Johnnie Lusk, of Henderson, Texas, and Jim Odom, of Fate, Texas, sorted 36 head in 218.43 seconds over four rounds to win the Professional’s Choice #9 Gold Shootout at the 2026 Cinch RSNC World Finals, the highest-paying class of the event, worth $41,770 of the class’s $179,410 total payout.
The win almost didn’t happen. Weeks out from the World Finals, Odom had double-booked himself and wasn’t planning to make the run at all.
A Ride Nearly Lost
Lusk wasn’t about to let that happen.
“Jim had overbooked and wasn’t going to ride this ride,” Lusk said. “I told him, ‘You’ve got a problem—you need to fix this with somebody else,’ because we had this ride planned for months. He adjusted it, and it worked out well for us.”
Once they were in the pen together, the plan was simple.
“We like to get hooked up a little bit, keep each other slow, and pick them out one at a time,” Lusk said. “We were blessed to be here.”
Even after crossing the line, the win wasn’t a sure thing.
“There were still four teams that could catch us,” Lusk said. “We weren’t rooting against anybody— we were rooting for the cows. It all worked out for us.”
Borrowed Horses
Neither of the horses that carried Lusk and Odom to the win belonged to them. Lusk rode RJ Olena Sannman (Sannman x RJ Randy Red Cat), a 2019 red roan mare he calls “Lena,” one of several horses sired by $4 Million sire Sannman and owned by the Cooper family—Johnny, Shannon and Janet Cooper—who loan Lusk their horses to compete on.
“We’re blessed to have these Sannman horses,” Lusk said. “They’re good-tempered, they’re athletic, and they’re just all-around good horses.”
Odom’s own horse was out of juice by the time the World Finals rolled around, so he needed another mount. He found one in Bama San Kitty (Bama Cat x Purrin Again), a 2021 sorrel mare known as “Chillzy”— owned by Will Sloan, who’d bought her for his wife. The two never quite got along.
“This horse belongs to Will Sloan— he bought it for his wife, but she doesn’t get along with it,” Odom said. “My horse was out of juice, so I said, ‘Hey, I’m getting on this horse,’ and the rest is history.”
Odom had never sat on the mare before the World Finals. He climbed aboard for the first time in the second round of competition.
“It got me here,” Odom said. “It’s pretty nice.”
A Record Night, After a Rough Start
Odom’s day hadn’t started well. He failed his comeback run in the #13 Gold Shootout earlier in the day and wasn’t expecting much heading into the #9.
“I didn’t have high hopes coming into the number nine, to be honest,” Odom said. “But it worked out.”
The Professional’s Choice #9 Gold Shootout was the highest-paying class of the 2026 World Finals, and the Gold Shootout Finals Night made history as the highest-paying single day in ranch sorting history, with more than $416,000 awarded.
A Second Title and a First
Lusk, a Gold member of the Cinch RSNC Hall of Fame who joined the organization in 2014, has stood on top before. He won the 2024 #10 NonPro Shootout and was the 2023 #10 Masters World Champion.
For Odom, a Bronze Hall of Fame member since joining RSNC in 2010, the win was his first World Champion title. He was the 2013 #11 Ranch Hand Reserve World Champion, but this was the first time he’s reached the top of the leaderboard.
Both said they already know what they’ll do with their winnings.
“It’s always good to save it for a rainy day,” Lusk said. “It’s going in the bank.”
“Yeah, I think we’re going to go out and have a good time tonight,” Odom said.
#9 Gold Shootout — 2026 World Finals Champions
| Champions | Johnnie Lusk (Henderson, Texas) & Jim Odom (Fate, Texas) |
| Winning run | 218.43 on 36 head |
| First-place payout | $41,770 |
| Total class payout | $179,410 |
Top 10 Payouts
| Place | Team | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johnnie Lusk / Jim Odom | $41,770 |
| 2 | Tommy Perkins / Bill Womack | $30,074 |
| 3 | Chad Campbell / Cowboy Mariano | $21,718 |
| 4 | Hannah Johnston / Alyson Oliveira | $13,238 |
| 5 | Randy Moore / Raelynn Berry | $14,722 |
| 6 | Andrew Zito / Shane Boudreaux | $12,216 |
| 7 | Anna Braunschmidt / Carmen Lowe | $10,372 |
| 8 | Bronson Kruger / Casey Livingston | $8,700 |
| 9 | Kai Clark / Adley Reneau | $7,030 |
| 10 | Shyla Narachi / London Dickson | $6,022 |
