Shad Mayfield told us all he would be back, and he kept his end of the bargain. Now he will have to gain some serious ground if he is going to back into the box at the Thomas and Mack Center in December of 2026.
Let there be no doubt, Mayfield is capable of such a move. He is a seven-time National Finals Rodeo (NFR) qualifier who has nearly $2 million in career earnings. Seeing his name listed as “unranked” is something no one has seen in his storybook career.
Mayfield is a two-time World Champion and he knows exactly what it is going to take to make his eighth appearance at the NFR.
The Comeback
Mayfield didn’t just take a break; he had to have his hips rebuilt, and it was major surgery. Femoroacetabular Impingement is the medical term along with a macro-fracture surgery. He underwent this surgery, not once, but twice in his time off…