Hill Rodeo Cattle’s team roping steers will once again shape the action at The American Rodeo in 2025, with a set of steers sorted by the contenders Thursday, April 10.
The Cattle Game Plan
Hill’s bringing in three sets of steers to Arlington:
- 15 bigger steers for Friday night’s round
- 10 of those 15 will return for Saturday’s long round
- A separate, smaller set will be used exclusively for the final four showdown
“They’ve been through plenty—Odessa, San Antonio, Robertson Hill ropings,” Hill said. “They’re broke in, but still fresh. We took them to Chad Masters’ place and put two runs on all of them inside his indoor, which gave us a good look. Some of the teams came out to help pick the best steers, so what you’ll see in the arena is what the ropers wanted.”
The Friday steers weigh around 500 pounds, and they’ve got good size horns—big and clean, Hill said. For the final four on Saturday, the lighter steers tip the scale around 400–425 pounds but still have solid horns and plenty of action.
“They’re probably bulldogging number ones now with the way the game’s changed,” Hill added.
Arena Setup & Barrier
The arena at Globe Life Field will be 146 feet wide by 201 feet long, with the boxes on the right, giving a clean left pull for the headers. There’s no angle to the arena—just a rectangle. That means no awkward positioning for headers and a straightforward path for fast times.
Originally, the barrier was going to be one under, but after talking with officials, Hill pushed for a two-under setup to create a more even playing field in the 15-round run.
“There’s always going to be a steer someone doesn’t love, but this setup should tighten up the field and highlight the best teams,” he said. “There’s a couple steers that try a little harder, a couple that are softer, but they all fit in the range.”
Inside Scoop: Fun Fact
And don’t be surprised if a steer ends up sold after the lights go down—last year, Luke Brown bought the one he roped when he and Hunter Koch won $100,000 each, and this year, Hill thinks another could be headed to a new home post-round.
Bottom Line
Viewers can expect solid cattle, a level playing field and plenty of horsepower (we’ll have that list ocming soon) from the best in the game. The final four will bring a fresh twist with new steers and smaller bodies, but horns that keep it Western.
The American’s always big—but the 2025 setup might just be the cleanest yet.
