Gabe Williams and Faron Candelaria’s win at the 2025 Resistol Rookie Roundup proves that when something is meant to be, nothing can stop it.

The unexpected duo topped the final four round on April 26 with a 4.4-second time, amassing $6,258 between them.

Held at Cowtown Coliseum in the Fort Worth Stockyards, the fourth annual Resistol Rookie Roundup, presented by The Cowboy Channel, featured the top 10 in the rookie standings competing in a long round on Friday, April 25. The eight fastest advanced to Saturday’s semifinals, roping one more steer to determine the final four for the championship Shootout Round.

For the 2025 champs, there were plenty of “almost didn’t happen” moments.

To start, until about eight months ago, Williams was a heeler.

“I had the croup as a baby and a high fever they think caused my bones to grow differently, leading to a defect in my arm,” he said. “I can’t turn my wrist over like everyone else, so roping with a heavy heel rope made my joints swell up—it was painful.”

Doctors and physical therapists recommended lighter ropes, leading to a realization.

“If I’m going to heel with a head rope, I might as well head,” Williams said.

“Plus, there’s a guy in the house who knows something about heading,” he joked, referring to his dad, eight-time world champ Speed Williams.

Still, a title wasn’t guaranteed. Candelaria hadn’t planned to enter the Rookie Roundup, and Williams’ regular partner had last-minute work obligations.

“My sister was on my butt to enter,” said Williams, 18.

His sister, Hali, is a two-time National Finals Breakaway Roping qualifier, but hadn’t won enough early in her rookie season to make the Roundup.

“I was going to draw out when Hargrove couldn’t go, but then Faron called and said, ‘Let’s rope,'” Williams recalled.

Call it women’s intuition: Candelaria’s girlfriend encouraged him to enter.

“I had entered the California run and wasn’t going to go, but my girlfriend said I should,” Candelaria said. “I found out Gabe didn’t have a partner and called him.”

They got entered just before the deadline—something Williams joked would stress out his famous family.

“My sister would’ve been sweating bullets if she didn’t have a run by the time entries closed,” Williams said. “She’s a spitting image of my dad—stress is their middle name. I don’t stress. But I make sure to keep them stressed.”

That laid-back attitude served Williams well as obstacles kept popping up—even after the partnership was set.

Both cowboys missed Rookie Roundup activities like media training, past Rookie roundtables and Thursday check-in.

“I was in Clovis, California,” Candelaria said. “I had a flight Wednesday night but missed it. I didn’t get back to Albuquerque until Thursday.”

Despite being close to his home in Isleta Pueblo, New Mexico, there was no time for rest. Candelaria and girlfriend Mireya Martinez hit the road, overnighted in Clovis, and continued to Fort Worth in time for Friday night’s performance.

Williams, meanwhile, was at home in Comanche, Texas—just a 2-hour drive from Fort Worth—helping his grandmother.

“I looked at the callback and saw the perf was at 7:30, so I figured check-in was probably 3:30 to 5:30,” Williams said. “After I drove in with a buddy, I pulled out my phone and had 20 missed calls. My first thought was I’d messed up the check-in time. My sister was freaking out. Turns out, check-in was yesterday!”

Once they cleared those hurdles, the focus turned to roping in Cowtown’s unique conditions. Williams had roped there often, but Candelaria had only one prior experience.

“It had been a while, but I adjusted. It’s different from anywhere else,” said Candelaria, who rode his main horse, Tupac.

In the opening round, many teams struggled with tough cattle and a long PRCA-standard score inside the tight coliseum.

“We were second to last out, and only four teams had caught,” Williams said. “I told Faron, ‘Let’s just catch this one. We can rope one in seven at the bucking chutes and make it back.’”

Their time? 15.7 seconds. Surprisingly, it placed fourth.

“That still got us in,” Williams laughed. “Not many rodeos where you can run that far, miss your slack, slip a leg, and still win something. I’m grateful.”

The score was shortened for the Saturday semifinals, making the round faster.

“Our steer checked off a bit, and my guy did a good job heeling him off the wall,” Williams said. Their 5.0-second run placed third and moved them to the Shootout Round.

Then came the next challenge.

“We were second out, and the other teams had steers that loped out and went right—just what you want,” Williams said. “Faron asked if we drew good, and I said, ‘No, we did not.’”

Their steer had run hard and gone left in the first round—everything you don’t want at Cowtown.

“I told him, I’m going to hit the barrier, try to throw before he goes left, and you’ll have to clean it up.”

The Hail Mary worked. They stopped the clock at 4.4 seconds—the fastest of the weekend.

“It just came together,” Candelaria said. “We didn’t really have a plan. It was just catch and see where the chips fell.”

The duo earned $3,309 each, pushing Williams to seventh and Candelaria to fifth in the rookie standings.

Candelaria has his eye on the Rookie of the Year title.

“It’s one of my goals, something I’ve always wanted,” Candelaria said. “You only get one shot, so this was a big win.”

Williams takes a different view.

“My dad didn’t win Rookie of the Year, and neither did my sister, so the title isn’t a big deal in our house,” Williams said. “I just want to get my feet wet and win enough to make the buildings next winter. I’m not gunning for Rookie, but I won’t turn it down.”