After a winter of steady checks, Jr. Dees and Landen Glenn broke through in a big way winning the 2026 Red Bluff Round-Up April 19.
Dees and Glenn won the average with a 29.8 on four head to earn $10,920 a man, climbing them to eighth and tenth of the PRCA world standings with $36,461.94 won on the year thus far. Two-time NFR header Dees knew they needed a solid jump to get in the mix of the Top 15 race.
“We’ve chipped away a lot, but we haven’t had any big wins yet,” Dees, 28, said. “We’ve had a lot of placings and a lot of we placed here, placed there, placing in some rounds. But we hadn’t just kicked their butt anywhere yet. So, it was kind of good to get a big jump where we could get in the middle of everything, and now we can just keep roping the way we were all year. A couple more big breaks would set us up good.”
Glenn, 22, also knew they could turn things up a notch.
“Honestly, it doesn’t feel like we’ve roped just great yet,” Glenn admitted. “We seem to catch a lot, and when we catch, we’re usually fast enough. So, we’ve just kind of been even keel, just catching here and there. But I didn’t really feel like anything was going great yet.”
Red Bluff play-by-play
Things turned around in a big way in Red Bluff, however. Dees and Glenn won second in the first round with a 7.0 for $2,238 a man, just aiming to get a solid run on the board.
“Our first one was supposed to be kind of stronger, and we were just going to go knock him down,” Glenn said. “And Jr.’s head horse is unbelievable, so we caught up really fast and won second in the first round.”
Round 2 came with some challenges en route to an 8.6-second run.
“We drew a really fast one, and we knew he was fast,” Dees said. “That was the day that the wind was real bad, and it was probably one of the windiest days of roping that I’ve ever had. So, we probably dang sure took an extra swing or two, but it was so windy. It was such a headwind at us that we really couldn’t do nothing out of our norm. We had to go catch and just make sure to get through it. So, we did that.”
The top 24 on two head advanced to the progressive round, which Dees and Glenn won with a 6.9 for $2,573 apiece. They entered the short round with a solid lead over Jaxson Tucker and Cesar De La Cruz at second.
“At that point, we just had to take care of business and catch the steer, and we drew a pretty good steer,” Dees explained. “I mean, I would say about middle of the herd of the short round. Wasn’t probably the best steer, but he wasn’t the worst steer. He was just a medium steer, and he let us kind of do our job.”
With a 7.3 they tied for second in the round for $962 a man and clinched the average title. On the head side, there was no doubt about what equine counterpart would get the call. Famous Dillon, the now 15-year-old who made history as the first Appaloosa in modern rodeo history to head at the NFR in 2022 with Dees, just keeps getting better with age.
“He’s just a freak, man,” Dees said. “I say every time anyone interviews me, I say the same thing, but he’s just been real good to me. He’s sounder and healthier than he’s ever been this year, and it’s just been a blessing. It’s just funny, man. He’s 15 this year, and it’s like the older he gets, the better he gets. He’s been a blessing, that’s for sure. Everyone always says they want another one like their good one, but I don’t know how easy it’s going to be to get one like that. I’m just blessed to have him, and I try to thank the Lord every day I wake up and still have him.”
Glenn called on his Dunn gelding Jammer.
“He’s really fast, so that’s really helpful, especially when Jr.’s horse is that fast for catching up,” Glenn said. “But he’s really fast, and he never really messes up. He’s going to give you a throw every single time.”
A new mindset for 2026
Dees and Glenn began roping together late in the 2025 season, finishing the year out together and winning roughly $33,000 together. A strong stretch to close the year gave them confidence to stick with it into 2026.
“Landen catches a lot of steers on two feet, and he throws pretty fast,” Dees said. “If I’d set him up good and he’s got a good throw, he throws fast. So, when we do catch, we win quite often. We have a faster run, and it’s just been fun, honestly. We’ve just kind of roped to make a living and not really think about the rest. Now that I have a little one, it kind of makes a difference if we win or not.”
For Dees, the 2026 season has come with a shift in perspective. Since his last NFR qualification in 2022, Dees has been a mainstay inside the top 25, narrowly missing the Top 15 in recent years.
“The way I look at rodeo has been kind of different,” Dees explained. “Every year I’ve ever rodeoed, I’ve always kind of taken things for granted, I think. Last year I broke my foot real bad, and I was out for two months. Or I was out a month theoretically, but then I went to Houston and stuff and had to come back and sit another little while. It puts it in a different perspective for a person. I think this year I have a lot of different goals, and my priorities are a little different. I’m on a mission. I’ve always wanted to make the NFR, I’ve always wanted to win, I’ve always wanted to be one of the best, but now I have a family and a place, so it’s just a little different now. There’s a little more at stake for me than there always has been, and it’s almost helped me for the better, I think.”
As for young gun Glenn, he’s keeping things simple taking it one steer at a time as they head into the summer.
“It seems like that works best,” Glenn said. “You can’t really start trying to think about how you got to win this much or that much. This is definitely the best start I’ve ever had to a year, but I don’t really think about it that much. I don’t look at standings or nothing like that.”
Dees and Glenn head next to Guymon, Oklahoma, to round out April before heading to Corpus Christi, Texas, the following week.
