Millie Greenwood stayed consistent throughout the 2025 Columbia River Circuit Finals in Redmond, Oregon, for the average win with a time of 9.7 seconds on three head while Bailey Patterson maintained her Year-End lead, finishing with $29,711 earned.

Both of them will be representing the Columbia River region in the 2026 NFR Open in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Columbia River Circuit Average Champion: Millie Greenwood

Caldwell, Idaho’s Greenwood captured the average championship with times of 3.7, 3.3 and 2.7 seconds. In all, she earned $6,146 at the finals, bringing her overall Circuit total to $20,155.

For the 22-year-old, the win was more than a strong weekend—it was a breakthrough that capped off years of persistence inside the Columbia River Circuit.

“It’s huge,” Greenwood said. “It really gives me a lot of confidence. I’ve tried to go a lot in the circuit and I’ve wanted to go more. This just makes for a better start to next year—and getting to go to Colorado Springs is icing on the cake.”

Greenwood has carried her WPRA card for four years, getting it for her 18th birthday in 2021. This season, she started steady with small-check finishes across the Northwest, including splits and placings at Tonasket, Hermiston, and Nampa, before hitting a stride through Ellensburg and Pendleton—two of her biggest rodeos of the year.

The summer months, however, tested her resolve.

“After the Fourth of July, it really took a lot to get things lined back out,” Greenwood said. “It was a long time of frustrations and trying to get it figured back out. I was throwing the same loops and just had to find that confidence again.”

She leaned heavily on her family and mentors to pull through the rough patch, adopting a mindset inspired by fellow roper J.J. Hampton: “You’re one nod away from things turning around.”

“Even up until this weekend, that quote stuck with me,” Greenwood said. “I went to a jackpot the night before the circuit finals and missed like, five calves in a row. My mom reminded me—you’re one nod away from things turning around. And she was right.”

True to her steady nature, Greenwood approached the Redmond finals with the mindset of a strategist, not a gunslinger.

“I’m not really an all-or-nothing roper,” she said. “I really like the averages and the two-head or three-head formats where you just stay hooked. That’s how my dad taught me—the go-round chips fall how they do, but the average pays really good.”

That philosophy paid off in Redmond. Riding her 13-year-old gelding “Patrick,” Greenwood upped the ante with each round. Peer Jordan Minor had won Rounds 1 and 2, so Greenwood planned to stay the course and improve on her 3.3-second run she posted in Round 2. In Round 3, she stopped the clock in 2.7 seconds while Minor failed to connect with her calf, making Greenwood the Champion.

“I just told myself, do your job,” Greenwood said. “Patrick would do his. He’s a sassy, salty old man, but he’s quick across the line and has a big stop. That’s what makes him so good in the short setups.”

Greenwood’s Redmond win not only earned her a circuit title but also set the stage for her 2026 season. With Patrick and her second horse “Remix” both firing, she’s ready to expand her reach beyond the circuit that shaped her.

“This is the best fall I’ve ever had rodeoing,” she said. “It finally all came together.”

Greenwood thanked her mom Niki for being her traveling partner, as well her father Jay Don, brother, Seth and Kelly Hopper, Chris and Macy Young, as well as Karen and Mike Fuller.

Columbia River Circuit Year-End Champion: Bailey Patterson

Patterson had the Columbia River Circuit season of a lifetime, rounding up a total of $29,711 and winning the famed Pendleton Round-Up.

Patterson’s primary mount throughout the year was 20-year-old black mare Stella, registered as JW Trapper Tuff. At the Circuit Finals, she rode palomino gelding “Dame,” who was originally trained as a head horse that she and her husband Trevor trained. This summer was his first time making breakaway runs and they earned a total of $2,151 at the Circuit Finals to cap off the year.

Bailey Patterson’s top Columbia River Paydays

• Pendleton Round-Up, Pendleton, OR, $15,475
• Sisters Rodeo, Sisters, OR, $3,177
• Eastern Oregon Livestock Show, Union, OR, $1,931
• Yakima Valley Fair & Rodeo, Grandview, WA, $1,270