Nine Canadian Finals Rodeo (CFR) qualifications. Four consecutive CFR titles. Nine Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) qualifications. Three NFR average titles. Four PRCA world championships. More than $2 million in career earnings. Zeke Thurston is a legendary saddle bronc rider with rodeo in his blood, and he’s had the opportunity to do what he loves with his family across both Canada and the United States.
Modern Cowboy Magazine spent some time chatting all things life, family and rodeo with Thurston, and here’s what he had to say!
Hannah: Your dad and family were heavily involved in rodeo and the cowboy way of life. What was your childhood like and your beginnings in rodeo?
Zeke: I always just gravitated to rodeo ever since I can remember. I had a pretty standard ranch kid childhood. We grew up on a cow-calf operation in Big Valley, Alberta, so horses and cattle were a part of everyday life. My dad had a successful career as a bronc rider; he went to the NFR six times, the Canadian finals, and won rodeos like Houston, Cheyenne, and Salinas. Every little kid kind of wants to be like their dad, I guess, and that’s all I wanted to do. But both sides of my family are really deeply rooted in rodeo. They coordinated the openings for the Canadian finals and even down in Las Vegas, and my mom did some announcing and ran flags at the Calgary Stampede.
When I was about nine, my two brothers and I started a contract act, where we had a little trick riding, trick roping, and a Roman riding western show act. One thing led to another, and it got big in a hurry. We got hired to all sorts of rodeos on both sides of the border, and we were the Contract Act of the Year in Canada twice. We did that until I was about 14, and then I rode steers at the pro rodeos in Canada, which progressed into the high school deal. I think I got on my first bronc when I was probably 14, which is probably a little young, but it was in a pretty controlled setting. My dad did a lot of rodeo schools, and I’d run around and bug them all to let me get on. Finally, they did, and then I was hooked. I started getting on a few broncs and quite a few bulls, and I actually thought I was going to be a bull rider for the longest time. I took some pretty good wrecks bull riding in high school, and I could see the writing on the wall with the longevity of a career is quite a bit better in bronc riding and now here I am.
Hannah: Four world championships starting in 2016 – walk us through those titles and the years that led up to them.
Zeke: I always figured I would win a world title; hopefully a few of them, but I didn’t know it’d come that soon. I had just turned 22 when I won my first one in my second full year. My rookie year was 2015, and I made both the Canadian finals and the NFR, but I was bound and determined to go back every year. 2016 was kind of a weird year, that was the year the ERA was formed. So long story short, I was suspended for 60 days at the beginning of the year. But I decided I’d go rodeo and make up for lost time, so we got after it and went hard. I ended up having a really good year and gathered up quite a bit of money. I won Calgary that year, which didn’t count back then, but I had a good year. I went into the finals about fourth, and I just went through the week riding my broncs. I think Killer Bee had bucked me off in the second round, but other than that, I rode them all and had a good finals. After the ninth round, I was in second behind Jacobs (Crawley), but there were a lot of things that had to happen for me to win the world. I ended up winning third in the round I think, won the average, and had enough to win my first world title.
Then after the first one, I wanted another one pretty bad just to prove the first one wasn’t a fluke. In 2016, they weren’t expecting anyone but Jacobs to win it. Then, in 2019, I had a really good year and went in second behind Ryder (Wright). I think I won three rounds and led it from then on. After the ninth round, they couldn’t catch me.
Then in 2022, that one was pretty cool, because I came from about $116,000 back, went in somewhere around fourth or fifth, and had some ground to make up. I made some really good rides to win two or three rounds. It came down to the 10th round, and all I had to do was get a score. I had a horse of Sammy Andrews’ called All Or Nothing, and I ended up splitting the round, winning the average, tying the average record, and winning the Top Gun and the World all in one ride.
This past year, I went in third or fourth, but I went out there and won three rounds, put together some good rides and kind of knocked on the door the whole time. It was a good battle between myself, Sage (Newman), and Kade (Bruno) all week, and it came down to the last round again. I just had to get a score and stay on, and it wasn’t an ideal situation with that horse, but we made the best of it.
Hannah: Qualifying for the NFR every year since 2015, how have things changed for you throughout your career?
Zeke: It’s changed a lot as far as bronc riding goes. The horses have really come on and changed a lot in the last 10 years. The group of bronc riders going now is a tough crowd, and it’s as competitive as it’s ever been. It is really a crowd-pleasing event to watch just because of the guys that are in it. It’s a grind to make it every year. It’s a lot of miles and a lot behind the scenes that most people don’t see, but it’s a pretty awesome way to make a living for sure.
Hannah: What are your thoughts on Canadian rodeo and competing on both sides of the border?
Zeke: There is a minimum of 15 rodeos to be eligible for the Canadian finals, and they have about 45 events a year, so we’ll do quite a bit of rodeoing up there. The best bucking horses in the world come from Canada. All these guys in the States that have good horses, their horses have Canadian influence. So, we have great broncs up there and it goes hand in hand with the riders. When you have great broncs, you have great bronc riders. You might have to sacrifice some rodeos down south and vice versa to rodeo in both places, but it is really cool to go to the Canadian finals. It’s usually two to three weeks before the NFR with lots of stock that will also be headed to Vegas. It is the next best rodeo finals you can go to.
Hannah: Rodeoing from Canada, what does life look like for you balancing rodeo, family, and ranching?
Zeke: I knew right away that this was probably what I was going to do for a living, and when we had our first child, I invested some of my winnings into a little property down here in Stockdale, Texas for when I have to be down here for the winter rodeos. Every winter after Christmas, we load the family up, bring some horses, and come to our little place down here to go to all the rodeos together. Then, in April, we will take everybody back to Alberta where some of the Canadian spring rodeos are starting to kick off. My wife and I run grass yearlings, so we usually start getting yearlings at about that time of year. I get to be home quite a bit in the spring going to Canadian rodeos; then once June hits, we get pretty busy until the end of the season.
When we’re in Texas, we bring some horses, and I recently started raising some horses. I’ve got some two and three-year-olds, so I ride colts, and my wife likes to breakaway rope, so she has a couple of her horses. We just spend our days making entertainment out of horses. Then, when we go home, it’s a pretty typical ranch lifestyle – building fence, checking fence, or processing yearlings.
What are your plans for the rest of your career?
As far as the rest of my career, I haven’t put too much thought into that. These are probably the best years that I have left, whether it’s four, five, six, or seven years, but I don’t think I’m going to hang around too long past my prime. Everything is changing with the kids getting older, and I’m sure as they start getting into their own things, we’ll want to be home more but at the same time, they love what I do, and they like to cheer Dad on and go to the rodeos. It’s really special to share that with them.
