Kolton Schmidt and Will Woodfin made the most of a last-minute partnership at the 2025 San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo, roping three steers in 14.0 seconds to take the average title for $8,287 a man April 18.
For Schmidt, a two-time NFR qualifier from Barrhead, Alberta, the $9,720-a-man trip to San Angelo pushed him to 17th in the PRCA world standings. On the heel side, Marshall, Texas’ Woodfin—the 2013 Resistol Rookie Heeler of the Year—jumped to No. 30.
The Team Roping Journal caught up with Woodfin to talk about the their rodeo plans and where they’re headed next.
TRJ: What does it mean to win San Angelo for the first time and to head into the spring with this major win?
Will Woodfin: It’s a good win. I really haven’t done a whole lot of good this winter, and this is a good jump for having a chance to get to the circuit finals. And for the standings, too. I’m not real sure what my plans are right now for this year but, either way, it comes at a good time. It’s never a bad time, I guess. I’m happy about it.
TRJ: Will we see you on the road much this year?
WW: I really don’t know exactly what I’m doing yet. I’m kind of just trying to feel my way through it a little bit. I took some time off there for a little while, and then last year I went in July to try to get into the winter rodeos and roped with Riley Kittle. Then he and I did something different here recently. So, I’m just trying to figure out what I need to do for the rest of the year—what’s the best decision for me and my family.
TRJ: How did you and Kolton get partnered up in San Angelo?
WW: Whenever Riley started doing something different, he started roping with Landen Glenn, who Kolton was roping with. So we were both kind of just in limbo at the moment, and the books were closing on San Angelo and the BFI and all that. So, we roped there and the BFI, and now we’re just trying to see what happens in the future, I guess.
I think both of us, we’re kind of jus winging it a little bit, feeling our way through and trying to figure out what we both need to do. But we’re going to rope in May at some of the circuit rodeos here and then just see what happens.
[Winning San Angelo] would be special either way, but I’m glad it worked for both of us since we were kind of last minute, but it still worked out where we could do some good.
TRJ: What did your runs look like?
WW: The first steer we had was really good. I thought Kolton did a great job and got a good start. I fumbled my dally a little bit to be a little bit faster, but we went 4.7.
Then we had a little bit of a tricky steer on the second one. He kind of wanted to come left and stop the first time, so I just tried to leave him alone and not over-haze our steer. He ended up stepping right a little bit, but Kolton did another good job and hung it on him fast and made it an easier, fast shot for me.
The short round, we really just needed to complete the course to take the lead, and in that scenario, a person just wants to be riding out of the arena winning first. The team ahead of us had a little bit of a lead, so even if we made a pretty good run, they were still going to have a chance to get ahead of us. In my head, I just wanted to go to the lead when we were leaving the arena and then just let the chips fall where they may.
- Round 1: 4.7
- Round 2: 3.9, $1041 a man
- Short Round: 5.4, $392 a man
TRJ: That steer looked tricky on the head side. How was he for you to heel?
WW: A little bit tricky. Didn’t really want to get out there and hop good, but I just did my best to get by him, and it worked out.
TRJ: What were you riding over there?
WW: I was riding a 7-year-old sorrel that I call Easy (registered Look At My Business). He’s kind of been my second horse the last couple of years, but he had been feeling good, so I just opted to ride him there.
TRJ: You said you and Kolton are roping this May as well. May is right around the corner, so what’s next?
WW: Until the rodeos in May, I’ve got a handful of outside horses at my house and then just some of my own stuff. Just trying to stay at it, stay sharp and make a living.
TRJ: I know you said you’re uncertain the plans for this season, but is gunning for the NFR still on the table?
WW: Absolutely. That’s the goal. Or what I’d prefer to do. But I’ve got two little girls and a wife at home, so I’m trying to figure out the best route to just make a living, you know what I mean? If money was no option and everything, I would love to just take off and go to every rodeo I could get to. But trying to figure out what’s the best decision for my family and everything involved. I would love to—qthat’s what I want to do; that’s what I’ve wanted to do since I was a little kid. So, trying to figure out the routes to make that happen and whether this year is the best time to do it right now or not. Just kind of weighing all the options.
