By Joel Langton
The 830 Times
The 47th George Paul Memorial Xtreme Bull Riding often has all the drama of a Hollywood script — and Saturday was no exception
Tristen Hutchings had ridden Zebulon, a bull in the Stockyards Pro Rodeo herd, to an 89 to take first place Saturday on the 31st ride of the night. That ride put him in the short round and since he was the last to qualify for the short round, he would be the last to ride.
Friday, Qynn Anderson had scored an 89.5 so the drama was set. If Hutchings rode for eight seconds in the short round, he won. If not, Australian Andersen had his first PRCA win and would be the first Australian to win the GPMBR.
Hutchings, the former college national champion from Sul Ross
State University climbed aboard another Stockyards Pro Rodeo bull, Insurrection, with only eight seconds standing between him and a brand new buckle, a gun from Cactus Weapons Systems, a very nice payday and a chance at a 2025 Ram 1500 pickup truck from Ram Country.
However, Insurrection is one of the most formidable bulls on the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and Professional Bull Riders circuits, as he competes on both. On the PBR, he’s got one of the highest rankings for helping riders meet dirt.
When Insurrection smashed out of the DLP gate and took Hutchings up in the air and around, Hutchings said it was almost like being in an out-of-control washing machine.
“He started to the right for a while and then he spun to the left,” Hutchings said. “It was pretty wild. It took everything I had to stay on him.”
At one point in the ride, Hutchings found himself more on the bull’s side than his back before somehow finding himself back on the 2,000 pound bull’s back.
Hutchings came off of Insurrection the moment the eight-second horn sounded, and he sprinted across the arena yelling.
Meanwhile, Qynn Andersen, the 21-year-old Australian who’d finished the previous night at the top of the leaderboard, was checking his phone to see if he was going to have a great or good payday. Andersen was competing in an Athens, Texas, rodeo after taking top honors in Del Rio Friday with his score of 89.5.
“When I saw that Tristen won, I was happy for him,” Andersen texted afterwards. “He works really hard and deserves everything he gets.”
Hutchings stayed for an hour afterwards signing autographs and taking pictures with fans.
The finish put $16,879.81 in Hutchings’ pocket while Andersen won $8,999.32.
While Hutchings, who has career winnings of $961,614.00 since 2022, was excited to have the check, he was more thrilled to have his name attached to the GPMBR legacy.
“It’s pretty historical to have my name etched in with all of the other great riders who have won here,” he said. “It means a lot.”
Before the GPMBR, Tristen Hutchings was ranked No. 3 in the PRCA World Standings for bull riding, with season earnings of $98,262. Saturday’s earnings may push him further up in the standings and isn’t his first climb up the standings in 2025.
After winning RodeoHouston, he rocketed from 70th to the Top 10, continuing to climb to third.
The second place PRCA bull rider is Stetson Wright, who has won $110,938.65 in 2025. Hutchings’ win could place him a few dollars ahead of him. However, Wacey Schalla who wasn’t able to finish a ride Saturday at GPMBR still sits in the Number One spot with $134,063.95.
The finishers were Hutchings, followed by Andersen. Rounding out the top five riders was Saturday’s Tristan Mize with an 88.5, winning $7,783.20; fourth place was Friday’s Chase Outlaw with an 88.0, winning $5,448.24; and fifth place went to Saturday’s Braydan Kilcrease with an 87.5, winning $3,502.44.
Other riders with qualifying rides finishing in the money were Tyler Taylor, Trent Ferreir and Maverick Smith.
The writer can be reached at JoelaLangton@gmail.com .
