The Score from The Team Roping Journal

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 to...

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 th...

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 Co...

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...

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 mo...

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...

This episode of The Score wasn’t planned—but it turned into one of the most meaningful conversations we’ve had.

Fresh off a dominant showing at the U.S. Finals, three-time World Champion Jade Corkill sat down for an extended, unfiltered conversation that goes far beyond the pay window. After taking the #16.5 with his son Colby and the Open with Tanner Tomlinson, Corkill opens up to TRJ's Calli Montague about what that moment really meant—and why, in his words, it felt like a world championship.

What follows is a candid look at the evolutio...

The money in team roping has never been bigger—and most ropers still don’t realize how deep it goes.

In this crossover episode with Solo Select, industry leaders break down the full earning potential across futurities, Riata, Old West, Royal Crown, and the Global Handicap System. From 4-year-olds with million-dollar upside to everyday ropers stacking checks, this episode maps out where the money is, how to access it and why the pipeline has never been stronger.

You’ll hear:

After stepping away from competition for two years due to multiple surgeries, 2020 Cinch Timed Event Champ Taylor Santos returned to the CTEC for the 2026 Ironman title for $100,000.

Santos breaks down his surgeries, recovery, months of rehab and the mental battle of not knowing if he’d ever compete at the highest level again. He shares how he decided he was ready to come back, the horsepower that carried him through all five events, how his wife stayed steady and encouraging and what the emotional win meant for his family after years of setbacks.

The Score’s Ch...

The Short Score is back in 2026 as the winter rodeo run is well underway.

One of the winter's biggest rodeos wrapped up in February with the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo, introducing some newer names on top. Corben Culley and Trent Vaught took home the 2026 Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo win after a 5.4 in the clean-slate finals. They pocketed $24,900 a man and join this episode of The Short Score.

The end of February also wrapped up the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo, and Lightning Aguilera and Wyatt Cox came out on top. Aguilera and...

In this episode, we sit down with Travis Browne, a former UFC heavyweight contender who has traded the octagon for the roping box and embraced life as a team roper.

Travis talks candidly about what it’s like to go from the elite level of one sport to being brand new in another, and how quickly team roping humbled him. From missing steers at his first jackpot to learning horsemanship, pressure, and patience, he shares the challenges and the rush that hooked him on the sport.

We also dive into how his background as a pr...

Andrew Ward and Jake Long got the second NFR average titles of their careers and their first world titles in 2025.

Ward and Long went 3.9 seconds in Round 10 of the 2025 NFR to split the round win and take home the average title with a 44.0 on nine steers. It also sealed the deal on the world championship, bringing them to $373,838.26 and $372,091.71 on the year. 

Ward and Long join The Short Score to talk about their run, the wins and more.

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This episode is brought to you by Oz Ona Hot Streak,, the Nebraska-raised stall...

Lightning Aguilera and Kaden Profili topped Round 9 of the 2025 NFR for their third round win.

Aguilera and Profili pocketed another $36,667.95 apiece for their 3.4-second run. They've collected $130,846.52 a man inside the Thomas & Mack to jump from 15th and 14th in the world to sixth and fifth.

Heading into Round 10, Kolton Schmidt and Jonathan Torres continue to lead the aggregate after a 4.3 in Round 9, as well as the world standings with $294,451.12 and $286,185.02, respectively. Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueira have moved up in the world standings again, now sitting third and second, trailing by $19,714.53 and $11,448.43. Andrew Ward and...

Kolton Schmidt and Jonathan Torres not only won Round 8 of the 2025 NFR, they officially lead the pack.

Schmidt and Torres turned in a 3.8-second run for the round win to give them the lead in the average with a 28.7 on seven head and the lead in the world standings with $279,074.24 and $270,808.14, respectively. They've raked in $159,136.03 a man to skyrocket from 14th and 15th in the world to No. 1. 

They join The Short Score for the third time this week to talk through their run and their world-championship chances.

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This episode is presented...

Dawson and Dillon Graham were back for their second go-round win at the 2025 NFR after winning the Round 7 team roping fight.

The Grahams turned in a 3.5-second run for $36,667.95 apiece to push them to fifth in the world standings with $229,858.23. They join The Short Score to talk about their round win, their first solo win.

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This episode of The Short Score is presented by Oz On A Hot Streak, the stallion who brings the same run every time. AQHA World Champion. Major rodeo winner. And the first AQHA World Champion stallion ever to rope a...

Tanner Tomlinson and Travis Graves got their first round win of the 2025 NFR in Round 6. Tomlinson and Graves came within one-tenth of a second of the Thomas & Mack arena record with a 3.4-second run to pocket $36,667.95 apiece.

The win puts Tomlinson No. 1 in the world with $276,605.71 and Graves No. 2 with $242,717.48. It also puts them fourth in the aggregate. They join The Short Score to talk about their win, a horse change and more.

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This episode is brought to you by Oz Ona Hot Streak,, the Nebraska-raised stallion built for both AQHA gold and NFR p...

Kolton Schmidt and Jonathan Torres were back for another round win at the 2025 NFR, this time on their own.

Schmidt and Torres took the Round 5 with a 3.7-second run for $36,667.95 a man Dec. 8. The win pushed Schmidt to fifth in the world with $223,776.61 and Torres to fourth with $215,510.51 on the year. Schmidt and Torres join The Short Score to break down their win.

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This episode is presented by Oz On A Hot Streak, the stallion that wins everywhere he goes. AQHA World Champion. PRCA champion. Calgary champion. And now the first AQHA World Champ...

The reigning World Champs Tyler Wade and Wesley Thorp joined Dustin Egusquiza and Levi Lord atop the Round 4 team roping leaderboard at the 2025 NFR.

Wade and Thorp and Egusquiza and Lord turned in 3.8-second runs to split the round for $32,823.73 apiece. The win comes as redemption for both teams after two no-times for Wade and Thorp and a no-time in Round 3 for Egusquiza and Lord.

Both teams join The Short Score to talk about their Round 4 win.

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This episode is presented by Oz On A Hot Streak, the record-breaking grey from Nebr...

The third round of the 2025 NFR was crowded at the top of the team roping with a three-way tie for first.

Dawson Graham and Dillon Graham took an early lead in the round with a 3.8-second run as the second team out. Lightning Aguilera and Kaden Profili and Kolton Schmidt and Jonathan Torres joined the 3.8-second club back-to-back. All six men pocketed $29,176.65.

The Short Score caught up with the Grahams, Aguilera, Profili, Schmidt and Torres after their runs.

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This episode of The Short Score is presented by Oz On A Hot Stre...

Jake Smith got his first NFR go-round win, taking top honors in Round 2 of the 2025 Finals with Douglas Rich.

Smith and Rich turned in a 3.9-second run for $36,667.95 a man. After the round, they unofficially moved to fourth in the world standings with $194,087.46 and $183,337.45, respectively.

They join The Short Score to talk about their win.

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This episode is brought to you by Oz Ona Hot Streak,, the Nebraska-raised stallion built for both AQHA gold and NFR pressure. Oz is the 2019 AQHA Jr. Heading World Champion, a top-ten heeler, and the first stalli...

The first team out of the 2025 NFR took top honors in the team roping with Lightning Aguilera and Kaden Profili stunning the field.

The pair of two-time NFR qualifiers set the pace with a 4.0-second run that stayed No. 1 for the remaining 14 teams. Aguilera and Profili pocketed $36,667.95 apiece to bump them to No. 8 and 7 in the world with $161,403.70 and $160,203.50, respectively. The round was a first for Aguilera and a second for Profili, and they join The Short Score to break down their win.

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This episode is brought to you by Oz Ona Hot Streak, t...

When the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo kicks off on December 4, first-time NFR qualifier Lane Mitchell will be backing in the box on a 10-year-old gray stallion named Oz Ona Hot Streak, owned and raised by Nebraska breeder Nate Osentowski.

Oz is a 14.3 hand rocket by A Streak Of Fling and out of Oz One Hot Mama, a One Hot Jose daughter. He is fast, honest and about as drama free as a stallion can be. He is also making history. Oz won the 2019 AQHA Junior Heading World Championship and is the first AQHA roping world champion to...

Clint Summers' Mr Joes Shadow Bar and Coleby Payne's Cut Off My Spots are the 2025 Nutrena Head and Heel Horses of the Year, presented by AQHA.

This is Mr Joes Shadow Bar's second award and Cut Off My Spots first.

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This episode is presented by Fast Back Ropes. For close to thirty years Fast Back Ropes has been developing best selling ropes by listening to our customers. Fast Back offers a variety of ropes with a size, weight and style to fit every team roper.

Kaleb Driggers and Jade Corkill won The CoJo—worth $72,000, Bill Fick Fords and Bloomer Trailers on Saturday, October 11, 2025—capping off Driggers' biggest year ever and Corkill's comeback.

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This episode is brought to you by Dechra. Dechra is a global specialist in veterinary pharmaceuticals and related products. Our expertise is in the development, manufacture, and sales and marketing of high-quality products exclusively for veterinarians worldwide. We are driven by our purpose of sustainable improvement of local animal health and welfare.

Dechra’s equine portfolio is diverse andfocuses on mobility, joint health, reprodu...

In December 2025, Lightning Aguilera will back in the box for his second NFR, three years after his first qualification.

The Florida transplant finished the regular season No. 15 in the PRCA world standings with $114,735.75 won on the year after battling it out near the bubble the last month of the season. On this episode of The Score, Aguilera talks about his 2025 season, returning to the Thomas & Mack and how he's preparing for his second NFR.

The Riata Championships paid out $5.5 million crowing its 2025 champions. From the Riata Pro Futurity featuring some of the best team ropers and 5-year-old rope horses, to the Cowgirl Steer Stopping, the stories that unfolded are worth listening to on The Short Score.

Logan Allen and Ketch Kelton paired up to win $149,500 in the 2025 Riata #14.5 Championship after roping four steers in 29.33 seconds Sept. 25. They also won the 6-&-Under Incentive for another $8,000 apiece. Iowa’s Allen was aboard I Got Dibs Doc, a 2020 stallion by Aint Seen Nothin Yet out of MS Docs Poco Leo Bar and owned by Lis...

Who deserves the PRCA/AQHA Head Horse of the Year title? Clint Summers' Joe? Riley Minor's Bob? Tyler Wade's Spur? Or... someone else all together? We deep dive with Summers, Wade, Kaleb Driggers and Minor in this always-anticipated episode.

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This episode is brought to you by Equinety, the supplement that fuels most of the Horse of the Year contenders, year after year.

The rope horse world is about to get another financial boost.

In this episode, host Chelsea Shaffer is joined by Melanie Smith, founder of Solo Select, and Clay Logan, event producer, to unpack the brand-new Solo Select Stallion Incentive Futurity — launching with a jaw-dropping $465,000 payout in its inaugural year.

They cover everything you need to know before entries close on September 21:

In one of the most anticipated episodes of The Score, host Chelsea Shaffer brings back the annual deep dive into the top heel horses of the year. This year’s conversations are full of insight, loyalty and a bit of friendly debate among elite ropers.

We’re hearing directly from the best in the business:

Coleby Payne – breaking down why his bay gelding may be the new frontrunner over the three-time Horse of the Year, Kadabra King.

Travis Graves, Jake Long, Levi Lord, and Wesley Thorp, offering their personal picks, stories, and what really makes a...

In this episode of The Score, host Chelsea Shaffer sits down with Shane and John Philipp of Philipp Ranch to preview their 2025 Production Horse Sale, happening September 6 in Bryan, Texas. The brothers break down the pedigrees behind their standout rope horses, their unique approach to training and development, and what makes this year’s set of 39 head one of their deepest yet.

From proven head and heel horses to standout breakaway prospects and elite-bred prospects, this sale offers something for every roper — including the emotional Lot 39 filly, with proceeds going to the Ace Ashford Foundation.

Wheth...

The field for the 2025 Cinch Playoff Series in Puyallup, Washington, is set after the Aug. 18 cutoff, and the lineup is packed with storylines that could reshape this year’s NFR race.

The top 23 in the Playoff Series standings—plus NFR Open winners—will head to Puyallup Sept. 4-7, with a shot at a $75,000 purse on each end, with as much as $20,420 per man up for grabs. That kind of payday, paired with a berth to the Governor’s Cup in Sioux Falls, makes Puyallup one of the most critical rodeos of the year.

On this episode of...

Karl Stressman and Tammy Canida of the American Quarter Horse Association are at the forefront of record keeping and pedigree information, and The Score caught up with them to talk about what role the AQHA can play in the team roping industry.

About AQHA

From the back of the box to the barrier, and from the break of the steer to the dally—roping demands a partner who knows the job and lives to do it. The ideal partner? An American Quarter Horse. For decades, AQHA has been the standard-bearer, preserving the bloodlines, honoring the lega...

The summer is winding down, but the ProRodeo action is not. From Greeley and Cowboy Christmas, to Salinas and Cheyenne, The Short Score is covering everything that has happened this summer as we roll into August.

Andrew Ward and Jake Long got Cowboy Christmas rolling earlier this summer with the Greeley Stampede win in June for $11,225 a man. And while Ward and Long were amongst the top of team roping's Cowboy Christmas earners, Clint Summers and Jade Corkill led the pack with $29,897 apiece.

Dustin Egusquiza and Levi Lord capitalized at the NFR Open in Colorado Springs...

When TRJ's Chelsea Shaffer picked up the phone to call Bobby Joe Hill of Hill Rodeo Cattle, she had no idea the U.S.-Mexico cattle border had closed just the night before. What started as a routine check-in turned into a breaking-news conversation about a closure that could ripple across the roping industry.

In this episode of The Score, Bobby Joe breaks down what he knows about the shutdown, what it means for ropers and producers, and how the situation is more political than biological. From skyrocketing steer prices to a dwindling supply of cattle for ja...

When a $1.7 million bid stunned the rope horse world, everyone asked the same question: Who is this guy? In this exclusive episode of The Score, we sit down with Mr. Jones—the man behind the record-breaking purchase that turned heads across the western industry.

Jones didn’t set out to make headlines. He thought he was just buying a horse. But what followed was an industry-wide ripple effect, elevating the rope horse market and reshaping expectations for what's possible. From his humble beginnings in a radiator shop to building a successful manufacturing business and ranching legacy, Jones shares...

The Old West Rope Horse Futurity paid out over $1 million in 2025 and saw ropers and horses make history. 

Tate Kirchenschlager and Almost LostMy Ticket won the Old West Futurity Heading for a life-changing $100,000. Coming from second call, Kirchenschlager topped the field to mark a major milestone in his rope-horse training journey.

SLR Swinging Hickory's $100,000 Old West Futurity Heeling win with Jeremy Buhler earned her the title of the winningest mare on the heel side of the rope horse futurity industry.  

Joseph Harrison also changed history becoming the first $1 million rider in ARHFA history. Harris...

When the gavel dropped on a $1.7 million sale at the Old West Futurity Rope Horse Sale in Heber City, Utah, Steve Friskup fought back tears. He'd sold horses before for $1.5 million, but Crosby Ray Von broke every record he'd ever set.

Some 48 hours after the sale, we caught up with Friskup as he'd had time to process the significance of the moment and what it means for the horse industry as a whole.

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This episode is presented by Fast Back Ropes. For close to thirty years Fast Back Ropes has been developing b...

June kicked off with a busy weekend of 2025 ProRodeo team roping action. With rodeos in nearly every circuit, there was a lot of rodeo action to unpack. On this episode of The Short Score, we break down who won what the final weekend of May to kick off June, who the biggest earners were and talked ProRodeo world standings.

More from The Score

Andrew Ward and Jake Long had a dominant performance at the 2025 WCRA Rodeo Corpus Christi, winning $28,000 a man en route to the title. 

With 19 NFR appearances between them, Ward and Long won Rodeo Corpus Christi with a 5.43-second run in the three-man round May 10, to clinch the $18,000 win and secure Ward a spot on the Free Riders team at Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo. Ward and Long kicked off their week with a 6.04-second run in the Wild Card Round for $2,500, followed by a 5.82 to win Progressive Round 1 for $5,000. Their consistency landed them second in the Progressive avera...

Miles Baker kicks off this episode after a big win at the 2025 Oil Can Classic heading futurity aboard Sevens Hank 2—a bay gelding making a triumphant return. Baker explains the horse’s background, why he’s in Miles’ program instead of Trevor’s, and how time off may have preserved his expression. He breaks down the run that earned the high score of the day and shares insight into how short-round judging dynamics favor a horse that stays sharp under pressure. He also weighs in on Nala, his veteran mare, and how the bay might be her biggest competition this seaso...