Leo Loucks didn’t leave much doubt at the 2026 Cinch Timed Event Championship in Guthrie, Oklahoma, and the 20-year-old Illinois cowboy delivered a solid performance at the Junior Ironman to win the title at the Lazy E Arena.
Loucks finished the three-round, four-event championship in 154.0 seconds on four head—more than 80 seconds ahead of the rest of the field. The Pittsburg, Illinois, native collected $20,000 for the overall title, plus $750 for each round win along the way, showcasing the kind of versatility required to succeed in the multi-event format.
“It feels amazing,” Loucks said after the win. “I couldn’t do it without the supporters I had this year, and the horsepower.”
The Junior Ironman mirrors the challenge of the Cinch Timed Event Championship, testing young competitors across four disciplines—heading, tie-down roping, heeling and steer wrestling—to identify the most complete all-around competitor in the field.
Loucks set the tone out of the gate.
In Round 1, he posted consistent runs across all four events to finish with a 49.8-second opening round that put him near the top of the leaderboard. From there, Loucks kept stacking solid runs.
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Round 2 featured another steady performance, including a quick heading run and strong tie-down roping time that helped him finish the round in 58.2 seconds. That pushed his cumulative total to 108.0 seconds after two rounds and gave him a commanding advantage heading into the final round.
When the pressure increased, Loucks simplified his approach.
“I kept telling myself if I could get through that head steer, I’d be fine,” Loucks said. “Once I got through the start and scored well, the rest of it’s just muscle memory.”
He followed that plan in the final round, delivering another clean set of runs across all four disciplines to post a 46.0-second round and seal the championship.
Behind the scenes, Loucks credits both his support system and the horses that carried him through the week.
“There’s been a lot of nights out in the arena—blood, sweat and tears. It took a lot to get here for my whole family.”
Leo Loucks
His borrowed head horse, “Ooglie,” proved especially valuable during the week.
“He scores great, runs hard and he’s the same run every time,” Loucks said. “You can’t ask a horse to do much better than that.”
In fact, Loucks already knows what he’d like to do with the $20,000 winner’s check.
“I’m going to try to buy him,” Loucks said with a grin. ” want to get my card and go to the (USTRC) ropings, lean into my team roping more and start entering.”
Despite the momentum from the win, Loucks’ immediate plans look a little different than most rodeo champions. Instead of hitting the road full-time, he’ll be back in class this week working toward his registered nursing degree, which he expects to complete next year.
“I’ve got to go back to nursing school on Monday,” Loucks said.
That balance between education and rodeo has been intentional.
“You don’t win $20,000 every week,” Loucks said. “Rodeo has its ups and downs. I’ve always wanted to do nursing too, so I can do both. It’s kind of a win-win situation.”
Loucks plans to continue competing in jackpots, circuit rodeos and team ropings while finishing school—but if another opportunity comes to compete against the pros at the Cinch Timed Event Championship, he won’t hesitate.
“If I get invited back to the timed event,” he said, “I’ll have to start cracking some for that.”
For now, Loucks leaves Guthrie with the 2026 Junior Ironman title and momentum that could carry him well beyond the junior ranks.
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