The 2026 Cinch RSNC World Finals didn’t just crown World Champions—it rewrote the record book. Total cash payout for the week topped $1.15 million, the first time the sport of ranch sorting has paid more than $1 million in a single event. The record run peaked on Gold Shootout Finals Night, when more than $416,000 changed hands in a single day, the largest one-day payout in the sport’s history.
Gold Shootouts Stand Out
Much of that single-day total came from the Professional’s Choice #9 Gold Shootout, the highest-paying class of the week at $179,410. Johnnie Lusk, of Henderson, Texas, and Jim Odom, of Fate, Texas, rode away with $41,770 of it—the biggest check of the week. The other Gold Shootout classes followed form with the Cinch #13 paying out $147,984, the US Rider #5 Gold Shootout paying $59,840 and the Priefert Open Gold Shootout paying $28,008.
Youth Remain an RSNC Priority
The annual Youth Finals Night was another grand success highlighting the next generation of ranch sorting talent. EQN Sports #18 Rated Youth class was supported by the previous night’s Pro Futurity Calcutta, in which generous supporters raised $4,400 to contribute to the youth pot. With that contribution, the class paid out $15,846 with Mandie O’Neil of Brenham, Texas, and Clara Mas of Allentown, New Jersey, winning the World and taking home $4,084. The #8 Youth paid $5,160 and crowned Jae Murphy and Emery Crouse with World Champion titles and $1,528.
A few nights later, Easton Burns stole the show when he and his father, Joe Burns, of Eldon, Missouri, teamed up for a thrilling $13,196 win in the Hyer #11 Rookie, which followed his win in the Youth Beginner/Adult Gate class with Brandon Kruger of Lake Lillian, Minnesota.
Honoring Those Dear and Far
The Finals Nights are also an opportunity to recognize important members of the Cinch RSNC community, like our military veteran members from across our Armed Forces branches and the competitors from across the globe. In 2026, ranch sorters from Australia, Brazil, Mexico and Canada traveled great distances to ensure this event remains a true World Finals.
A New Top 10 Ranch Sorter Recognized
Not every headline came from the arena. Tanner Keith of Austinville, Virginia, closed out the 2025–2026 season by joining Cinch RSNC’s Top 10 All-Time Money Earners after a $25,000 comeback season pushed his career earnings past $290,000. And Keith wasn’t done yet.
In his quest for the Champion of the Champions Open title, Keith partnered with Chris Mangold of Hesperia, California, in a run that featured an impudent red #5 trash cow that tested, then tested, then tested the team again. Each time it seemed like the cow might win, Mangold or Keith would appear to assist and hold the line. The crowd, wholly invested, roared when the cow finally turned and quit, and the barely heard buzzer marked time. The moment—dubbed “The Save of the Season” and inspiring much social media hype for the event and the sport—was a pivotal moment in Keith’s path to claiming the Holiday Auto Group Challenge of the Champions title.
Challenge of the Champions
The Holiday Auto Group Challenge of the Champions features each division’s top five season money earners, and the growth was clear. It took $45,020 to qualify for the Open in 2026, up 40% from $32,061 in 2025. Joel Lesh, from Stillwater, Oklahoma, qualified No. 1 in the Open both years, and his qualifying total climbed from $64,751 to $81,704, a $16,953 jump. The 20 Challenge of the Champions qualifiers combined for $722,893 in 2026, up from $715,014 the year before.
In addition to Keith winning the Holiday Auto Group Challenge of the Champions Open division, fellow champions Brea Vardas of Campbell, Texas, in the Amateur, Anna Butler of Walterboro, South Carolina, in the Novice and Eric Turner of Sellersville, Pennsylvania, in the Rookie, also earned Champion of the Champions titles.
Mark Your Calendars
With the 2026 Cinch RSNC World Finals being as fun and successful as it was, we’re already looking to raising the bar in 2027. Save the dates, ranch sorters. We’re going big for the 2027 Cinch RSNC World Finals XX. We’ll see you June 5–12, in Fort Worth.
