PRORODEO Sports News February Digital Edition

2026 PRORODEO SEASON ALREADY IN GEAR MANAGER’S MESSAGE

ne thing to understand about PRORODEO is there’s no offseason – literally. Fresh off another record-setting Wrangler National Finals Rodeo Dec. 4-13 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas – the contestants have to reset and get back to the grind. The 60-rodeo PRORODEO Playoff Series presented by Pendleton Whisky began with the Sand O

In 2025, the No. 15 qualifiers were as follows: bareback rider Tilden Hooper ($129,951); steer wrestler Gavin Soileau ($105,899); team roping header Lightning Aguilera ($114,736); team roping heeler Jona than Torres ($111,672); saddle bronc rider Lefty Holman ($144,872); tie-down roper Shane Hanchey ($126,957); and bull rider Luke Mackey ($138,918). To understand how much the money has increased in PRORODEO just look back at the No. 15 qualifiers for the 2021 NFR – which will be five years ago in December. Bareback rider Zach Hibler ($65,381); steer wrestler Curtis Cas sidy ($66,943); team roping header Quinn Kelser ($62,403); team roping heeler Joseph Harrison ($61,688); saddle bronc rider Spencer Wright ($74,061); tie-down roper John Douch ($88,874); and bull rider Ros coe Jarboe ($95,778). The message is clear – cowboys must seize opportunities and be con sistent throughout the regular season to have a shot to qualify for the NFR and chase a gold buckle in Las Vegas. Excitement has never been high er in the world of PRORODEO. Get your popcorn ready.

NFR. That line of thinking doesn’t make sense now because of how much all these rodeos pay. The total payout in 2025 was nearly $80 million and it should increase in 2026. That number is almost mind-bog gling considering in 2019 that payout was only $50 million.

With all this prize money up for grabs these days, cowboys must develop a game plan to get the most out of their sea sons while maximizing their respective event ro deo counts that they can count in the PRCA | Bill Fick Ford World Standings. In 2026, the PRORO DEO event rodeo counts are 100 for bareback riding and saddle bronc riding and 125 for bull riding. Steer wrestling is 85 and team roping is 100. Contestants must

hills Stock Show & Rodeo in Odessa, Texas, which concluded on Jan. 17. That was followed by the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo in Denver, Jan. 15-25, and then the Fort

Worth (Texas) Stock Show & Rodeo, Jan. 23 through Feb. 7

is on tap. Sand wiched in between Denver and the start of Fort Worth was the Division 1 Rank 45 Xtreme

make all the puzzle pieces fit together and also be mindful of having enough rodeos to use at the

Tie-down roper John Douch qualified for the 2021 NFR at No. 15 in the world standings. He’s now one of the top ropers in the world.

Bulls event – Bulls Night Out – Jan. 20-21 – at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth. That event paid out $100,000. This is just the beginning of a lucrative winter run and it is a great way for cowboys to get a jumpstart on their 2026 seasons. Back in the day, the mindset of many cowboys was that they could start their seasons at the Reno (Nev.) Rodeo, which is June 18-27 this year, and do enough to qualify for the

end of the regular season for lucra tive rodeos like the Cinch Playoffs Governor’s Cup in Sioux Falls, S.D., at the end of September. It takes work to make all the piec es of the puzzle fit – and more money than ever has to be earned – to achieve

a coveted qual ification to the 2026 Wrangler NFR Dec. 3-12 in Vegas.

TRACY RENCK • MANAGER OF COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA

Tracy has three decades of experience in sports journalism with the last decade-plus consumed by PRORODEO. He previ ously served three years as editor of PRORODEO Sports News.

FEBRUARY 2026 PRORODEO SPORTS NEWS DIGITAL MAGAZINE 5