JaeLeigh Holder and Shane Edmonson and Makayla Wray and Justin Vogel landed on the exact same 32.18-second time on four steers to split the top spot in the 2026 Riata Championships #10.5 in Guthrie, with each team earning a $116,350 payday.
Holder, of Soper, Oklahoma, and Edmonson, of Dawson, Alabama, were the first of the eventual winners to set the 32.18 mark, coming back third high call.
“We made a good run on the first one, jumped out on him,” Holder said. “Then we just made good, solid runs on the other two.”
The path there came with a little extra motivation for the 27-year-old Holder. A day earlier, she had been 15 on two before breaking the barrier on her third, something she was determined not to repeat.
When it came time for the short round, nerves weren’t exactly the problem.
“I was mad,” Holder said after her first of two callbacks in the #10.5 didn’t go her way. “I just missed one.”
Edmonson, 53, felt the pressure in a different way.
“Oh, always,” Edmonson said when asked about nerves. “For that kind of money, for sure.”
It was also the first time Holder and Edmonson had ever roped together. Still, Edmonson said the first steer gave him all the confidence he needed in his new partner.
“She made it easy,” Edmonson said. “She’s done an amazing job.”
Their 32.18 put the target on the board, but they still had to wait on high-call Wray and Vogel.
Holder chose not to watch.
“I wasn’t watching,” Holder said. “I didn’t know what was going on—I was loosening my horse off.”
Wray, 21, of Ord, Nebraska, and Vogel, 38, of Norfolk, Nebraska, had put in the work on their first three. Vogel said Wray made a strong run on their first steer, while they stayed patient and simply made the next two steers work.
“Just laid back and tried to catch,” Vogel said.
As high call, Wray and Vogel knew Holder and Edmonson had already applied the pressure.
Vogel said he had actually been more nervous on their third steer than he was coming back for the fourth. Wray couldn’t say the same.
“I was dang sure nervous,” Wray said. “I’ve been chomping on the same piece of gum this whole roping.”
Part of that came from what had happened just one day earlier. Wray had made the short round in the #11.5, only to miss when she got there. With another big opportunity in front of her, she tried to use that experience instead of letting it get to her.
“I just kind of was like, take a breath. You’ve been here before,” Wray said. “I was a little off the barrier on that steer, and I was just like, just go do your job.”
She did, and Vogel finished the job.
For a moment, Wray thought their final run had left them just a tick short.
“I first was like, ‘Oh man, they’re about to tell us that we got second by this point-one of a second or something like that,’” Wray said. “Then they said we tied it. I’m like, ‘Yeah, that’s pretty cool.’”
“I’ve usually always messed up for Justin about that second or third cow,” she joked. “It felt good to finally put together here at least.”
The horses underneath both teams brought their own stories to the win.
Holder headed aboard Acres In Graceland, by Acres Upon Acres and out of CTR Pepto Littlefoot, a gelding she calls Norman. Holder said the horse came to her last November after she had been struggling with her good one and a friend told her he had one that would fit.
“They sent him to me in Arizona,” Holder said. “I took him to Vegas, and I can’t get off of him.”
“He’s good on every setup,” she went on. “He just lets me do whatever. I mean, he lets me score, runs up the middle of him, handles the cow. Checks all the boxes.”
Edmonson heeled aboard 5-year-old RBR Brightside, by Reynshine and out of Docs Lacy Oak. He bought the gelding from Mason Johnson on June 1 specifically with the Riata opportunity in mind.
“I bought him just because this Riata deal had my attention and I wanted to give myself a chance here,” Edmonson said. “I took him everywhere I could since I bought him, and it’s just been a little work in progress, but he done his job today.”
On the other half of the tie, Wray headed on Joe Cross, “Peanut,” a 15-year-old gelding by Show Me A Song Joes and out of Cross Over Hannah. The horse actually belongs to Wray’s sister, Danielle, and got the call after Wray’s original horse came up lame just days before the trip.
“Peanut got the call for all of them this weekend, and he’s just a good horse,” Wray said. “He’s easy, makes my job easy every time.”
Vogel’s KR Playin Spoons, “Diego,” brought even more history to the win. The 16-year-old gelding by Horseplayin and out of KR Neon Spoonful has belonged to Vogel since he was 3.
“I don’t know how many thousands of steers I’ve run,” Vogel said. “He’s been my main one for a while. He’s just honest and easy to catch on.”
“He’s been good,” he continued. “I’ve won a lot on him—he’s been good to me and my family.”
For Edmonson, who said his last win on a stage this big came at the USTRC Finals more than 20 years ago, the opportunity was enough to make future Riata trips an easy decision.
“We all want this opportunity, and it’s a pretty good commitment, but it’s an amazing payoff when it works,” Edmonson said. “I’ve enjoyed it—look forward to next year.”