After meeting for the first time at the Finals, Camden Ellis, 13, of Norman, Oklahoma, and Haley Tschickardt, 20, of Corpus Christi, Texas, won the #2 Beginner Sort at the 2026 Cinch RSNC World Finals in Fort Worth, Texas, sorting 15 head in 84.47 seconds over three rounds for $2,098.
Luck of the Draw
On paper, Ellis, 13, and Tschickardt, 20, seemed unlikely champions. They had never met, never ridden together and had never swung a leg over the horses beneath them. Tschickardt hadn’t even planned to compete. And days earlier, Ellis walked out of an emergency room with nine staples in his head.
Their partnership came together through the virtual rider draw, a placeholder assigned when no real partner is available for the team draw.
“I had a virtual rider,” Ellis said. “I thought I’d get scratched, then Haley just came up and told me, ‘Hey, I’m going to ride with you.’”
Tschickardt attends Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas, and attended the Finals simply to reconnect with friends from her ranch sorting days back in high school.
“I came back here to just see the old sorters but figured, ‘I’ll just get on again because I miss it,’” she said.
The pair leaned on a simple plan in the short round.
“We just needed to get five head,” Ellis said.
Tschickardt, who hadn’t sorted with RSNC before and hadn’t competed in more than a year, said the nerves faded once she was in the pen.
“I was feeling anxious, but then I got in the pen and I did some rollbacks at the gate and then I thought, ‘Okay, let’s just go and have fun,’” she said. “And we ended up winning, so that’s awesome.”
New Partners, New Horses
Neither rider had a history with the horse they rode to the win.
Ellis was aboard Smoothies Starlight (Smooth As A Cat x Nurse Gray), a 2015 sorrel gelding, or “Tuff” under saddle. The horse belongs to Ellis’ grandfather Don Lamont, a well-known name in ranch sorting circles, and it was Ellis’ first time on the horse.
“He’s pretty fast,” Ellis said. “He knows how to work.”
Tschickardt rode Maid In Texas (Third Cutting x Maid By Haida), a 2017 mare, or “Buttercup” under saddle, belonging to her former high school sorting trainer, Nicole Hale, who herself had owned the horse only a few weeks. Tschickardt was surprised to learn the horse had no background in sorting.
“Thankfully this horse was a cutter and knew her stuff,” Tschickardt said. “She was great.”
The Week That Almost Wasn’t
Ellis’ path to the pen took an unplanned detour days before the Finals.
“I was riding an electric bike and this golf cart pulled out in front of me,” he said. “I slammed on the brakes, went flying and busted my head open.”
Nine staples later, Ellis was back in the saddle and collecting his first buckle.
Tschickardt admitted she felt the weight of it more than her partner did.
“He told me he never won a buckle before, right before we went in,” she said. “And I was like, ‘Oh, great, no pressure.’”
Their partnership lasted just three rounds, but it was enough to turn two strangers—and two unfamiliar horses—into World Finals champions.
#2 Beginner Sort — 2026 World Finals Champions
| Champions | Camden Ellis (Norman, Oklahoma) & Haley Tschickardt (Corpus Christi, Texas) |
| Winning run | 84.47 on 15 head |
| First-place payout | $2,098 |
| Total class payout | $8,100 |
Payouts
| Place | Team | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Camden Ellis / Haley Tschickardt | $2,098 |
| 2 | Brogan Stuart / Lisa Zambrano | $1,648 |
| 3 | Brogan Stuart / Kyle Bertling | $1,274 |
| 4 | Allie McKee / Sammy Laham | $750 |
| 5 | Rc Chavez / Avery Hall | $674 |
| 6 | Dave Salzbrenner / Colt Badeaux | $600 |
| 7 | Jeremy Miller / Michelle Wibbens | $450 |
