LAS VEGAS – The final day of the 2025 ProRodeo season may have been one of the best of Kade Sonnier’s year.
He rode the PRCA Bareback Horse of the Year for 90.75 points to win Saturday’s 10th round of the National Finals Rodeo, pocketing $36,668. He also finished fourth in the average race, worth another $60,325.
In all, he cashed in all his chips to the tune of $199,057 during his 10-day stay in Las Vegas. He finished the season fourth in the world standings with $360,564.
“I turned everything loose going into that round,” said Sonnier, and two-time NFR qualifier from Carencro, Louisiana. “I knew I was riding for a bigger purpose. I was out of a world title, and I’ve got a little girl to provide for, a lot of goals to accomplish in life outside of rodeo. The money helps. I was going to let it all hang out.
“There are a lot of people that don’t get to see $200,000 in a year, much less have fun doing it. We’re just fortunate I’m able to make a living doing what I love, get to have good friends and get to have my family around me and get to enjoy as much as I do. This is living the dream right here.”
He certainly wasn’t hallucinating Saturday night on Lunatic Heaven. The sorrel owned by Brookman Rodeo out of Montana earned the honor in a vote by the bareback riders who compete on the powerful broncs. She bucked in both the fifth and 10th rounds at the NFR and guided cowboys to the nightly titles both times – eventual world champion Rocker Steiner won the fifth round on her.
“There’s only one word that truly describes that horse, and that’s electricity,” Sonnier said. “She fired out of there and hit right. I knew she was going to buck really hard, but she kind of surprised me on that first jump, and I got a little bit off-centered. I knew I just had to. The harder and faster I spurred, it seemed like the faster and higher she was bucking.
“That’s a special animal right there.”
It was a phenomenal way to close the NFR, the most successful of his young career.
“This is the second time I’ve been here, and for the second time, I’ve put myself in a world-title race,” he said. “The reality is the 2026 season as started, and we’re not gunning for anything shy of a gold buckle.”
