Strong showing for Wilson at Junior NFR in Vegas

Red Oak’s Coy Wilson had another great run at a worldwide completion in Las Vegas, Nev., at the beginning of December.
Wilson once again qualified to compete in the seniors division of the Junior National Finals Rodeo, which features riders from across the USA, as well as countries such as Canada, Mexico, and Australia. Wilson, who competed in the senior division, said he started his bid to qualify early in 2025.
“I qualified for the Junior NFR out of three states: here in Iowa, and then in Arizona and Colorado. You have to do a qualifying rodeo. For example, Colorado is the central region qualifier. Whoever wins that is taken to the finals of the rodeo series, and then the top two scorers in that advance on to the finals,” explained Wilson. “As for Arizona, when you win that, you’re qualified for Las Vegas.”
Wilson said that Jan. 9 is when he’ll begin competing for a spot in the 2026 Junior NFR. While he could just qualify in one series, he makes it a mission of his to qualify in several events before the competition in Las Vegas.
Wilson said the qualifiers went very well for him, and while he was feeling confident going in, a lot of credit belongs to the horses.
“Most of the horses in the competitions where we win I know by now, they’re all great horses. There have been a couple places where you might have a junk horse here and there. But most stock contractors that I go to anymore have got really good horses in the states of Arizona and Colorado, and there are also really good horses in Nebraska. I’d say Colorado’s definitely got the best stock out of anywhere and then Arizona and all down through there,” stated Wilson.
With multiple chances to qualify for the Vegas competition, Wilson said there’s one spot that he enjoys visiting the most.
“I used to always qualify in Iowa. But I’ve also going to go out to Colorado. Colorado’s probably been my favorite place we’ve rodeoed at. It just has great stock, great people, and it’s just fun out there,” explained Wilson.
The challenge of competing in multiple qualifiers, Wilson said, also benefits his competitive mindset to compete against challengers from across the US, and the world. 
“It helps a lot because you’re always on different horses when you get to the finals. If you only get on one stock contractor’s horses before the finals, and at one qualifier, then you only know their horses and you get used to their horses. Where I go to, most of the stock contractors have their stock at the world finals. So you know how many more horses are in the ring, and your mindset’s a lot better. I think it helps with a lot of nerves, too,” advised Wilson.
While he could have competed in a second category, Wilson stayed in one, though that will change this year.
“I could have ridden bulls in the bull riding competition the last couple of years, but I just keep turning them down. The bulls are out there pretty good. They’re a lot better than what I’ve been on. This year, I’m going to start riding a lot more bulls too, hopefully,” Wilson said.
Wilson admitted that for the first round of the competition, things got off to a shaky start.
“The opening round was not very good. My horse wasn’t the best. I missed my mark out too. I had a 59-point ride, out of 100 points, and that set me back and put me in eighth place going into the second round,” Wilson commented.
Despite that rocky start, when it came to the second round, things really went his way and allowed him to make up for lost ground.
“The second round, I drew a phenomenal horse. I mean, it was definitely the horse to win the round on, and I won it with an 82, the highest marked ride of the whole competition in the senior division, though the highest overall point round was scored in the novice division, a rider scored an 83. The horse was from one of the stock contractors from Colorado. Her name is Kaitlynn Hayes, and they have really good horses. That second ride put me in around fifth place overall,” Wilson explained. “It was very relieving to have such a strong showing in the second round, as it took a lot of the pressure off of me.”
Wilson was able to leverage that strong second ride into a solid finish in the final leg of the competition.
“After the short round, I finished in fourth place overall out of more than 20 competitors in the senior division. My last horse wasn’t as great as the horse I drew in the second round. It was a lot better than my first horse. I possibly could have won the round on it, but I also missed my mark out on it too,” stated Wilson. “I was told the horse was pretty good, and it was, but they said it was going to glide the suit and do a pretty big swoop. It ended up not doing that, so I accidentally pulled my feet a little too quick and missed my mark out. I still managed to end up with a 70-something point ride,” Wilson said.
Now that he’s had some time to reflect, Wilson said there are some things he might have changed if he could.
“I just need to put in more work into it and keep working hard. I would have really liked to have won it, but at the end of the day, you can’t pick your horse,” said Wilson.
With the high finishes in the second and third round, Wilson earned some fine prizes.
“I walked away with a little bit of money from the round win and then for getting fourth. Fourth place was the last paid spot in the short round.  I got a bag with a big concho on it that says Saddlebronk and top four. I also got two belt buckles. Then I got a separate check and a buckle for being the second round winner. My round win ended up paying more than getting fourth place overall did. It was around $500 more.”
Now that he’s had a few years of the nationals under his belt, Wilson said his confidence level is much stronger than when he first made it out there.
“The first year, I was really nervous, but also that first year, in the first two rounds I drew two of the horses that I qualified to get there on, which helped. It also doesn’t help that Las Vegas isn’t very kid-friendly. It’s sometimes boring out there because we have quite a bit of downtime as we only ride every other day. I don’t really do much exploring when I’m competing either, since I’m there for one reason and one reason only. I did attend the Cowboy Christmas event this year, as I have every year I’ve gone. So going out there now is definitely not as nerve wracking as it was the first time,” advised Wilson.
One positive aspect of competing for several years is that he gets to compete with friends from all over.
“A lot of times I see those kids when we go out to Arizona or Oklahoma or Texas or Colorado. I’ve seen them all over and then I see them out in Vegas too. Basically everybody you meet all around, you’ll see them out there in Vegas, even if they’re just watching,” Wilson stated.
Qualifying for the rodeo isn’t Wilson’s only challenge each year. Competing also requires a lot of community support, as the trips aren’t free.
“There’s a lot of work that goes into getting sponsors and they help a lot. I have a big list of sponsors that help me and it would be impossible to name them all without possibly forgetting one. If I forgot one, I’d feel terrible. I do want to say that I appreciate them all for what they’ve done to help me this year, and in years past,” Wilson said.
As he preps for 2026, Wilson said he’s going to be training even harder than he has in the past.
“There’s nowhere to really practice around here, so you just need to keep getting on. A lot of kids don’t have anywhere to go in the winters. When it comes to season, when the rodeos really hit hard, they’re just starting so they’re pretty fresh. I’m very blessed that I get to go everywhere. I get on my bucking machine once a week but I don’t want to get on that too much because it goes straight. If you get on a horse that ducks and dives, that’s not going to do you any good, and I don’t want to get used to a bucking machine,” Wilson explained. “I’ll get on my spur board every day and then we’ll start going to the gym. I do a lot of running, a lot of core stuff, to get my core tight and build up.”
Wilson just turned 15 this year, and can compete in the NFR until he’s 18. After that, Wilson has further rodeo plans.
“As soon as I turn 18, I’ll get my permit to get my pro card and go pro. There’s a guy in South Dakota who coaches me, Tom Reeves. I started with him when I was 12. He can sign my pro card. After I got back from Las Vegas, I went right back up to Tom. They have some pro rodeos they put on, and I got on a couple of their pro rodeo horses that were pretty good. Tom is a NFR qualifier at least 18 times. He won the NFR once and he’s in the hall of fame. He was an Olympic coach when they had rodeos in the Olympics. He’s definitely the best bronc rider, I think, out there. Zeke Thurston, who finished fifth in the world this year is also a good friend of Tom. He helps out a bit as well.”
Because of his birthday, Wilson said he competes against older riders in his division, but uses his skills to silence the naysayers.
“We were out in Colorado. These boys there were being pretty cocky. They were telling me I was going to lose and all this stuff. I looked at them, just nonchalant, going on about my business, and I said, you guys know it’s going to be pretty embarrassing when you get beat by 14-year-olds. And they all got bucked off and I won,” said Wilson.
In addition to his sponsors, Wilson said he appreciates the support of all of his family and friends and appreciates when they’re all back at home texting him and cheering him on when he’s competing.