Flagged for What? Stetson Wright Rides Clean, Judges Ride Blind at NFR Round 6!

A clean ride, a silent explanation, and a crowd of fans who watched it happen in real time.

X-Files | CommonX

National Finals Rodeo, Night 6 — saddle bronc riding, the event where legends earn their names the hard way. On Night 6, Stetson Wright delivered exactly what fans tuned in for: a controlled, rhythmic ride with the kind of spur cadence that separates contenders from champions. It was one of those rides where you lean forward halfway through, because you already know he’s got it covered.

Then the scoreboard detonated the moment: NO SCORE.

No score? Flagged for what, exactly? The mark-out looked above shoulder level at the first jump. The feet were set, the rhythm was tight, and the bronc gave enough kick to make the ride count. No free-hand touch, no tangle, no stumble, no slip. Eight clean seconds. The kind of ride that gets replayed for a reason. But the only thing replayed was confusion.

Here’s the brutal truth: the NFR can wipe a cowboy’s entire ride away in the blink of an eye, based on one microscopic technical moment that no one sees, no one hears about, and no one explains. The mark-out rule is strict — the rider’s spurs must be above the horse’s shoulders at the exact moment the bronc leaves the chute. If a judge sees that alignment off by an inch, the entire ride gets incinerated. Eight seconds of control becomes worthless.

That precision is what makes bronc riding a pure art. But when the sport refuses to show fans the technical breakdown, it becomes something else: a mystery.

And that’s where rodeo needs to wake up. Fans aren’t asking for handouts, free points, or special treatment for big names. What they’re asking for is transparency. If a ride this clean earns a no-score, then show us why. Replay the mark-out angle. Slow it down. Circle the mistake. Educate the audience the same way other sports do when a ruling decides the event.

This isn’t disrespect to judges. It’s respect for the cowboys who put their bodies on the line and deserve clarity when their score is erased.

Fans watching at home aren’t distracted by beer cups and fireworks. They’re locked in, staring at spurs, timing, and technique. Real rodeo fans watch for the details. On Night 6, watching from home on the Cowboy Channel — like so many fans do every year — that ride looked clean from horn to last second. If the judges saw something invisible to thousands of fans, then the sport owes an explanation, not silence.

Stetson Wright didn’t get bucked off. He didn’t break a rule visibly. He didn’t lose control. The commentator even said he didn’t agree with it? So what’s the problem judge? Huh?

He lost to a scoreboard that never showed its reasoning.

If rodeo wants to grow with modern audiences, it needs to do what every tight-ruled sport does: show the call, not just make it. Explain the no-scores as clearly as scores. Let fans see why a ride that looks clean isn’t.

Until that happens, we’ll trust the saddles, the athletes, and the broncs we just watched with our own eyes. And on NFR Night 6, one thing was obvious:

Stetson Wright rode clean. The judges rode blind.

CommonX supports the sport and its cowboys.

This isn’t about attacking judges — it’s about asking for visible, consistent scoring that protects the riders and the fans who love this sport.