Tyler Wade and Wesley Thorp picked up right where they left off inside the Thomas & Mack, on a mission to defend their 2023 PRCA world title with a 3.7-second run to win Round 1 and put them back in the lead in the PRCA World Standings Dec. 5, 2024.

After Round 1, Wade and Thorp sit first in the PRCA world standings with $235,424.74 a man won on the year, now $24,417.04 ahead of season leaders Dustin Egusquiza and Levi Lord, who took a first-round no-time.

Watch Tyler Wade and Wesley Thorp Preview Round 1

Wade and Thorp—second-to-last out in the set as they came in No. 2 in the PRCA world standings—were gunning for a 3.9 laid down by Brenten Hall and Kaden Profili. Wade and Espuela Bro, the 2024 PRCA/AQHA Horse of the Year, pinged the start and got it on the steer fast, giving Thorp a chance to take an extra swing and make sure he got him roped on Patrick Smith’s Kadabra King, also the 2024 PRCA/AQHA Horse of the Year.

“He was dead straight, and when I turned him he just hit on the end of it and that allowed Wesley to throw super fast,” Wade, 32, said. “I knew he ran and went to the right, but he handled pretty good, so I was like, ‘Man, if I could get a good start, the start was key right there.’ I got a really good start and then I think I could have pushed my horse up a little bit more looking back at the video, but the steer hit so good that it really didn’t matter.”

“I knew he was going to take a good start, and I just tried to get down the pen as much as I could,” Thorp, 29, added. “He pushed right in the run-through, so I wasn’t going to necessarily try to haze him, but I wanted to get the best start I could because it’s hard to get going fast enough as a heeler here because the header’s leaving when you do, and he got it on him fast and the steer opened up. I was probably a half stride to the inside, but when he opened up Turbo let me take an extra swing over him, so I made sure I placed my rope and then finished really strong. His horse faced so awesome. It just allowed us to really get a good finish. I think that’s kind of the most crucial part about it. We made the same run we always make, but we were able to finish really good.”

Thorp has ridden Espuela Bro in the Thomas & Mack since 2019, winning the first round on him three times. But their 3.7 in 2024 was the fastest time in Round 1 history. (Wade and Thorp are also tied for the overall NFR record and world record with a 3.3.)

“One thing that’s special about that horse is, you show him one or two times and he’s got it figured out, whether it’s good or bad,” Wade said. “But I usually don’t face him around much, but loping him. I faced him a few more times like, ‘Hey, get ready to get around right here.’ I don’t want him to get stuck. And like I said, you show that one and he’ll do whatever.”

Thorp has ridden a stack of good ones in the Thomas & Mack, and he compares Smith’s “Turbo” to the horse he won his first gold buckle on, Million Dollar Lexus.

“When I rode Lex here, he was super free through the corner, so I didn’t necessarily have to bank on a throw,” Thorp explained. “I could be ready to finish strong and place my loop, and that was the horse I got on a roll here in 2019. And I just think he gives me that same type of feeling, like the comfort of not being trapped to throw faster than I want, but also he’s ready to finish at any time. So I think that’s really crucial here.”

Related Stories:

• 2023 NFR Round 8: Tyler Wade and Wesley Thorp
• 2023 NFR Round 9: Tyler Wade and Wesley Thorp
• Momentum in Utah: Wade, Thorp Win Spanish Fork and Ogden
• Tyler Wade and Wesley Thorp Are 2023’s PRCA World Champion Team Ropers
• Tyler Wade & Wesley Thorp Throw Down with 3.5 to Win Round 9, Lead World Into Final Night ’23 NFR

Wade and Thorp prepped for this NFR by ensuring they caught as many steers in their practice as they could, dialing back their speed and intensity at home.

“He went way slower than normal to head the steer, relaxed and finished in the middle of the arena,” Thorp said of their practice at home. “I felt like I took extra swings and finished and we looked at where we were in the arena at all times, and we’re like, ‘Hey, we’re finishing in the middle of the arena using the arena and we almost feel like we’re going too slow.’ And our goal was to both be aggressive enough to turn it up one more notch, but we don’t want to be on full tilt here because then it’s going to just spiral. So I think the main thing we’ve been trying to work on is just slowing down using the arena, using our angles and completing the course the best we can and let ’em tell us we’re not fast enough first.”

Round 1 team roping results