Braylon Tryan moved to No. 2 in the Resistol Rookie heeler standings with $21,725.95 won after placing at the 2026 Music City Rodeo and Rodeo Corpus Christi.
Tryan, the 18-year-old Lipan, Texas, native, added $5,067 to his rookie-year earnings in Nashville behind Kolby Krieger. On their first steer—which they roped in 6.2 seconds at the Williamson County AG Expo Park in Franklin, Tennessee—it was a finish-the-course type of situation.
“We had a little stronger steer, and he was kind of beating us out of the chute a little bit,” Tryan said. “We’re just glad we got him caught.”
They came back with a stronger run on their second one, where they were 5.3.
“We had a really good steer, felt like we made a good run, got a good finish and set us up pretty good for the last one,” Tryan said.
Ending the week under the lights of Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Krieger and Tryan were 4.2 on their last steer to split fourth in the round and pocket $1,527 each, putting them third in the average with a 15.7 on three head for another $3,540 a man.
“That one was good,” Tryan said. “We had another good steer we really liked, and he stuck it on him really fast, and I just tried to do my job and catch two feet.”
For Tryan, Nashville was just what the doctor ordered heading into his first summer on the ProRodeo road.
“It was definitely the coolest rodeo I’ve ever been to,” Tryan said. “We were right in town roping in the hockey stadium. It was pretty cool, pretty unique really.”
Nashville was not the first time Krieger and Tryan made a short setup pay off this spring. At Rodeo Corpus Christi, they were 3.7 seconds to split second in the first round for $4,631 a man, then finished sixth in the average for another $3,004 each.
“We had a good steer, straighter and sharper, and he spun him really fast,” Tryan said of Corpus. “I didn’t really do anything too special. He did all the work really. I just heeled him and tried to dally as fast as I could and get the run stopped.”
Tryan said the shorter setups have fit their run, especially with Krieger’s horsepower and ability to get steers handled fast.
“The rodeos we placed at were all shorter setups, and he’s got this really good horse that he goes at them really hard on,” Tryan said. “He does a great job heading them and handling them good. I feel like our run’s set up pretty good.”
The checks with Krieger have helped Tryan carry on the momentum that he and three-time world champion dad, Clay, started back in April. Team Tryan won Belton, Texas, in February with a 3.9-second run for $2,059 each; placed at Logandale, Nevada, with runs of 5.0 and 4.9 seconds to finish second in the average with a 9.9 on two for $4,303 each; and placed in the first round at Red Bluff, California, with a 7.5 for $1,566.
“We won quite a bit at Logandale, that helped a lot,” Braylon said. “I didn’t really rope great for him that week, but it was fun going out there.”
Roping with his dad comes with a lot of outside expectations due to Clay’s resume, which includes more than $3 million in ProRodeo earnings and five gold buckles. But Braylon said he doesn’t feel the pressure the way people assume he does.
“I’m pretty numb to all that,” he said. “I don’t really feel like there’s much pressure. Everyone’s always saying heeling for my dad, it’s got to be a lot of pressure. I don’t look at it as that. I look at him as he’s my partner in the box, not my dad. We’re trying to catch the steer at the same time together.”
Still, this year feels different. Braylon grew up going to the rodeos he is now entering. His older brother, Tyler, was crowned the Resistol Rookie Header of the Year in 2023, and Braylon will now spend the summer rodeoing with him.
“I’m getting to go to all the rodeos that I grew up watching or watching the slack at or in person,” he said. “Now I get to actually go to them and rope at them. It’s pretty cool and I’m really excited about it. It’s a completely different feel. It’s way bigger than what I’ve ever done, but it’s exciting. I’ll get to be around Tyler a lot this year. I’ll see him at every rodeo and it’ll be pretty cool to get to do it together, try to win the rookie and do the same thing.”
The plan now is to start roping with Cyle Denison from Woodward, Oklahoma, on through the rest of the year. While the rookie race is the goal right in front of him, Tryan is not putting a ceiling on what he wants his first full ProRodeo season to be.
“The goal, which I know people might not think that it’s possible, but always is to try to make the NFR,” Tryan said. “But whenever they load the steer in the chute, your job is to catch him—don’t think too far ahead. You can’t play mind games with yourself. Whenever he turns, you got to heel.”
That game plan will carry him into the summer run that includes Reno Rodeo—one he grew up watching from the other side of the arena.
“Just being a kid, always running around, roping a dummy, watching them rope—it was pretty cool,” Tryan said. “Getting to rope at a big rodeo like that, I think it’s going to feel pretty sweet really. That’s probably one of the best memories is just hanging out at that rodeo.”