It took 219.07 seconds and 36 head, but the Texas team of Donnie Frederick and Brandon Wine turned four rounds of the Total Feeds #8 into a $19,608 payday at the 2026 Cinch RSNC World Finals in Fort Worth, Texas.
A Nervy Finish
Frederick and Wine rode into the championship round with a clean slate, catching all 10 head in each of the first three rounds. The winning run looked smooth from the stands, but it came down to a shaky handoff between partners when Wine stepped out of the gate early, thinking Frederick already had his calf handled.
“I stepped out of the gate because I thought he had his calf, and I never looked back,” said Wine, who hails from Bowie. “It stalled on him, and I went and got mine. Luckily, he came around and caught everything, and it worked out.”
Frederick, who traveled to Fort Worth from Crosby, just outside Houston, said the plan all week had been simple.
“We just went in and made sure we got our cuts sorted correct and didn’t put a lot of pressure on the cows,” Frederick said. “It really helps.”
The pairing goes back to the two riding together at Tim Field’s shows around Texas, where Frederick asked Wine to team up for the 2026 season.
For Wine, riding with Frederick is a highlight of the win.
“Donnie’s just a trip,” Wine said. “He’s always a good time.”
New to the Game
Frederick began ranch sorting with Cinch RSNC in 2025, and he hit the ground running at last year’s World Finals where he even snagged a couple Fast Time and Incentive checks. But to become a World Champion this year, he rode “Jolene,” registered as Whatthefrecklecat (Bamacat x Freckles Dual Play), a 2017 mare he borrowed from his good friend, Keith Bertling.
“He lets me ride her a whole lot,” Frederick said. “When you find a horse you click with, it makes it easy.”
A Diamond in the Rough
Wine rode Smart Mouth Tracie (NRR Cat King Cole x Smart Mouth Annie), a 2018 bay gelding known as “Cowboy.” The horse came to Wine’s family with some age on him already, trained but having sat idle for several years before Wine’s wife, Dana, took a liking to him and started riding him herself.
“He needed somebody to push him a little harder,” Wine said. “I took him, and he’s really cowy.”
#8 — 2026 World Finals Champions
| Champions | Donnie Frederick (Crosby, Texas) & Brandon Wine (Bowie, Texas) |
| Winning run | 219.07 on 36 head |
| First-place payout | $19,608 |
| Total class payout | $76,660 |
Top 10 Payouts
| Place | Team | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brandon Wine / Donnie Frederick | $19,608 |
| 2 | Colt Dooley / Chad Campbell | $13,698 |
| 3 | Kiley Watkins / Kathy Doornink | $9,776 |
| 4 | David Harbers / Jerry Davis | $6,444 |
| 5 | Cowboy Mariano / Carmen Lowe | $5,478 |
| 6 | Brad Scrivner / Charles Hohensee | $4,510 |
| 7 | Brandon Pierce / Kai Clark | $3,866 |
| 8 | Billy Nell / Mikayla Jackson | $3,220 |
| 9 | Tommy Perkins / Aaron Berry | $2,578 |
| 10 | Caiden Kraker / Aubree Coker | $2,256 |
