Reigning PRCA World Champion Team Ropers Tyler Wade and Wesley Thorp are jumping into the deep end. The duo is entered in the 2026 Cinch Timed Event Championship, March 5–7 at the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, Oklahoma—where they’ll swap their usual groove for five grueling events over three days.
It’s the first Ironman appearance for Wade, a two-time World Champion, and Thorp, a three-time gold buckle holder. They’ll try to stay alive through 25 head—in heading, calf roping, heeling, steer wrestling and steer roping—against the most well-rounded cowboys in rodeo, including nine returning CTEC champions.
Full List: 2026 Cinch Timed Event Championship Contestants
Thorp has been circling the idea for a while.
“I’ve always watched the Timed Event, but the last couple years I’ve followed it pretty close,” Thorp, 29, of Stephenville, Texas, said. “It’s just different. Kind of like a marathon. You’ve got to stay hooked and locked in, and I like stuff like that.”
The reality? He hasn’t tie-down roped in over a decade. He’s never tripped a steer. And steer wrestling? Let’s just say that’s still hypothetical.
“It’s all way out of my comfort zone, but I’m not getting any younger,” Thorp laughed. “I figured I’d rope some calves for fun again, get a little itch, and then I was like, ‘maybe I should try it.’ It’s just something to work toward.”
All jokes aside, though, Wade and Thorp both grew up competing in the all-around.
Fun fact? Wade and Thorp both held arena records in the goat tying in junior rodeo. Wade, for his part, is a former National Junior High Rodeo Association National Champion in the goat tying in fact, and he kept after all-around competition through high school, where he headed, heeled and bull dogged. He even had the help of fellow Ironman Clayton Hass in the bull dogging, who hazed for Wade in high school.
Thorp loved to rope calves growing up, but when he really started to stand out in the heeling in junior high, he narrowed his focus. But Thorp does love a good ranch rodeo team—he and Wade always at least give it a go at the Cody Nessmith’s ranch rodeo—and he was 3.1 in the heading with Kaleb Driggers on the heels at The American Rodeo semifinals in 2020 at Northside.
The idea really clicked when Wade—never one to miss a challenge or a chance to roast his partner—suggested they enter the Cinch Timed Event Championship together.
“Wade was like, ‘Well, if we’re gonna try this, let’s do it the same year. We can swap horses and suffer together,’” Thorp said. “That kind of sealed it.”
The plan now includes some strategic horse-sharing. Wade’s new head horse, Shimmy (at 16+ hands), came from Monty Lewis, and he’s built like a freight train, which may come in handy for the bigger calves. Thorp plans to heel on RS Playboys Doc Rea—the jackpot mare he calls Rosa—head on one of Wade’s horses, and has a steer horse in training to practice on. He’ll likely borrow one for competition. For the bulldogging, he’s leaning on veteran help—and a healthy dose of optimism.
“Jace Melvin’s helping me with that one. He’s got a horse and said I could ride—an easy one. So that’s probably the route,” Thorp said. “Obviously, the bulldogging is the biggest hurdle. But I don’t want to just cold turkey it. I’m going to throw the dummy, maybe get some chute dogging in this fall. Try to build some kind of foundation.”
If his plan sounds like it might be built more on grit than anything, Thorp’s aware.
“I mean, maybe I’m not as nervous as I should be,” he shrugged. “That could just be a lack of self-awareness.”
Thorp’s family—from their ranch in Throckmorton, Texas—is all in, though.
“My granddad marked it on the calendar,” Thorp said. “He’ll be there. Everyone’s kind of excited — even if they’re mostly just worried about the bulldogging.”
Thorp’s two sons are more confused than anything.
“They didn’t even know I could rope calves,” Thorp said. “They think it’s hilarious. They’re still trying to figure out what the Timed Event even is. They’re like, ‘Wait, you’re going to bulldog too?!’”
(Not to bury the lead, but Thorp is cracking back out in the tie-down roping at the Pendleton Roundup this morning in the slack, so tune in to the Cowboy Channel’s stream of it to see how he does.)
As for Wade’s reasoning?
“I’ve always wanted to try it once,” Wade, 33, of Terrell, Texas, said. “I’ve been called a lot of things but Ironman is not one of them—and we’re looking to change that.”
The two plan to share help and resources and horses together before March. Thorp plans to start chute dogging this fall while he preps for the NFR (he’s sixth in the PRCA world standings as of Sept. 9, with $141,512.32 won on the year). And Wade says he will start his bull dogging practice after he gets through the 2025 NFR. He too has $141,512 won on the year, and he’s seventh in the PRCA world standings.
“Honestly, we’re on tryouts,” Thorp joked. “Guys have offered to help, but I think they’re waiting on video proof that we’re going to practice. I might have to send them a backyard MMA match and a calf roping reel before they make the drive.”
For all the jokes, Thorp does have a clear goal.
“I want to make it past the first cut,” Thorp said. “I want to run all 25 head. That’s the bar I’ve set. I want to stay in the fight all weekend.”
If nothing else, rodeo fans can count on Wade and Thorp to make the 2026 Ironman unpredictable—and perhaps even more entertaining.
—TRJ—
