The 2026 rodeo season may have come to an end, but every athlete heading to the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) in December is getting as many reps in as they can before the time comes to enter the Thomas & Mack Arena.
While it is true that athletes are prepping for the NFR, a few of them stepped out into another arena for a charity event that brought lots of cheers and a whole bunch of money for charity.
Haven Meged Lands On Top
Some of the best rodeo athletes in the world went head to head at the Big Guns in Cowtown charity event hosted by the National Reined Cow Horse Association Foundation during the NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity at the Cowtown Coliseum.
Now, the event itself is a fundraiser and each athlete was given the opportunity to choose which charity they would donate to, with a baseline of $2,500 donated no matter where the athlete finished.
The event is not your typical rodeo, as it “is a high-energy fence work showcase where elite rodeo and western athletes (including team ropers, breakaway ropers, barrel racers, and bareback riders) team up with NRCHA Professional coaches to test their skills riding ‘down the fence’ on cow horses,” according to The Team Roping Journal.
The lineup brought together World Champions and fan favorites from all major rodeo disciplines, including breakaway roping, barrel racing, tie-down roping, and bronc riding.
With 22 elite pairings going head to head in Texas, it’s no surprise that the No. 2 tie-down roping cowboy in the world came out on top.
Haven Meged (coached by Justin Wright) scored 232-points for a $25,000 team prize and Meged to pocket $20,000 for himself. He competed on behalf of the Golden Circle of Champions, an organization dedicated to supporting children battling cancer and other life-threatening illnesses
Great Work No Matter What
Just behind him in the second place spot was probably his biggest opponent in the game, Shad Mayfield (coached by Trevor Carter). His work here earned him 231 points, which just goes to show how evenly matched he and Meged are in more than one aspect of rodeo. Mayfield vowed to donate to the Bank of Clovis & Golden Circle of Champions and will send another $2,500 that way now.
With a baseline of $55,000 to donate, this is one of the biggest charity rodeo events of the year. And while every athlete gets to donate something, Meged’s win will allow him to put even more money in the pocket of an organization looking to do great work in its communities.
The other pairings were:
• Hailey Kinsel (4-time WPRA World Champion Barrel Racer, coached by Abbie Phillips)
• Shelby Meged (2023 WPRA World Champion Breakaway Roper, coached by Todd Bergen)
• Luke Branquinho (5-time PRCA World Champion Steer Wrestler, coached by Todd Crawford)
• Jackie Crawford (Multi-time WPRA Champion, coached by Erin Taormino)
• Fallon Taylor (2014 WPRA World Champion Barrel Racer, coached by Clayton Anderson)
• Chancey Williams (Country music recording artist and Saddle Bronc Rider, coached by Russell Dilday)
• Sarah Angelone (2022 WPRA All-Around World Champion, coached by Ben Baldus)
• Hali Williams (4-time NFBR Breakaway Roping Qualifier, coached by Sarah Dawson)
• Wyatt Casper (NFR Saddle Bronc Rider, coached by Jay McLaughlin)
• Paden Bray (NFR Team Roping Heeler Champion, coached by Nick Dowers)
• Joseph Harrison (NFR Team Roping Heeler, coached by Matt Koch)
• Tilden Hooper (NFR Bareback Rider, coached by Kelby Phillips)
• Linsay Rosser-Sumpter (PWR Commissioner and rodeo coach, mentored by Brendon Clark)
• J.D. Struxness (NFR Steer Wrestler, coached by Clay Volmer)
• Clayton Hass (4-time NFR Steer Wrestler, coached by Tyler Merrill)
• Sage Newman (NFR Saddle Bronc Rider, coached by Abby Mixon)
• Ben Andersen (PRCA Saddle Bronc Rider, coached by Chris Dawson)
• Jacob Lees (PRCA Bareback Rider, coached by Clayton Edsall)
• J.R. Vezain (PRCA Bareback Rider, coached by Taylor Gillespie)
• Clayton Sellars (PRCA Bull Rider, coached by Tyson Benson)
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