Dear Roper,

This October issue goes to press at the end of August, so at press time, we don’t yet know who made the top 15 cut—nor do we know who won the big money at the Riata or the $100,000 checks at the Solo Futurity.

[Editor’s note: Since this issue went to press, the regular season has wrapped, the Top 15 is set, champions have been crowned at the Riata and the Solo Futurity is underway.]

So, a few years ago, we started making our October issue a “farewell” of sorts for the highest-earning futurity rope horses going into the last few futurities of the year. Each October, my feature story focuses on the outgoing futurity class—the horses we’ve often watched and written about as superstars for three years. These are the horses that so often go on to do great things—we see them on both sides of the Las Vegas Strip each year these days, whether they’re winning hundreds of thousands in the South Point or gold buckles in the Thomas & Mack.

This year, the Relentless Remuda’s Relentless PYC is the top earner, even though she only competed through the end of her 5-year-old year, having died at home in the practice pen from a catastrophic (and freak) injury last November.

But undoubtedly, by the time this issue hits your mailbox, there will be some horses coming out of the Riata with huge paychecks that could top her earnings. As always, stay updated on QStallions.com to see the AQHA’s leaderboards for all the top earners, sires, breeders and more.

I’m going to remind you again why we spend so much time on these earnings. Keeping track of how much money rope horses earn helps showcase—for sponsors both inside and outside the industry—the depth of what rope horses earn and the massive amount of money flowing through the rope horse industry. That fuels growth, hitting an untapped portion of this massive sport. We talk about this—and write about this—to help breeders big and small and ropers of every level better understand the choices they make in their horsepower.

Remember to follow us here and on our socials to see every step of the fall futurity season, the major jackpots and the road to Las Vegas.

Chelsea