Challenge of the Champions Cutoffs Soar Since September

The Face-Off Zone numbers look a lot different than they did six weeks ago at the Sept. 2 standings update. According to the Cinch RSNC leaderboard, the money needed to hold a Top 5 spot in the 2026–2027 Holiday Auto Group Challenge of the Champions has climbed in every division, led by the Novice ranch sorters, whose cutoff tripled from $3,568 to $10,937. The Open cutoff more than doubled, from $7,182 to $16,835. The Amateur mark rose from $7,033 to $12,605, and Rookie’s from $2,636 to $5,602.

Beneath those numbers, 22 of the 40 Top 10 spots belong to ranch sorters who weren’t on the lists previously, and the Rookie cutoff is now a narrow $39 gap. The Top 5 money earners in each division at season’s end qualify for the year-end tournament at the World Finals in June.

Open: Jessie Wolfe Closes In on Hunter Brzymialkiewicz

Hunter Brzymialkiewicz (Waller, Texas) still holds No. 1 at $25,376, unchanged from Sept. 2, but his cushion has shrunk from $12,788 to $3,382. Jessie Wolfe (Wellington, Colorado) is the reason. Wolfe has added $16,068 since Sept. 2, climbing from No. 6 ($5,926) to No. 2 ($21,994), the biggest gain in the Open. Of that, $10,218 came at the Western States Finals, produced by Western States Productions and held Sept. 24-27 at the Reno Sparks Livestock Events Center in Reno, Nevada. Wolfe earned $7,863 winning the #13 Gold Shootout with BJ Hilborn and added $2,355 across three other classes.

Kevin Reese (Fayetteville, Tennessee) rose from fifth to third with $20,100, a $12,918 gain, and sits just $44 ahead of Chris Mangold (Hesperia, California), who slipped from third to fourth at $20,056. Joel Lesh (Stillwater, Oklahoma), second on Sept. 2 at $12,588, added $4,247 but fell to fifth. He now holds the cut at $16,835, $3,762 ahead of Matt Stevens (Dublin, Texas). Logan Wolfe (Wellington, Colorado) dropped from fourth to seventh at $13,022.

Four riders are new to the list since Sept. 2: Stevens, Wayne McNeel (Winchester, California) at No. 8, Haily Mangold (Hesperia, California) at No. 9 and Rodi Torres (Waller, Texas) at No. 10. They replaced Tim Field, Tanner Keith, Kody Ward and Cali Brookshire.

Amateur: Ella Snyder Turns a $686 Deficit Into a $15,963 Lead

Ella Snyder (Fayetteville, Tennessee) now owns the biggest total on any board at $36,776. Her $16,649 gain since Sept. 2 flipped a $686 deficit to Nelson Mas (Allentown, New Jersey) into a $15,963 lead. Of that, $11,671 came at the Eastern States Finals, also produced by Western States Productions, Sept. 3-6 at Paul Battle Jr. Arena & Expo in Tunica, Mississippi, led by a $7,195 win in the 223-team Friday #10 Handicap with Novice leader Eric Turner. Mas, who led on Sept. 2, hasn’t added to his $20,813.

Jennifer Marshall (Modesto, California) is third at $14,502, followed by BJ Hilborn (Terrell, Texas) at $12,650. Hilborn won the #13 Gold Shootout at the Western States Finals in Reno, Nevada, with Open’s Jessie Wolfe. Victor Dold (Appleton, New York) holds the cut at $12,605, up from $5,670 and eighth on Sept. 2, and is $1,647 ahead of Randy Moore (Yatesville, Georgia).

Seven riders are new to the list: Marshall, Hilborn, Moore, Sage Bach (Florence, South Dakota), Blake Hensley (Hartselle, Alabama), Terri Barham (Montague, California) and Meghan Dold (Appleton, New York). They replaced seven names, including Sept. 2’s Nos. 3 and 4, Julia Sfera and Caitlin Cochran.

Novice: Hannah Wibbens Rockets From Sixth to Second

Eric Turner (Sellersville, Pennsylvania) still leads at $19,709, up $10,622 since Sept. 2, but his margin over Hannah Wibbens (Eastvale, California) is down to $3,050. Wibbens has gained $13,216, the biggest jump among riders who were in the Sept. 2 Top 10, moving from sixth to second at $16,659. All of it came at the Western States Finals in Reno, Nevada, led by a $6,200 win in the 186-team Friday #10 Handicap with Open’s Wayne McNeel. Aspen Reese (Fayetteville, Tennessee) slipped from second to third at $12,152.

Nikki Hale (Corpus Christi, Texas) is new at No. 4 with $11,070. Ron Vanderziel Jr. (Caliente, California) holds the cut at $10,937, triple the $3,568 that held fifth on Sept. 2, and is $672 ahead of Adley Reneau (Corpus Christi, Texas). Jerry Davis (Odessa, Texas), Karl Ziegler (Colbert, Washington) and Macy Max (Hughson, California) round out the new names, while Aric Adams (Ocala, Florida) dropped from fourth to ninth at $6,766.

Five riders left the Top 10, including Sept. 2’s No. 3, Zane Daniel, along with Jan Deile, Karen Narburgh, Sydney Gonzales and Jesse Stanfill.

Rookie: A $39 Gap Makes It the Tightest Face-Off Zone

Christy Hayes (Dawson, Pennsylvania) has moved from second to first at $9,293, a $5,068 gain since Sept. 2. Of that, $3,565 came at the Eastern States Finals in Tunica, Mississippi, led by a $2,360 runner-up finish in the 234-team Saturday #6/4 Inc Handicap with Amateur’s Randy Moore. Jodie Distad (Albert Lea, Minnesota) is second at $7,737 and Tracy Reed (Summerville, Oregon) third at $5,933. Chelsie Schmidt (Glide, Oregon) is fourth at $5,752.

The real race is for fifth. Jayden Mitchell (Campbell, Texas) holds the cut at $5,602, just $39 ahead of Lauri Vanderziel (Caliente, California), who led the division on Sept. 2 at $4,474. Vanderziel has added $1,089 since but slid to sixth. The Rookie gap is the tightest of any division: Open’s is $3,762, Amateur’s $1,647 and Novice’s $672.

Brandon Pierce (Williams, Georgia), Nate Badeaux (Luling, Louisiana) and Debbie Fogle (Montague, California) are among six riders new to the list. Cassie Daniel, Brenda Macauley, Makaila Ann, Hailey Ferguson, Jamie Grezaffi and Chris Urquidez are out.