Wyatt Erb and Christy Hayes captured their first major Cinch RSNC Gold Shootout championship in the US Rider #5 Gold Shootout at the 2026 Northeast Regional Super Sort, winning $2,988 on April 19 at the Keystone Horse Center in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. The pair sorted 15 head in 154.19 seconds to secure the victory.
For Erb, 16, from Beverly, Ohio, the win nearly never happened.
He initially had no plan to sign up for the class, and it took some encouragement—and a borrowed horse—to get him back in the pen, but the last-minute decision paid off in a big way.
“We ride together as friends, but we never competed together before until this past weekend, and we did great together,” Hayes said of her reluctant partner.
The US Rider #5 Gold Shootout featured one of the most challenging herds of the weekend, with many teams striking out in the early rounds. As the last draw in the finals, Erb and Hayes entered with a simple game plan: stay smooth, ride their run and get a time on the board.
“The cows were tough all weekend,” said Hayes, who hails from Dawson, Pennsylvania. “But I just told [Wyatt], ‘Let’s just ride like normal. Let’s just get five and quit.’ And it worked out.”
Their calm approach proved to be the winning formula, as well as the horsepower they brought in the pen with them.
Hayes made a key switch before the finals. After riding her 2019 mare, Whisstlin Dixie (Hashtags x Hisstereya), through the first two rounds, she felt a change was needed and climbed aboard Rebella Bella (Metallic Rebel x Lizzabella) for the championship round.
Erb also made a late adjustment, borrowing Belinda Mendenhall’s 2018 mare Laguna Madrey (Dual Smart Rey x That Sly Chance) for the class.
“Well, I asked Belinda [if I could] ride her because my horse was tired,” Erb said. “She’s a pretty good horse, pretty quick. I’m glad I rode her because we had a cow that I thought we weren’t going to get stopped.”
The Gold Shootout title capped an already successful weekend for the duo. Earlier in the event, Erb and Hayes teamed up to win the Spalding Labs Western Heritage #6, earning $1,244.
With two wins and strong chemistry in their first weekend of competition together, Erb and Hayes may be a team to watch in future ranch sorting events.