Korbin Rice and Cooper Freeman did more than win the Calgary Stampede’s Rocky Mountain Cup and $50,000—they made their first National Finals Rodeo qualification more of a reality than a dream.
Rice, 24, of Hobbs, New Mexico, and Freeman, 23, of Carthage, Missouri, won the Rocky Mountain Cup’s Showdown round with a 7.0-second run, worth $50,000 a man, and placed on every steer they ran in Canada.
“The first thing that came to mind was, ‘Man, that probably sealed the deal on making the Finals,’” Freeman said. “That was a pretty cool feeling and pretty cool steer to catch. That’s one of the steers that you only get to catch once in your life—the steer that you catch to make your first NFR.”
With the win, the PRCA currently has Rice and Freeman in their No. 1 spot—which they’ve held since March—with $176,449.47 won in 2026 world standings.
NOTE: Per the Calgary Stampede ground rules, only 80% of money won from Calgary counts toward the 2026 PRCA team roping world standings, unofficially putting Rice and Freeman at $165,809.87 each.
Rice and Freeman made the most of every steer they were drawn.
They tied for seventh in Round 1 with a 4.6-second run, worth $973 a man, then came back in Round 2 with a 5.0, good for sixth and another $2,225 each. That put them in position to advance, and from there, their day only got better.
“We made a good run on our first one and I think just built off of that the rest of the day,” Rice said. “It seemed like we gained a lot of confidence after we run our first one, and then it was just like we can go to knocking steers down and keep getting through whatever they’re going to make it. However many they’re going to make us rope, just keep knocking them down.”
Or, as Rice put it: “Let them give us another one.”
It was Rice’s first trip to Canada, and the day didn’t start especially smooth. Getting four horses across the border took longer than expected, then the pair got into Calgary in the middle of Stampede traffic.
“We had absolutely no idea where we were going,” Rice said. “We pulled in the wrong gates, had to turn a rig around a couple times. Finally figured it out where we were supposed to go. We were the last ones to get our back numbers. We missed the meeting. It was kind of a wreck.”
Freeman saw it the same way.
“They were calling us when we were trying to get parked, trying to make sure we were there and going to get our back numbers and everything,” Freeman said.
Once they were horseback, though, the rest of the day was business as usual.
In the Semifinals, Rice and Freeman thought they had a 4.1-second run ahead of them on the board from Cory Kidd and Carson Johnson. But Kidd and Johnson had an illegal head catch that wasn’t announced until after Rice and Freeman roped.
“We went in there thinking there was a 4.1 on the board,” Rice said.
Rice and Freeman were 4.0.
“We for sure had the best steer on them in the Semifinals,” Freeman said. “We knew we were probably going to have to make a good run.”
The run moved them into the Showdown Round, and by the time they roped last in the four-man round, the other three teams had trouble everything changed—Rice and Freeman had to complete the course to win the $50,000
That didn’t make it easy.
“It’s not the way that a short round is supposed to go by no means,” Rice said. “It ended up being we just had to catch the steer. I was a little bit off the barrier, ran all the way to him, turned him, and we were 7.0. Thats maybe even made it a little more nerve-wracking just having to put a time on the board than if we had to be 4.5 or something.”
Rice’s plan was to rope smart without backing off completely.
“I just told myself before I walked in the box, if I have a good throw, don’t be stupid or take a dumb shot, but if I get a good go and get a good throw, don’t back off any,” Rice said.
Freeman was of the same opinion.
“They run in a few stronger steers for the final four, so we knew if we caught him, we were going to win it,” Freeman said. “The steer wasn’t the best one to heel, so I got a little tight and had to take a couple extra swings over and make sure to catch him.”
The win adds to a season that already changed everything for Rice and Freeman. Their $70,750-a-man earnings at RodeoHouston gave them an early-season lead and the kind of confidence that made the summer feel different.
“Houston’s early enough in the year with that kind of lead, and that gave us confidence that we could make the Finals,” Freeman said. “So just to keep that confidence rolling through the summer, and Korbin’s done a great job. He’s given me so many chances throughout the summer, and his horse is great. He gives me a good shot every time.”
The team has been mounted, too, with Rice on Papa Rock and Freeman on Carbon.
“I feel like both of our horses, we’re just really clicking with right now,” Freeman said. “So that gives us a lot of confidence.”
That confidence has changed the way they get to rope. They are not backed into a corner every week, and every steer does not feel like the one that will make or break their season.
Rice and Freeman counted out their 80 rodeos before Calgary, and their summer is far from over. Salinas, Ogden, Spanish Fork, Cheyenne and Salt Lake City are still ahead, with plenty of money left to win.
“I’m pumped,” Rice said. “I’m super excited, I think Cooper is too. But yeah, still just one steer at a time.”
“It’s not every steer is like a sudden-death type of deal,” Freeman said. “Every steer we run, we’re just trying to make the best run we can on the steer, but however much we can win is great. Just keep the ball rolling.”
The NFR may be in the back of their minds from now until December, but Rice said the goal is to not let it change how they rope through the rest of the summer.
For Rice, the support behind them has made the run even sweeter.
“There’s a huge support system there,” Rice said. “A guy’s got to have it. We’re just thankful and blessed that we do have one.”
The difference now is the dream of making the NFR no longer feels far away.
It feels like the next stop.
“We’re going to stay out here and stay after it and try to stay No. 1,” Freeman said. “Maybe break some records or something fun like that.”