Hermiston steer wrestler chasing world championship

Published 6:00 am Friday, July 25, 2025

Dalton Massey of Hermiston competes Aug. 6-9 on his home turf at the Farm-City Pro Rodeo

HERMISTON — A local steer wrestler living his rodeo dream has been near the top of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association tour for the past two seasons.

After making the last two National Finals Rodeos, Hermiston’s Dalton Massey will be sponsored by Good Shepherd Health Care System in 2025, as he looks for his first world title.

Massey was raised on rodeo, with his grandparents, as well as his mother and father, competing – there was no doubt that he would eventually join the family business.

“I knew from a young age that rodeoing was what I wanted to do, but I didn’t know what event I would compete in until high school when I started getting bigger,” Massey said. “Once I started jumping steers horseback, I really loved that rush and that’s what got me hooked.”

Entering the arena

Steer wrestling, where a cowboy literally throws himself off a horse to grab a steer by the horns and wrestle it to the ground, may look like madness to the untrained eye or the casual rodeo fan, however, it’s a simple sport for a rodeo man such as Massey.

“One cowboy jumps off his horse and grabs the steer by the horns while the other uses his horse to keep the steer running in a straight line and, once the wrestler has the steer by the horns, he uses them like handlebars to knock the steer off balance and get the animal onto its side,” Massey explained. “Once it’s on its side, the clock stops and the fastest time wins.”

Massey turned pro in 2018 and has improved each season, finishing in the top 20 in both 2021 and 2022, just missing the cut for the NFR in Las Vegas, the Super Bowl of rodeo.

Climbing the rodeo rankings

In 2023 Massey put together one of the best steer wrestling seasons in PRCA history, winning seven rodeos, including RodeoHouston, the Ponoka Stampede and the Washington State Fair Pro Rodeo.

Massey led the National Standings for most of 2023, qualified for the NFR, and broke a record by earning over $193,000 on the rodeo circuit.

Showing that his breakout 2023 season was no fluke, Massey backed it up with a dominant 2024 campaign that included wins in the Clark Schlosser Memorial, St. Paul Rodeo and Grande Prairie Stompede, breaking his own earnings record by bringing home $199,263 and qualifying for his second NFR at the end of the year.

Good Shepherd sponsorship

GSHCS in Massey’s hometown of Hermiston will be one of his sponsors for the 2025 season as he looks to make his third consecutive NFR and pursues a World Championship.

“My GSHCS sponsorship will really help me get down the road,” said Massey. “It’ll take some of the stress away if I have a slow week or two.”

PRCA athletes compete in rodeos across the country throughout the year, leading up to the NFR in Las Vegas in December, an economically and often physically taxing endeavor that is helped by local and national sponsorships.

As with any professional sport, rodeo takes its toll on athletes, and training and endurance are essential elements to staying healthy.

“You have to be durable enough to have a wreck every once in a while, and still stay healthy and feeling good,” said Massey. “You need to be feeling your best if you want to be the best and beat the best.”

For Massey, who spends so much time on the road traveling to rodeos before the physical demands of competing, durability is important considering all the variables that can impact his performance. From long drives to the possibility of drawing a bad bull or competing in a muddy arena, sponsorship and support from Good Shepherd Orthopedics and Physical Therapy Services will be with him every step of the way.

“Good Shepherd is excited to support a hometown athlete with the skill level and talent Dalton has,” said Art Mathisen, GSHCS president and CEO. “Our orthopedic and physical therapy teams take great pride in being there for him every step of the way as he competes to be a world champion.”

2025 season

“My goal is to win a world championship,” said Massey. “Now that I’ve accomplished the goal of making the NFR, that’s where I’ve set my sights.”

Massey won the Sundre (Alberta) Pro Rodeo in June and currently sits in ninth place, with $66,000 in earnings, with three months left in the PRCA regular season.

Massey will once again compete in rodeos across the country and around the Northwest this summer, including Prineville, Sisters, Union, St. Paul, Hermiston, Joseph and Pendleton in Oregon.

“I grew up wanting to compete in the Farm-City, it’s super special to have a rodeo like that in your backyard,” said Massey of growing up in Hermiston. “I still brag on it every chance I get.”

“Dalton’s a great young man,” said David Bothum, a Farm-City Pro Rodeo Board member and professional cowboy finishing in the top 15 of the world standings nine times, earning nine trips to the National Finals Rodeo. “Dalton’s worked hard and done very well for himself the past couple years. He’s brought a lot of attention to the sport of rodeo, and as a product of Hermiston we’re excited to have him compete in the Farm-City Pro Rodeo.”

The Farm-City Pro Rodeo offers a $50,000 purse per event, including Massey’s event of steer wrestling, and is one of the top 15 rodeos of the year.

“I go to rodeos all over the country and I haven’t seen another rodeo grow like Farm-City has in such a short time,” said Massey. “It’s a testament to our great community and I’m proud to represent.”

The Farm-City Pro Rodeo, where local rodeo fans can see Massey in action, is Aug. 6-9  at the Eastern Oregon Trade and Event Center in Hermiston.