New Mexico’s Sterlin English and Trey Southern are taking home $172,000 for their win in the Riata #12.5 Championship.
English, aboard Shiny Lil Peso, “Peso”, by Shiners Suduko, and Southern aboard his Colonel Freckles-bred horse “Cadillac”, were 29.67 seconds on four head to kick off the day Sept. 25.
Play-by-Play
Winning the Riata #12.5 Championship didn’t come without its challenges.
“The first and third steer were pretty tough to heel,” Southern, of Caballo, New Mexico, said. “They scattered out and wanted to get a little heavy. That first steer was light enough that Sterlin still got a good pull on him. The third one dang near wanted to stop, but Peso did such a good job getting him out of the hole and getting him out of my way.”
With two arenas at the Lazy E Arena running during most of the Riata Championships ropings, the environment is bound to change.
“The steers were a little bigger outside,” explained English, of Belen, New Mexico. “They all start good over there, though, so you can really get out of the barrier. I mean, I thought I broke it on the third one.”
After getting by the first and third steers, the team came back to the short round in the high-callback position. They had time to work with but didn’t bother using it, stopping the clock in 6.95 seconds on their final steer to seal the deal.
“I really thought he was going to run,” English said of their last steer. “When I backed in there, we had to be nine seconds. I was thinking I would be off the barrier a little bit, but I kind of have a tendency to black out in the short round.”
When it comes to infamous short-round nerves, Southern has a method to avoid them all together, and it starts in the practice pen.
“My philosophy is I want to catch every single steer as bad as the next one,” he said. “I try to apply as much pressure as possible on my practice runs. That way, when I get into a high-pressure situation, the pressure is familiar.”
The celebration after the $172,000 payday was a sight to see, thanks to an age-old hat throw by English.
“All I had in my head was, I am throwing my hat, so I knew I was winning the roping. I knew we were going to walk up here and do the interview. I know it sounds horrible, but I just knew we were going to win this roping.”
Let’s Talk Horses
Peso is the 2019 palomino gelding by Shiners Suduko that English has ridden for most of his appearances at the 2025 Riata Championships, including a sixth-place finish in the Riata #14.5 Championship with Miles Baker for $34,800, and a check for fast time that didn’t place in the short round in the #12.5 Championship with Shawn Vargas.
Peso came from Layne Billadeau and was being ridden by Britt Williams when English picked him up about a year ago.
“They didn’t need to sell him, but they were nice enough to sell him to me, and I’m very grateful they did. He’s just phenomenal.”
For Southern, Cadillac is the Colonel Freckles-bred 19-year-old gelding that got the call for the #12.5. Cadillac came from Corbin Livingston and has been in Southern’s family seven years.
“He’s just an ace,” Southern said with a smile. “He’s good in every scenario, every setup. I’ll get emotional if I talk too much about him, but he’s really been a blessing to me and my family. My kids ride him; my wife rides him. He’s just as good as they get.”
It was a 2-year-old son of Heza Fiery Fling named Spark N Fling that was the proxy ticket for Southern to rope.
“He is an outstanding-minded stud horse. My brother, Tyler Southern, bought this horse whenever the horse world started to change. But Spark N Fling has the potential to truly be a great stud. He’s absolutely stud quality—he’s real quiet and real good-minded.”
Roping.com has the 2025 Riata Championships streaming live all week long.
