While most college freshmen are decorating dorms and picking class schedules, 2025 Resistol Rookie of the Year contender Jaydon Warner is putting preparation on hold.
Warner, 18, will rodeo for Uvalde’s Southwest Texas College, heeling for Resistol Rookie heading leader James Arviso. But for now, Warner is on the road with his ProRodeo partner Brayden Schmidt, staying sharp at the big-money rodeos this summer.
The Tropic, Utah, native—who spends his winters in Congress, Arizona—filled his permit at his first ProRodeo in Buckeye, Arizona, where he and Schmidt went 5.3 to win $1,298 a man.
Since then, the pair has placed at several rodeos, including Central Point, Oregon, with a 4.9 for $1,731 a man and Newport, Washington, with another 4.9, this time for $1,767 a man. They won over $5,000 on their Cowboy Christmas run, placing at Oakley City, Utah, and Basin City, Washington.
Perhaps their most impressive hits, however, came on rodeo’s famous long scores: Cheyenne and Salinas. Warner and Schmidt won third in the second round in Salinas with an 8.2-second run for $1,923 apiece, and they advanced to the semifinals in Cheyenne.
But for Warner, it was placings at Red Bluff, California, and St. Paul, Oregon, that stood out to him most.
“Placing in the first round at Red Bluff was special,” Warner said. “It was one of my first big wins. Winning third in the average at St. Paul was the biggest win I’ve had—it was special for sure.”
Keeping momentum is crucial at this point in the season and, even though he is a rookie, Warner’s goals for the year are crystal clear.
“We have some big goals set,” Warner said. “We are definitely wanting to be sharp at these big rodeos and keep moving forward—just keep doing our job. There is still a lot of money to be won out here.”
But no matter what the goals are, nothing can be done without a support system and good horses.
“My dad has roped forever; he has helped me so much with my roping from the ground up,” Warner explained. “I couldn’t be where I am out him.” Besides his family, Warner relies on another source to keep him going.
“Also, my mental coach, Lyman Tenney, he has helped us tremendously—me and Brayden—this year,” Warner said. “He keeps us in the right state of mind; it’s been a game changer.”
Warner credits two mounts for carrying him to his third-place spot in the Resistol Rookie standings: “Chuck,” a 7-year-old sorrel gelding that came out of Bobby Lewis’ program, and his solid, 17-year-old buckskin “Lizard.”
Although Schmidt and Warner designated two different circuits before they knew they were roping together—Schmidt claims Columbia River, Warner claims Wilderness—the goal is still to make their respective circuit finals.
Schmidt and Warner will hit Idaho Falls, Idaho, followed by Heber City, Utah, and Preston, Idaho, to wind down their summer run. But with school starting back up in August, it’ll be time to hit the books sooner rather than later.
