ALVA, OKLA. - Kyle Irwin's 2025 venture to the National Finals Rodeo will be a bit different than his past few.
He was in the building – the Thomas & Mack Center at Las Vegas – working and supporting his friends, fellow steer wrestlers who were battling for world championships. It was a business trip of sorts, because he served as his buddies' hazer, helping line out the steers for them to make the best runs possible.
But there was something missing: His family.
Randa, Tripp, Ellie and Ike will be with him this time, his seventh qualification to the sport's grand finale. He finished the regular season 10^th in the world standings with $113,330 and is ready to battle for rodeo gold over the 10 nights of the NFR, set for Dec. 4-13.
"I'm excited to have my family back there with me," said Irwin, 35, originally from Robertsdale, Alabama, but now living in Westville, Florida. "I love seeing the excitement they have for getting to go back, because they see the work I put in to do this and the time away from them. I don't like to call it a sacrifice, because our men and women in uniform truly sacrifice.
"We get to do this, but my wife and kids miss out on me a lot, and I miss out on them a lot. My kids are watching me and seeing all the work and the practices every day into it, so they get to see that work ethic. Then guess what? Do they want to do that? It pays dividends."
Irwin will be one of nine Cinch cowboys in the NFR's bulldogging field, joined by Will Lummus, Jesse Brown, Justin Shaffer, Rowdy Parrott, Tucker Allen, Tyler Waguespack, Stetson Jorgensen, Scott Guenthner and Bridger Anderson. That's more than half the contingent of steer wrestlers, so there's something special that happened through the season for the men wearing Cinch.
This isn't the first year for that, though. Waguespack owns five gold buckles, and he's joined in the winner's circle by Jacob Edler (2020), Tyler Pearson (2017) and Luke Branquinho (a five-time titlist) as recent Cinch world champions. Irwin has been close; he finished second in the 2014 world standings and third in 2022.
That was the last time he ran a steer in Las Vegas, and much has changed in the three years since. Irwin had his best NFR ever, winning the coveted average championship and more than $150,000 over 10 December nights. He finished the year with $250,000, less than $20,000 behind the titlist, his Louisiana pal, Waguespack.
"The biggest thing that's happened since then is just maturity," said Irwin, who began his career 15 years ago. "A friend of mine made a comment one time, 'You've done a lot in the last 10 years.' I made the finals for the first time in '14, and that was 11 years ago. So, in 11 years, I've gotten married and had three children."
He and Randa are raising kids and molding young minds through their labors of love. Tripp's the oldest, and he will be 9 in January. Ellie just turned 7, and Ike is 4. The family battled through COVID together when the pandemic shut down opportunities in rodeo; he earned less than $30,000 that year. He struggled again in 2021 when his good horse, Scooter, was retired – Irwin co-owned the former Steer Wrestling Horse of the Year with Pearson.
Nothing deterred Irwin, though. He found solace this season in returning to the rig with Waguespack, traveling the country with the champ, Stetson Jorgensen and Cash Robb, that last of whom won the NFR aggregate a year ago.
"I finally realized you've just got to do what you've got to do to get back," Irwin said. "I've had great crews. I've been around great guys, but it just clicked this year. Maybe desperate times call for desperate measures, but it worked. I had told myself a few years ago that I was going to give myself three more years, and then I was going to be done. Well, it's been four years.
"So, I laughed and said, 'That's what I get for telling God what I'm going to do.' I should know better, because He has the final say on everything."
It's a good thing he stayed on the job. ProRodeo has seen a surge in financial rewards for contestants. More rodeos are increasing their purses, which means cowboys and cowgirls are able to make better livings now than ever before.
As a testament, Irwin finished the 2014 campaign as the reserve world champion with $147,599. He enters this NFR with earnings that total just $34,369 less. That's a big jump in a little more than a decade. In fact, 19 bulldoggers crossed the $100,000 threshold in earnings for 2025, but only 15 qualified to compete in the Nevada desert
"It's a good living, and we haven't even gotten to our biggest event yet, the NFR," he said. "It makes you look at stepping away, but then the rodeos are getting bigger and better. My kids love it, and they still want me to do it."
It's the children that eventually lead Irwin to make the decision to hang up his spurs.
"My kids are getting older, and we've got gymnastics, baseball and hopefully football, basketball and junior rodeo, so a guy does ask himself, 'How long are you going to do it?' " Irwin said. "But with companies like Cinch and all my other sponsors, I've been able to make a dang good living.
"Who would have ever thought that the one thing that just got me to college to get the education so that I could make a good living would be the very thing that makes me a good living. The numbers check out, so for now, I think we do it until it don't make sense."
Over a solid career, Irwin has overcome some sucker punches like COVID and a 2023 pectoral injury that sidelined him. He maintained a powerful work ethic, strong faith and vibrant outlook on the sport he loves. He's ridden horses of the year and won dozens of rodeos along the way, and he pushes himself just as hard today as he did 15 seasons ago during his rookie campaign.
It's afforded Irwin a shot at more big Las Vegas money, and, of course, that elusive world championship. This venture also rewards him for a job well done with a chance at quality family time.
"It's a big vacation for them, but it's the most important 10 days in a row of the rodeo season for us," Irwin said. "It'll be nice to have them with me and set up camp, be comfortable and cash checks."