.”