Originally published August 2022.
Kirchenschlager. Harrison. Brazile. Richard. Yates.
Those names have all dominated the rope horse futurities’ headlines since the sport exploded onto the scene back in 2017.
Rope horse futurities have, without a doubt, been a game changer for the Open guys, the breeding business and plenty of owners. But in 2022, there’s never been a better time to have a lower-numbered Global Handicaps card and ride a good horse. Futurities—from the American Rope Horse Futurity Association to the Royal Crown and now the Riata Buckle—are offering huge payouts to the select few recreational ropers who are proud of their horse flesh and willing to put their money up to show it off.
“This is where the sport can really continue to grow,” said Jay Wadhams, owner and founder of the ARHFA. “There are three different levels of ropers, and my goal is to keep paying the Intermediate and Limited guys more money and keep going. My events are so tough in the Open, and I want to keep feeding everybody. We are going to start seeing more 4s, 5s and 6s entering these futurities because of how much they can win.”
Show Me the Money
Limited, Intermediate and Non-Pro ropers have made real money at the ARHFA events so far in 2022. In four events this year, the ARHFA has paid out $185,800 across these divisions, making up 37% of their total payout on the year. That’s including $59,000 in added sponsor money across those divisions in four shows.
In February at the Royal Crown futurity in Buckeye, Arizona, the event ran the Limited and Intermediate similarly to the ARHFA, with those divisions as incentives within the Open. But they pivoted at their next event in Waco, Texas, running the Limited and Intermediate as separate ropings altogether. Now, your trainer or hired-gun Open guy can show the horse in the Open, then you can rope on him in the lower-numbered class.
In August, the Royal Crown added another $35,000 per side in the Intermediate and Limited heading and heeling 8-and-under event. (See teamropingjournal.com for full results and payout.)
Come November, when the Riata Buckle kicks off its first event as the fifth-richest roping in the world, the money recreational ropers can compete for on young horses will be second-to-none. The event is supported by 155 stallion owners who pay $10,000-per-year for the offspring of their studs to be eligible to compete in the program. That will bring a guaranteed minimum of $2-million in payout—divided equally between the five ropings, won on time-only, and without help horses. Teams of horses win—rather than divide each division into heading and heeling. Each horse must be within the division’s age limits, but only one horse needs to be Riata Buckle-eligible.
• What is the Intermediate Division?
Many horse trainers or higher-numbered jackpot or circuit ropers have found their sweet spot in the Intermediate Division of the ARHFA events. Headers with a 6.5 to a 6 can enter the intermediate subclass, while heelers need to be an 8 to a 6.5. Ropers in the Intermediate Division also must enter the Open, and they are still eligible to win in the Open, too. They must ride horses that are 8 years old or younger.
“Farnam came on and stepped up to sponsor the added money and the prizes for this division,” Wadhams said. “They saw the opportunity with this division, and they wanted to be a part of it.”
In the Royal Crown, the Intermediate Division is run as a separate class, open to horses 8 and under. Riders must be a 6.5 header or under and a 7.5 heeler or under.
“This gives the horses an extra chance to win some money,” said Clay Logan, who’s had plenty of AQHA success before the futurities came about. “A lot of this has turned into Open roping. Those guys winning a lot are high-numbered, riding really nice horses. The bigger futurities, the guys will show up and rope because the time is one-third of the score. I’m a 6 header and a 7 heeler, so I don’t rope at that level. The Intermediate gives my customers a chance to win, and it gives their horses a chance to show off. It gives them another option. I’ve trained horses for the public for a long time, and I think I do a pretty dang good job training. We just don’t rope as well as the guys rodeoing for a living.
• What is the Limited Division?
At the ARHFA events, riders who hold a Global Handicaps card of 5.5 or lower on the head side and 6 or lower on the heel side can enter the Limited Division as an incentive within the Open on a horse 6 and under.
“The Limited has let me compete with the Open guys,” said Dustin Rogers, the 2021 ARHFA Limited World Champion, who’s also won multiple futurities this year in the Intermediate, too. “It’s great for guys like myself, who’s a trainer, but I never committed myself to just roping. I can still compete with those guys, but I still have my own category where my customers can keep sending horses, see them show, get experience and sell them, buy them or jackpot on them after that.”
In Royal Crown events, the Limited Division is for 4.5 headers and under and 5.5 heelers and under, open to horses 8 and under. It’s run as an incentive within the Intermediate futurity.
• Who can rope in the Non-Pro at ARHFA events?
As an added bonus, the ARHFA added a Non-Pro Division in 2018, allowing ropers with a 5.5 Global Handicaps card or under to rope on any aged horse, being judged by the same criteria as the Open, Intermediate and Limited divisions.
“It’s one of the best kept secrets right now,” said 26-time World Champion Trevor Brazile. “The payout is good, and it’s a blast. It’s basically a ProAm because you get to rope with guys who rope really good, so it’s about you and your horse more than it is hoping your partner connects. There’s great satisfaction for the non-pros. It’s not just turning steers at any old jackpot. It’s the quality of the horseflesh under them also.”
In June, Brazile’s 13-year-old son, Treston, won the Non-Pro Heading in Lincoln, Nebraska, aboard the Relentless Remuda’s 5-year-old mare Relentless Glory. The opportunity has been a game-changer for his roping and confidence.
“When he started showing, Treston was really concerned with showing his horse over completing the course,” Brazile said. “We all run into that, but in Lincoln, he showed young horses that he’d only run one steer a piece on, because we weren’t able to bring his aged horse. It was a big win for our program and for Treston.”
New Kid on the Block: Riata Buckle & Its $2-Million Payout
While the ARHFA has five years’ worth of history and the Royal Crown has two, the Riata Buckle is a brand new stallion incentive futurity program from Lance Robinson, Chad Beus and Denny Gentry.
Robinson and Beus led the charge in the barrel racing incentive program with the Pink and Ruby Buckle programs: two programs that altered the barrel racing incentive landscape so much so that the American Quarter Horse Association had to set up a barrel racing council just to handle it. Because of all of these barrel racing incentives, barrel racing is dominating the horse breeding market today.
And when team roping entered the fold with the Riata Buckle, Robinson and Beus brought in USTRC and WSTR Founder Denny Gentry to build the structure and lead the program.
The Money
The new Riata Buckle ad in the September issue of The Team Roping Journal touts the roping as the fifth largest in the world. It’s true: There are only four team roping events that top $2 million in payouts with the Ariat WSTR Finale at the top of the heap. Now Riata Buckle isn’t just the largest stallion incentive or futurity: Riata just leap-frogged about 400 real-world, normal ropings before it has even produced its first event. Now, the race is on for Gentry to build one of the biggest events in the Western world. And that bodes really well for the Royal Crown and ARHFA, because they are going to be pulled in the wake with the rising tide. Equine Network and AQHA are latching on also with their support.
“That minimum $2-million payout is guaranteed based on the structure of the Buckles programs,” Gentry said. “It means we don’t have a clue how many nominations we will get or how much entry fee money we will get, but for sure we are paying at least $2 million in the 2022 Riata Buckle. In team roper lingo, it means no commissions, and paybacks by their estimations in the 200% to 300% range.”
Riata made an official announcement in July 2022: all monies will be divided equally among the divisions. There are five divisions, two handicapped slide futurities, two handicapped all-age slides, and one Open Pro Futurity. Each of the five divisions will be guaranteed a minimum of $400,000 each. If you pay close attention to team roping, at $400,000 minimum, the Riata Buckle becomes the second richest open roping in the world behind the BFI.
The Format
Help horses are replaced with unnominated horses, and everything is time only. These two changes alone are different, but at first glance the handicap slide format doesn’t appear that revolutionary. Riata wants every roper with a handicap to be able to enter. The slide additions and subtractions are based on Global Handicaps’ par numbers, compiled by hundreds of ropings every year and 10 years of data. Those discounts and additions are based on four steers, and they can be applied anytime during the roping, but they are real numbers.
The not-so-obvious strategy with the slide approach is it’s design for future growth. With the World Series, Gentry started with two divisions and every year or two added another division until they reached their maximum of eight divisions. If you count the two division in the lower slide (#9.5 and #10.5) and the three divisions in the upper slide (#11.5, #12.5 and #13.5) that is a total of five divisions for the futurity. Then, duplicate those with the all-age ropings, and that is an additional five divisions. Finally, add the Open Pro Futurity for a total of 11 potential number divisions. It is constructed this for future expansion.
Are there any tricky payoff schemes like the three-head consolation, or rotation payoffs and other angles that Gentry is known for? Trevor Robinson, who manages Riata, says there will be a non-slide roping within a roping component to our payoff.
“We will be paying the highest placing ropers in each division that do not place in the slide,” Robinson said, using the lower slide as an example. “In other words, they are guaranteeing a number of places in each number division. So your #9.5s are competing against #9.5s and #10.5s are competing against #10.5. There will be ropings within ropings going on.”
Ropers who have always played the futurity game could have the advantage in the first year because they already have their training programs and horses going. But everyday ropers on unnominated horses have the potential to leave with half the money.
“A role reversal is underway,” Gentry said. “Horse show roping and futurity roping have always been a judged event, controlled by trainers and professional ropers. They do have the majority of the horses at this stage of the game. But if they have the horses, there is something that they need to get at those purses: They need numbered ropers. We never thought we would see the day when the pros and trainers are interviewing numbered ropers trying to fill the dance cards for their horses.”
