The Bob Feist Invitational Cowboy Auction raised $91,000 for youth-focused causes after Tyler Wade and Wesley Thorp donated a John Deere Gator—rallying support across the Western industry for the Golden Circle of Champions, the Live Like Ace Foundation and the World Youth Team Roping Championships.
Brad Pryor of Rafter P Construction in Fort Worth, Texas, purchased the Gator—a vehicle Thorp won as the high-point roper at the WYTRC on March 23—for $50,000. He then immediately donated it back to be resold. After a second round of bidding, Gretchen and Casey Hilley of Rolling Ranch Boutique placed the winning bid of $41,000. Wade and Thorp sweetened the deal by including a week of roping at one of their arenas.
“This was more than we could have ever hoped for,” Wade said. “When Wesley won this Gator, we knew right away we wanted to use it to keep paying it forward. The BFI had nothing to gain by allowing us to auction it off here, but they stepped up and offered not just their main stage for these charities, but also sponsor banners at the 2026 Feist to make it even sweeter.”
Rafter P Construction will have sponsorship banners at the 2026 BFI, the Live Like Ace Foundation and the World Youth Team Roping Championships for its purchase.
“I grew up in [Wade’s] grandfather’s and father’s arena,” Pryor said. “So being able to buy something in support of this cause is amazing.”
Founded Feb. 1, 2002, Rafter P Construction specializes in residential, commercial, and farm-and-ranch construction across North Texas and Southern Oklahoma.
“It was birthed off of not giving up—having grit, facing challenges, and creating something that allows you to give back,” Pryor said. “To be able to give to kids and kids with cancer? Oh my God, that’s an easy choice.”
When Pryor put the Gator back in the ring for another round of fundraising, Wade and Thorp added a week of roping—including lessons and plug-ins—at one of their arenas.
When the gavel fell, Rolling Ranch Boutique’s Gretchen Hilley had the winning bid at $41,000.
“It’s a blessing to be a woman-owned business that’s grown big enough to make an impact like this,” Hilley said. “To give back to kids in need, but also to the team roping community—this means so much.”
Now in just its second year, Wade and Thorp’s World Youth Team Roping Championship paid out $500,000 in cash and prizes at Stephenville, Texas’s 377 Arena, drawing top professional ropers to compete alongside youth from 30 states.
