Behind the Top 15: Quade Hiatt

Age: 26

Hometown: Canyon, Texas

Career Earnings: $629,914

2026 Regular-Season Earnings: $137,622

NFR Qualifications: 2 (2024, 2026)

Major Rodeos Won: New Mexico State Fair & Rodeo, St. Paul Rodeo, Las Vegas Days, World’s Oldest Rodeo (Prescott), Kitsap Stampede, Cache County Fair & Rodeo, Central Wyoming Fair, Lethbridge Pro Rodeo

Star Horsepower: JJ Shimmer Cat, “Big Red”; Bomb Dot Com, “GQ”

The grandson of 1980 world champion steer wrestler Butch Myers and a cousin to seven-time world champion all-around cowboy Ty Murray, Quade Hiatt turned a 2023 college all-around title into a fifth-place NFR average as a 2024 rookie, missed the 2025 Finals by one calf, and answered it by roping his way back to the 2026 NFR—finishing the regular season 15th in the calf roping world standings with $137,622 won and rodeo wins at Prescott’s World’s Oldest Rodeo, the Kitsap Stampede and the Cache County Fair & Rodeo.

Raised by Rodeo Royalty

Hiatt was born into one of rodeo’s deepest bloodlines. His father, Chad, was the 1992 College National Finals Rodeo tie-down champion and his mother, Tygh, was a top all-around competitor. On his moms side, the résumés run long: grandfather Butch Myers qualified for the NFR 12 times, uncle Cash Myers 13 times, uncle Rope Myers 11 times, and cousin Ty Murray won seven all-around world championships and qualified for the NFR 19 times.

Raised by Rodeo Royalty

“I was fortunate,” Hiatt said. “Growing up, you don’t really even understand it and kind of take it for granted, but the older you get, the more you see it; I couldn’t have had it any better. Butch, he was a winner. It didn’t matter what it was, he was going to win. The whole family is that way: it’s pretty cutthroat, it doesn’t matter if you’re playing cards or roping.”

Outside of his kin, Hiatt had two other mentors in 11-time NFR cowboy Brent Lewis and six-time NFR cowboy Monty Lewis, who both reside in the windy Texas Panhandle along with Hiatt.

“I took a lot from Dad and Brent,” Hiatt said. “Brent, he really just beats the run into your head. The best thing about him is you get your mind strong.”

Made for This

In 2024, Hiatt made all that pedigree pay. He qualified for his first Wrangler NFR, finished fifth in the average—worth $93,856—and closed the year 12th in the world standings with $195,836.

“That arena is electric,” Hiatt said. “I do think that is the hardest place to rope— the Finals—it looks easy on TV, but it is not easy.”

The 2024 NFR saw Hiatt place in the fifth round with an 8.2-second run for $14,127 and tie one in 7.5 seconds for second in the ninth round to win $20,285; after the week was over, he ended up 12th in the world standings with $195,836 won for the year.

Leading up to the little yellow arena, Hiatt’s practice plan is simple: enter jackpots and make as many runs as possible.

“I like to enter,” he explained. “I like to go jackpot. I’ll have a couple of horses to make runs on and mess with. But I don’t like to beat my head against the wall. I don’t like to just run them like crazy, especially real early. I probably won’t start making NFR runs until about two or three weeks before I leave to go out there. I think you just get a hole making runs. The only way to stay sharp is being behind barrier.”

One Calf From Vegas

Hiatt’s 2025 season ended with the cruelest math in rodeo. Hiatt sat No. 16 with $125,322, just $1,634 behind the top 15 cutline, when he backed into the box at San Bernardino and posted a 9.1 that looked like it had locked up a second straight NFR berth. Then his calf got up and he was flagged out, and the No. 15 spot went to Shane Hanchey, who was quick afterward to praise Hiatt’s character.

Back to the Thomas & Mack

This time, the math went his way. Hiatt answered the heartbreak with a full-speed 2026, winning the World’s Oldest Rodeo in Prescott, Arizona, the Kitsap Stampede in Bremerton, Washington, and the Cache County Fair & Rodeo in Logan, Utah, and sharing the title at That Famous Preston Night Rodeo. When the regular season closed, Quade Hiatt sat 15th in the tie-down roping world standings with $137,622 won—grabbing the final spot and booking his return to the NFR.

Carrying him back to the Thomas & Mack is JJ Shimmer Cat, “Big Red,” the sorrel gelding he bought in the spring of 2024 from world champion Ryan Jarrett, a son of Shiners Voodoo Dr out of Big Mama Cat, and Bomb Dot Com, “GQ,” an 8-year-old sorrel gelding by Hottish and out of El Sauz Doll, by Peptoboonsmal.