Conley Kleinhans and Kyler Kanady turned two go-round checks and the win of the 2026 Resistol Rookie Roundup average into an almost $5,000 weekend.
The pair of 20-year-olds took their opportunity early on a good steer, snagging the first-round win with a 5.0-second run, good for $1,644 a man. From there, they were 12.0 seconds with a leg to win second in the round – $1,233 a man – and secure their spot at the top of the average with a 17.0 on two head, good for $1,817 a man.
“Nobody really knew anything on them,” Kleinhans said of the cattle. “They were just the normal north side steers, so you never know what to expect. But we drew two pretty good ones.”
Although a leg in Round 2 kept them from absolute domination in Fort Worth, sometimes it is just your day.
“I think he got a leg, and it almost went on two,” Kleinhans said. “It was kind of weird, but it worked out.”
It was a good win for the Montague, Texas, and Weatherford College student-athlete Kleinhans, who didn’t grow up as involved in the sport as some.
“I grew up playing basketball,” Kleinhans said. “I didn’t really start roping until high school – about 16 or 17. From then on, I just tried to go everywhere I could.”
Kleinhans ropes with Kanady, his Cisco College heeler who hails from Breckenridge, Texas, at the college rodeos in the Lone Star Region.
With the help of “Mixer,” the 15-year-old head horse that came from Jake Smith, Kleinhans has been able to make leaps and bounds in a short period of time.
“He’s been a game-changer ever since,” Kleinhans said. “I don’t see my small career without him.”
With a solid payday from the Resistol Rookie Roundup, Kleinhans and Kanady are sitting in the top five in the 2026 Resistol Rookie Standings and are looking forward to a summer full of rodeoing.
“I just wanted to go this summer and see,” he said. “I don’t really care about the rookie of the year deal. If I win it, I win it. It kind of depends what the bank account says, but that’s the plan for now.”
2026 Resistol Rookie Roundup
First round: 1. Conley Kleinhans/Kyler Kanady, 5.0 seconds, $1,644 each; 2. Jet Toberer/Cody Egusquiza, 5.6, $1,233; 3. Caden Lehman/Jarrett Peek, 5.9, $822; 4. Denton Parish/Will Smith, 7.8, $411.
Second round: 1. Cole Smith/Caden Beatty, 5.3 seconds, $1,644 each; 2. Conley Kleinhans/Kyler Kanady, 12.0, $1,233; 3. Caden Lehman/Jarrett Peek, 15.1, $822; no other qualified runs.
Average: 1. Conley Kleinhans/Kyler Kanady, 17.0 seconds on two head, $1,817 each; 2. Cole Smith/Caden Beatty, 18.6, $1,363; 3. Caden Lehman/Jarrett Peek, 21.0, $909; 4. Jet Toberer/Cody Egusquiza, 5.6 on one head, $454.
READ: Not a Bad Spot: Kyler Kanady Leads Resistol Rookie Heeler Standings Midway Through June