Nuce, Ted
Bull Riding • Inducted 2009
The PRCA Rookie of the Year in 1980, when just a year out of Manteca (Calif.) High School, Ted Nuce competed in his first National Finals Rodeo at 21 and was as consistent as any bull rider of his era. Nuce won the world championship in 1985 and finished as reserve world champion four times, in 1986-88 and 1991, losing the 1987 title to Lane Frost by slightly more than $4,000. Nuce claimed his 1985 gold buckle by scoring a 90-point ride on Ivy’s No. 189 in the last round of the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, pushing aside fellow ProRodeo Hall of Fame inductee Tuff Hedeman. Nuce qualified for the National Finals Rodeo in bull riding a record 14 consecutive years (1982-95) and shares the event record for total appearances (also 14) with Wacey Cathey. He won two gold medallions for the United States in the bull riding and team competitions in the 1988 Winter Olympic Command Performance Rodeo in Calgary, Alberta.
Accolades
Biography
World Championships: 1
Bull Riding: 1985
National Finals Rodeo Average Champion
Bull Riding: 1985
Rookie of the Year
Bull Riding: 1980
RAM Circuit Finals Rodeo Champion
Bull Riding: 1996
RAM Circuit Year-End Champion
California Circuit:
Bull Riding: 1982, 1983, 1985, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994
Olympic Medals
Gold – Bull Riding – 1988 Calgary Stampede Challenge Cup
Born: January 19, 1961 in Manteca, California
Joined the PRCA: 1980
NFR Qualifications: 14
Rodeo Championships
Clovis Rodeo / Clovis, CA
Bull Riding: 1986
Cody Stampede / Cody, WY
Bull Riding: 1981
Dodge City Roundup / Dodge City, KS
Bull Riding: 1990
Ellensburg Rodeo / Ellensburg, WA
Bull Riding: 1983
Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo / Fort Worth, TX
Bull Riding: 1990
Greeley Stampede / Greeley, CO
Bull Riding: 1995
Iowa’s Championship Rodeo / Sidney, IA
Bull Riding: 1988, 1993
National Western Stock Show & Rodeo / Denver, CO
Bull Riding: 1987 (tie)
Red Bluff Round-Up / Red Bluff, CA
Bull Riding: 1991, 1994
Redding Rodeo / Redding, CA
Bull Riding: 1983 (tie), 1991
Rowell Ranch Rodeo / Hayward, CA
Bull Riding: 1984
World’s Oldest Rodeo Prescott Frontier Days / Prescott, AZ
Bull Riding: 1984
