Rick Montera and Zane Williams came from eighth high call to finish 37.28 seconds on four steers and win the 2026 Riata Championships #9.5 in Guthrie, Oklahoma, earning a $147,600 payday aboard Two Time Honor and Mighty Fine Blu Boon.
For two longtime friends who have already won plenty together, the path to their biggest payday together was hardly straightforward.
Montera, of Greeley, Colorado, and Williams, of Hammond, Montana, have known each other for years through both the cattle business and roping. Their history includes placings at Ariat World Series roping from the #14.5 all the way down to the lower-numbered ropings, prompting Williams to joke about the direction their classification numbers have taken.
“Now here we are in the #9,” Williams said. “I guess Father Time’s just undefeated.”
Their Riata win began with a second chance.
Their first steer left hard than expected and Williams ended up getting a leg. They had already ridden out of the arena when they heard they got a rerun.
“I was surprised, really, but very appreciative,” Montera said.
They made the rerun count for 8.93 seconds, but their next steer wasn’t all rainbows and roses. Williams got behind and tracked him to water, leaving them with an 11.16 on the run.
“I thought, ‘Man, I messed this deal up,’” Williams said.
A better draw on their third gave them a chance to recover, and they answered with an 8.62 that moved them into the short round eighth high call.
By then, the goal was simple: catch the fourth one clean and see where it landed them.
“When I seen Rick hit the barrier and do that good a job, just catch the sucker clean, we’ve got a chance,” Williams said. “So that was my deal—just to clear out and see the feet, get dallied.”
The clean run completed their 37.28 on four. Coming from eighth callback, neither man expected that number to hold all the way to the top.
Williams knew they had earned a good check. Winning it was another matter.
“I was just hoping that we’d place good,” Williams said. “I knew we were going to win something. Didn’t know we were going to win first, but here we are.”
Montera was even farther removed from the drama. He was putting his horse away before realizing three teams remained and he and Williams were still leading.
“You play the game for a long time with the hope that sometimes it lines up like this,” Montera said. “I had no idea. Then I’m looking at the results on the Global Handicaps and I though, ‘Wait a second—we’re still winning the roping and there’s three teams left.”
The win came aboard two horses that fit each man’s program.
Montera headed on Two Time Honor, an 8-year-old mare by One Time Honor and out of Breitling Time. He calls her Tee, and she came through longtime friend Larry Rice and Flag Ranch, whose horses have been a staple in Montera’s program for years.
Her build and style suit the World Series setup.
“She scores real, real good,” Montera said. “She’s real flat. She can run. She’s real gritty. Easy to catch up.”
Williams heeled on Mighty Fine Blu Boon, an 8-year-old gelding by Once In A Blu Boon and out of Mighty Fine Sue that he calls Mark. Williams said the horse came out of California after his son bought him, and circumstances eventually put Williams in need of another heel horse while he was in Arizona.
No stranger to how a good one should operate—Williams has had a few heel horses he has trained go to the big show at the Thomas & Mack in December—Mark shows him everything he needs to see to be on that list.
“Everything,” Williams said when asked what he likes about him. “He sees it. He’s quick. He’s catty. Just a very fun animal. One of the nicest athletes I’ve ever rode.”
For Williams, the $147,600 Riata payday became the biggest check of his roping career.
“Of course it’s the biggest check I’ve ever won in my life,” Williams laughed. “It sure is. It probably will be for a long time—unless I come back next year and do it again.”
And for Montera, the result was another reminder that after enough years of catching steers without getting paid, eventually one of those days can fall your way.
“Sometimes you’ll catch them all and not win anything way too long,” Montera said. “But 100% of the time when you don’t catch them all, you ain’t going to win anything. … It was our day.”