Old West paid out $1.37 million in Heber City, put some of the best rope horses in the industry on display and backed it all up with a horse sale that proved just how fast this side of the business is growing.

Chelsea Shaffer sat down with Rhen Richard to reminisce on the week in Utah, from Richard winning $186,000 on five different horses to what those results say about his training program, his family’s breeding program and where the rope horse industry is headed next.

Richard breaks down why consistency at home has mattered so much in his program, and how the time spent getting young horses truly broke is starting to show up when it counts. He talks through the horses that stood out in Heber City, including the ones raised out of his family’s mares, and why the best futurity horses now have to be built with more than one job in mind.

The conversation then dives into the crossover between futurity horses, rodeo horses and jackpot horses, and why a strong foundation matters long after a horse leaves the show pen. Richard also explains what he wants judges to reward, from scoring and control to a horse that stays true to the cow and looks like it has a future beyond the futurity world.

They also get into the Old West sale, the $1 million bonus opportunity and what it means as more owners, breeders, trainers and ropers start buying into the system. With millions changing hands and more money on the line than ever, Old West is helping shape what the next era of the rope horse business looks like.

If you want to understand where the rope horse industry is headed, this episode is a good place to start.

Check out this episode to hear the full conversation.

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This episode is brought to you by Old West Futurities. Old West isn't just raising the bar—we're redefining what's possible in the rope horse industry. With more than $1.12 million paid out in Guthrie and over $1.37 million paid out in Heber City, Old West has quickly become one of the premier destinations for Heading, Heeling, and Breakaway competition.

With record-setting horse sales, industry-leading payouts, exclusive Sale Graduate incentives, and a $1 Million Bonus opportunity, Old West is where legends are made and records are broken.

Learn more about our futurities and horse sales at OldWest.com.

Cooper Freeman grew up in Carthage, Missouri, surrounded by roping. His parents bought an indoor arena, steakhouse and western store when he was young, and Freeman grew up in the middle of jackpot team ropings, barrel races and weekend events.

By 14, he was amateur rodeoing. At 19, he bought his PRCA permit and made a run through the Great Lakes Circuit. He spent two years at Cisco College, where Tyler and Brittany Worley gave him a place to live, horses to ride and the kind of help that made rodeoing for a living feel a little more possible.

Now, at 23, Freeman is sitting No. 1 in the world on the heel side with Korbin Rice, with more than $112,000 won so far in 2026. They won RodeoHouston in their first trip there, after rodeoing their way in at the start of the 2026 season, and just recently added a win at the Snake River Stampede in Nampa, Idaho, to their list.

Freeman calls Houston the coolest rodeo he’s ever been to, and months later, he still catches himself daydreaming about it. With Rice turning steers and Freeman keeping things simple on the back side, the two are living out the kind of season kids play out in the practice pen.

Check out the episode to learn more about the No. 1 man on the heel side.

About Fast Back Ropes

This episode is presented by Fast Back Ropes. A longtime supporter of The Team Roping Journal, Fast Back takes pride in building quality ropes that offer the durability, performance, and consistency ropers can rely on. With a commitment to craftsmanship, innovation, and customer satisfaction, Fast Back continues to create products designed to bring value both in and out of the arena. Visit fastbackropes.com to shop ropes and gear, find a retailer, or download the latest catalog.

After eight years and more than 3 million downloads, Chelsea Shaffer is handing The Score’s reins to the Team Roping Journal’s newest hire, Calli Montague.

Montague, known to most as “Frank’s daughter,” grew up with a rope in her hand and engulfed in the world of team roping from the beginning. A South Texas native who now calls the Texas Panhandle home, Montague came up through West Texas A&M before landing in the American Quarter Horse Association communications department.

She spent years waiting for her shot at Team Roping Journal, even after getting told she wasn’t ready the first time she asked. She listened, got to work, and came back when another opportunity presented itself in the spring of 2025.

On this episode, Shaffer and Montague sit down for a proper introduction before officially passing the torch. Montague opens up about growing up going to ProRodeos, having a front-row seat to the early 2000s team roping scene, and how she found her way from a communications job to covering jackpots and rodeos full time. She talks about the weekend jackpot crowd and what being a part of it means to her career, how special it is to tell the stories of the ones entering every weekend, and just how much she loves team roping—and talking.

The TRJ ladies also dig into what the next chapter of The Score looks like, including Montague’s plans to dig into the existing archives, shine a light on the weekend warriors and build the kind of relationships where guys call her first when something happens instead of the other way around.

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This episode is brought to you by The Dead Horse Ranch. The Dead Horse Ranch is an elite equine facility located outside of Santa Fe, NM. The property sprawls over +\- 6,100 acres and includes multiple houses, over 100 horse stalls, an indoor arena and multiple outdoor riding areas. This unique ranch is turnkey and offers usability as well as upscale luxury. The Dead Horse Ranch is proudly offered for sale by Michael Gregory Jr. Real Estate. To see more visit thedeadhorseranch.com.

Korbin Rice grew up in Hobbs, New Mexico roping calves with his brother. By his freshman year of high school, they'd switched to team roping full time. By his senior year, he'd made up his mind to rodeo for a living—even though nobody in his family had ever done it.

His rookie year, he and Caleb Hendricks drove everywhere. One horse apiece, never got on a plane. He figured out the entering as he went, and eventually landed at Chad Masters' place in Lipan and the rest was history. From Masters came Papa Rock, the sorrel that Rice owes most of his big wins to over these last few years.

He was crowned the 2026 RodeoHouston champion with Cooper Freeman, won the Ariat WSTR Finale Open with Jake Edwards back in 2024, and is now sitting No. 1 in the world on the head side with $101,329 won so far.

Korbin Rice is a name you ought to write down and remember, we have a feeling he isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

Check out this episode to hear his story.

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This episode is brought to you by The Dead Horse Ranch. The Dead Horse Ranch is an elite equine facility located outside of Santa Fe, NM. The property sprawls over +\- 6,100 acres and includes multiple houses, over 100 horse stalls, an indoor arena and multiple outdoor riding areas. This unique ranch is turnkey and offers usability as well as upscale luxury. The Dead Horse Ranch is proudly offered for sale by Michael Gregory Jr. Real Estate. To see more visit thedeadhorseranch.com

Jake Smith and Douglas Rich head into the 2026 ProRodeo summer run with plenty of momentum after winning the Music City Rodeo in Nashville.

In this episode of The Short Score, Smith and Rich break down their win, which moved them to No. 2 in the PRCA world standings and talk about how building confidence before the busiest stretch of the season is so important. Smith and Rich share how their consistent approach paid off in Nashville’s three-head aggregate format, plus what horses they rode.

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This episode is brought to you by SmartPak and ColiCare. Colic is one of the leading causes of emergency vet visits—and it’s something every horse owner worries about. That’s why SmartPak developed ColiCare, a comprehensive approach to hindgut health and colic prevention.

ColiCare combines targeted digestive support with a program designed to help you stay ahead of potential issues—not just react to them. It’s built on research, formulated to support a healthy gut environment, and backed by a unique benefit: eligible horses enrolled in the program may receive up to $15,000 in colic surgery reimbursement.

Whether you’re hauling, training hard, or just managing day-to-day stressors, your horse’s digestive system is constantly under pressure. ColiCare is designed to help you manage those risks with confidence.

Visit SmartPakEquine.com to learn more about how ColiCare can support your horse’s long-term health.

Sterlin English is used to seeing his name at the pay window. Now it shows up in the cast list of Taylor Sheridan's newest project.

The team roper plays Austin Lewis on "The Dutton Ranch," the latest Yellowstone spinoff. The first two episodes dropped early May 15 on Paramount+, with new episodes streaming weekly for the next seven weeks.

English, who won the US Finals in 2015 at 12 with his father, booked the role right before winning the Riata Championships in 2025. He flew from set to Guthrie, Oklahoma, came back from the 30th call-back in the #14.5 with Miles Baker and won more than $17,400. He won the #12.5 with Trey Southern the same week and picked up the 6-and-under bonus on Shiney Lil Peso.

He filmed for roughly six months opposite Cole Hauser, Kelly Reilly, Annette Bening and Juan Pablo Raba.

The door opened early. English's father once ran a ranch for actor Kiefer Sutherland and worked on "The Cowboy Way." Stunt coordinator Chris Howell gave English his first SAG gig. Stunt work, MMA training with Clint Roberts and a stretch crashing at Chad Daschenau's place in California built the foundation. COVID-era self-tapes brought a manager, agents and eventually the Sheridan audition.

He is not chasing the NFR. He plans to keep jackpotting—the Riata, the World Series of Team Roping Finale—while taking on more film and television work. He proposed to his fiancée, Jayden, on the New York premiere trip after sprinting through DFW with 60 seconds to spare.

His gear stayed his own on set: Cactus Thriller head ropes, Resistol hat, Wrangler shirts, his own boots. But his famous lucky pair with the holes did not make the wardrobe cut.

Hit play for the full conversation.

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This episode is brought to you by The Dead Horse Ranch. The Dead Horse Ranch is an elite equine facility located outside of Santa Fe, NM. The property sprawls over +\- 6,100 acres and includes multiple houses, over 100 horse stalls, an indoor arena and multiple outdoor riding areas. This unique ranch is turnkey and offers usability as well as upscale luxury. The Dead Horse Ranch is proudly offered for sale by Michael Gregory Jr. Real Estate. To see more visit thedeadhorseranch.com

Texas cowgirl Kayelen Helton joins The Score's Calli Montague to talk about balancing a full-time career as a licensed professional counselor with life in the arena, while still competing at a high level in both breakaway and team roping.

Helton talks growing up in Texas junior rodeo, competing through the amateur and college ranks at Tarleton State, and now a mainstay in the jackpotting scene.

The conversation dives deep into the mental side of competition, how Helton’s counseling career has shaped her mindset in the arena, and why routine, horsemanship and confidence still matter more than ever. She also shares her thoughts on developing rope horses, the importance of finding horses that fit your style, and what she’s learned since stepping into the breeding world with her stallion Cat Man San.

From winning on the all-girl team roping side to building a program around horses she believes in, Helton offers an honest look at what it takes to compete while balancing career, horses and life outside the arena.

About Cactus Ropes

Cactus Ropes has been trusted by the best in the world for more than 25 years. Whether you’re reaching for The Future, the C4 or a breakaway rope like the Tsunami, Cactus Ropes are built by ropers, for ropers. See the full lineup at cactusropes.com.

Winter and spring have flown by on the 2026 ProRodeo season with the summer right around the corner. On this episode of The Short Score, some of the spring's biggest winners talk about their wins.

Lightning Aguilera and Wyatt Cox claimed the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo thanks to a $24,218-a-man rodeo. From there, the biggest hit of the year came in RodeoHouston, where Korbin Rice and Cooper Freeman delivered a statement win with a 4.6 in the four-man, pocketing over $65,000 apiece. From Houston to Austin where Tanner Tomlinson and Coleby Payne secured their second winter win with an 11.6 on three head.

The Texas Swing wrapped in San Angelo, where Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueira added another win to their resume with an 18.7 on four head, earning $9,453 each. Out west, Jr. Dees and Landen Glenn picked up their first major win of the season in California, finishing with a 29.8 on four head to take home $10,920 apiece.

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This episode is brought to you by SmartEquine and ColiCare. Colic is one of the leading causes of emergency vet visits—and it’s something every horse owner worries about. That’s why SmartEquine developed ColiCare, a comprehensive approach to hindgut health and colic prevention.

ColiCare combines targeted digestive support with a program designed to help you stay ahead of potential issues—not just react to them. It’s built on research, formulated to support a healthy gut environment, and backed by a unique benefit: eligible horses enrolled in the program may receive up to $15,000 in colic surgery reimbursement.

Whether you’re hauling, training hard, or just managing day-to-day stressors, your horse’s digestive system is constantly under pressure. ColiCare is designed to help you manage those risks with confidence.

Visit SmartEquine.com to learn more about how ColiCare can support your horse’s long-term health.