Cody Wright
Cody Wright is a two-time World Champion Saddle Bronc Rider. His hard work and success has inspired his six brothers and four sons to compete as well. The family travels together extensively each year to compete. When they aren’t competing, they are training on the family ranch near Milford, Utah, where they also help their father and grandfather, Bill.
Cody is the oldest son of Bill and Evelyn Wright. He was a high school rodeo champion and when the College of Southern Idaho offered him a scholarship to be on the rodeo team, he relocated to Twin Falls, Idaho, to train under three-time world saddle bronc champion Shawn Davis. At CSI he studied equine science.
He turned pro in 1998. Cody’s world championship 2008 season was tracked by documentary filmmakers from Southern Utah University and the film “Born To Ride” premiered in Cedar City, Utah, in April 2009.
Leading up to his first world championship in 2008:
- 2000: He won year-end all-around title in the Wilderness Circuit.
- 2001: He won the Wilderness Circuit championship, the Grand National Rodeo in San Francisco and the Eugene, Oregon Pro Rodeo.
- 2002: He won the Southwestern International Livestock Show and Rodeo (El Paso, Texas) and the Calgary (Alberta) Stampede. He broke his leg during the New Mexico State Fair and Rodeo (Albuquerque); finished 16th in the world.
- 2003: He won the St. Paul (Ore.) Rodeo; the Dodge City (Kan.) Roundup and the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo (Colorado Springs, Colo.). He also won Round 3 of the Wrangler NFR with an 88-point ride on Bar T Rodeo’s Robin Hood, Round 10 with a 91.5-point ride on Burch Rodeo’s Mullin Hill, and was co-winner in Round 7 with an 85.5-point ride on Classic Pro Rodeos’ Slick Willy. Finished third in the world standings.
- 2004: He finished 12th in the world and was 10th in the Wrangler NFR average. He won the Clovis (Calif.) Rodeo; the Lehi (Utah) Round-up and the Desert Thunder Pro Rodeo (Tucson, Ariz.). He was co-champion at the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo (Colorado Springs, Colo.). He won the Tour Round and average titles at the Puyallup (Wash.) Rodeo.
- 2005: He finished second in the average race at the Wrangler NFR, placing in six of 10 rounds and fourth in the world standings. He broke his left leg at the Cody (Wyo.) Stampede over the Fourth of July week when Sankey Rodeo’s Long Shot stepped on him while trying to regain its footing. He won the Lehi (Utah) Round-Up; the Old Fort Days (Fort Smith, Ark.); the Southwestern International Livestock Show and Rodeo (El Paso, Texas); the Oakdale (Calif.) Saddle Club Rodeo; the Winter Tour Finale (Reno, Nev.); and the Wrangler ProRodeo Tour Round and average titles at the Clovis (Calif.) Rodeo.
- 2006: He placed in four of 10 rounds at the Wrangler NFR, winning the sixth round with an 89 on Bar T Rodeo’s Fire Fly. He won the NILE Pro Rodeo (Billings, Mont.); the Oklahoma State Fair (Oklahoma City); Famous Preston (Idaho) Night Rodeo; the Greeley (Colo.) Independence Stampede; the Strawberry Days Rodeo (Pleasant Grove, Utah); the Deseret Peak PRCA Stampede (Tooele, Utah); the Rowell Ranch Rodeo (Hayward, Calif.) and Los Fresnos (Texas) PRCA Rodeo. Co-champion at the Heart O’ Texas Fair & Rodeo (Waco); the Magic Valley Stampede (Filer, Idaho) and the Chief Joseph Days Rodeo (Joseph, Ore.). He won the Wrangler ProRodeo Tour Round and average titles at the Caldwell (Idaho) Night Rodeo; tied for the Wrangler ProRodeo Tour Round at the Puyallup (Wash.) Rodeo; the Cheyenne (Wyo.) Frontier Days and the Reno (Nev.) Rodeo; finished season fifth in the world standings.
- 2007: He won the Red Bluff (Calif.) Roundup; the Livermore (Calif.) Rodeo; the Greeley (Colo.) Stampede; the Spanish Fork (Utah) Fiesta Days Rodeo; the Chief Joseph Days Rodeo (Joseph, Ore.); the Western Montana Fair and Rodeo (Missoula) and the Oklahoma State Fair Championship Rodeo (Oklahoma City). He was co-champion at the San Antonio (Texas) Stock Show and Rodeo and the Ogden (Utah) Pioneer Days Rodeo. He was runner-up at the Dodge National Circuit Finals Rodeo (Pocatello, Idaho), winning two rounds. He finished fourth in the world standings.
For more of his career highlights, click here.
All of Wright’s brothers except the youngest, Stuart, are PRCA saddle bronc competitors. They broke new ground in 2014 when four of them (Cody, Jesse, Jake, and Spencer) all qualified for the NFR in the same year,
Wright made NFR history in 2016 when he and his sons Rusty and Ryder became the first father and two sons to compete in the same event at the Wrangler NFR.
In 2020, he joined Rodeo New York to ride with his sons Rusty, Ryder, and Stetson. He and his wife, ShaRee, are the parents of four sons and one daughter. He is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
