By Ted Harbin –
Tucker Allen was keeping his emotions in check. He had just dominated the steer wrestling competition at the National Finals Rodeo, winning three go-rounds and lapping the field with a 10-round cumulative time of 46.4 seconds to claim the average title and run away with the world championship.
He was as happy as he could be as he made his way around the Thomas & Mack Center. Then he ran into one of his rodeo heroes and mentors, five-time titlist Luke Branqhinho, the last Californian to win a Montana Silversmiths gold buckle in 2014.
“My emotions that were held in all week and just kind of doing my job,” said Allen, who earned $94,036 for winning the average to increase his NFR earnings to $248,046. “It didn’t really set in until I ran into Luke Branqinho in the hallway. We both broke down. It was a long time coming.”
It was an eventful week. He won the second round, and while celebrating his big night and receiving his trophies at the South Point Casino eight miles south of the arena, his pickup truck was stolen. The $36,668 might have made the downpayment on a new one, but he wasn’t done.
He won two more rounds – he shared the fourth-round with Mississippi cowboy Will Lummus – and placed six times in all. Of his stay in Vegas, almost $154,000 came in the go-rounds. The final bump was the surge that came from beating the best in the world through 10 December nights.
He finished the 2025 season with $398,931, beating the field by $65,000. Allen was just one of four bulldoggers to cross the $300,00 barrier in earnings, joined by Lummus, Oregonian Jesse Brown and Louisianan Rowdy Parrott.
Brown is one of Allen’s teammates. They traveled with Texan Justin Shaffer, who owned the Horse of the Year, Banker. Shaffer won Friday’s ninth round to add to the excitement. Brown finished fifth in the aggregate, and Shaffer was sixth. Combined, the trio earned almost $530,000 on Banker’s back at the NFR.
“This has been the funnest week of my life,” said Allen, 26, of Ventura, California. “I’ll never forget this. I’m truly blessed to be able to do this. This whole performance is dedicated to every single person that was in my life that has helped me.
“There’s a village of them. I’m just so blessed to be able to perform on this stage and represent them.”
