Florida’s C Team sorted 27 head to win the State Extravaganza title at the 2026 Cinch RSNC World Finals in Fort Worth, Texas, beating out the Colorado-Wyoming B team and the Oklahoma B team on Finals Night. It’s the second time Florida has reached the State Extravaganza Finals—and the second time the state has come away with the win.
Coached by Liz McClendon of Plant City, the winning lineup paired masters rider Robert Barber of Reddick, open rider LaRei Grier of Ft. Pierce, novice rider Olga Barbella of Otter Creek, amateur rider JJ Gonzalez, also of Otter Creek, and youth rider Freddy Sanchez of Lakeland—Florida’s lowest-ranked team of the three it fielded that day, built from riders who’d finished third by points in their divisions.
The roster also spanned a wide range of ages—Sanchez, the youth rider, is 12; Barber, riding masters, is 76—a gap that speaks to the reach of Florida’s sorting community.
“They’ve worked for it all year long,” McClendon said. “We had an A team, a B team and a C team. This is our C team.”
McClendon said the team’s title run came down to consistency rather than big scores.
“You’ve got to sort cattle,” McClendon said. “You cannot blow out, because it’s a cumulative thing of cattle numbers. Just keep getting cows—don’t blow out.”
The Florida Sorting Family
For Barber and Grier, the win was as much about Florida’s ranch sorting community as it was about the round robin itself.
“These guys do it every day, all day long, and we just do it on the weekends,” Barber said. “So to come out here and be competitive with these guys is amazing.”
Grier, competing in the class for the first time since 2011, credited McClendon’s program for preparing her for the moment.
“We ride on really tough cows— little swampy, small cows, and they’re a little spoilier than these out here,” Grier said. “They teach you to sort, they teach you to be patient. And we have the most incredible support system within our Florida sorting family.”
Amateur rider JJ Gonzalez, who has ridden for Florida for about 12 years, said the win carried extra weight given the level of competition.
“It’s very competitive out there between Texas and Oklahoma,” Gonzalez said. “Florida’s been part of it since we started, so it feels good to win it right here in Texas.”
First Saddles for: Two First-Timers
Barbella has been sorting since 2012 but had never taken home a saddle of her own—until now.
“I’ve never gotten a saddle myself. I see everybody get their saddle home and I just haven’t,” Barbella said. “The fact that I got my first saddle as a prize, riding for Florida, means the world to me.”
Freddy Sanchez, competing at his second World Finals, earned his first saddle too.
“This is my first saddle,” Sanchez said. “I’m going to sleep with this saddle.”
