The Resistol Rookie of the Year contenders of 2025 did not disappoint, with James Arviso and Nicky Northcott in the driver’s seat as the ProRodeo season comes to a close.
The season will wrap up Sept. 30, and the Resistol Rookie race has only a few days left. Arviso, 22, is in the lead for the Resistol Rookie Header of the Year with $54,037 won. Arviso, who teamed up with 2024 Resistol Rookie Heeler of the Year Logan Moore, earned most of his money during Cowboy Christmas after a $22,000 week. Another highlight of the Seba Dalkai, Arizona, cowboy’s summer was the record-setting run he and Moore put together in Burley, Idaho.
While all standings are unofficial, Riley Kittle of Stephenville, Texas, is second in the Resistol Rookie Header race with $41,300. Sitting third, Red Oak, Texas, native Devon Johnson has $37,936. Wawa Ben of Peridot, Arizona, is fourth with $35,531, and Ty Vaile of Babb, Montana, rounds out the top five with $28,293.
For the Resistol Rookie Heeler of the Year standings, 18-year-old Northcott is playing a different ballgame. He currently has $111,029 won and sits No. 12 in the world standings with a chance to make his first NFR and become the first Resistol Rookie of the Year to qualify since Junior Nogueira did so in 2014. Northcott and two-time world champion Clay Smith partnered up in April 2025 and, after a second-place finish in Puyallup, have nearly sealed the deal for a trip to Las Vegas in December. Northcott’s final chance to add to his earnings will come at the Governor’s Cup in Sioux Falls, where he and Smith are gunning for the $55,822 payout up for grabs.
Tropic, Utah, native Jaydon Warner is second in the Resistol Rookie Heeler standings with $45,973 won, while Reece Wadhams of Phoenix, Arizona, is third with $38,170. Brandon Ben of Peridot, Arizona, is fourth with $35,531, and Breck Ward of Jerome, Idaho, is fifth with $33,545.
Once the 2025 ProRodeo season officially ends, the final Resistol Rookie of the Year results and season earnings will be announced.