Thorp, Wade Clinch Gold Buckles with Late NFR Victories, Success

Writer Brian Hurlburt takes us into the minds and hearts of the PRCA World Champions who clinched titles during the 2023 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo®. 

Wesley Thorp (heeler) and Tyler Wade (header) put together their first PRCA Team Roping World Title together, and their performance throughout the season was highlighted by victories in round 8 and 9 at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo at the historic Thomas & Mack Center.

Wade collected a season-high $308,057 in earnings as he won his first world title. He also placed third in the NFR average, earning more than $150,000.

Thorpe collected $325,284 to win the heeler title, also a career high. He also finished third in the average at the NFR. It was his second world title.

While the victories in round 8 and 9 were nice, the duo still needed to catch clean in the 10^th round to secure their third-place spots in the average to win the title. They went 5.4 in that pressure packed moment of being last out and knowing exactly what they needed to accomplish.

“I was nervous until I got into the box,” Wade said. “I’ve gotten nervous and whacked plenty of them, so I wanted to stick to what I do: be smooth and slow down. I told Wesley I wasn’t getting away from what we practiced. I’d be more mad if I messed up overthinking it than if I just roped the steer when I got out of the chute. Win, lose or draw, that was my plan. This arena doesn’t allow for anything different.”

Thorp also had a steady mindset entering the final round.

“It all comes down to preparation,” Thorpe said. “I spend a lot of time going over those scenarios at home, so I just also try and take the pressure off by understanding that there are times when I will mess up. It could be at a big place or a little place, you’re going to have a bad run. The preparation I put in at home makes me more at ease when I get in those pressure spots.”

Both Thorp and Wade appreciate the NFR and Vegas. There’s nothing like it.

For Thorp, it is a family affair.

“The NFR is the coolest experience because I bring my whole family with me,” Thorp said. “I have two little boys, and my wife and I are gone for 14 days. We all love it. They look forward to coming. We pick out the places we want to eat. We have fun during the day in between the autograph signings and other responsibilities. You can’t beat it. And then as far as the rodeo is concerned, we get to run for that much money every single night and that is something to look forward to, for sure. The NFR is a highlight of our year.”

Wade likes the NFR experience because he and his fellow competitors are treated a bit differently than normal. 

“It’s awesome for the whole week,” Wade said. “We get treated like celebrities, which isn’t always the case. As rodeo cowboys, we don’t really get that treatment all of the time. To get that support from the fans, hotels, sponsors, is special and we don’t take that for granted.”

What Wade also doesn’t take for granted is his partner or that he actually won a world title.

“Last year was amazing,” Wade said. “I never really thought I’d be a world champion. I’ve always wanted to make a living roping to achieve that goal was amazing. Now, it’s crazy to wake up every day knowing that I pulled it off and am the world champion. To go farther than even I expected of myself is very cool.

“I have so much faith in the guy I rope with. He is worried about himself and doing his job, and I’m worried about my job, but our jobs work together. I have to do my job for him to excel at his, so it’s a little bit more nerve wracking. There’s a lot of moving parts, but we’ve both done it for so long we know each other.”

As of this writing in late July, Wade was 9^th in the PRCA Headers standings while Thorp was 11^th. Vegas and the NFR in December was in full view for a chance to defend and continue for both to exceed their career expectations.

“It’s been a fun ride and definitely a better career than I could ever imagine and hoped for,” Thorp said. “To be able to get to this point and keep going is pretty cool.”