A PRCA grievance decision affected the last heeling qualification position for the 2023 National Finals Rodeo. The announcement recorded in this archive reversed an earlier grievance involving Coleby Payne and allowed Tyler Worley to compete as the fifteenth heeler.
Team roping at the 2023 NFR paired two distinct jobs: a header caught the front of the steer, while a heeler completed the run at the hind feet. Both athletes needed a clean, coordinated effort for the team to record a competitive time.
Don Mayo, whose bareback riding career included three National Finals Rodeo qualifications, died in May 2023. PRCA's published remembrance records his NFR appearances from 1961 through 1963 and a runner-up finish in the 1962 world standings.
James Fain spent decades documenting rodeo, preserving the athletes, horses and arena moments that make up the sport's visual history. Tributes published in May 2023 recognized his long career and his contribution to the photographic record of professional and youth competition.
The March 2023 archive reported that Orin Larsen was preparing to return at RodeoHouston after the thumb injury that ended his 2022 NFR. The earlier injury occurred during the third round in Las Vegas and was followed by surgery in December.