Peggy Garman stopped the clock at 2.8 seconds at the Red Bluff Round-Up over the weekend to win a sweet $5,819 and turn her luck around.

After not having the performances, she thought she could at places like San Angelo and Salina, Garman was ready to redeem herself.

“I missed some good chances here the last three weeks to have put some money together. And I was a little disgusted with myself after that,” Garman said. “So, to get the win at Red Bluff and boost myself is a blessing.”

The 29-year-old Sundance, Wyoming, native has been roping nearly all her life but really hit the ProRodeo scene back in 2022 when she started hauling with Erin Johnson.

“She’s really good at talking you into winning when maybe your confidence isn’t the best,” Garman said. “We have fun together.”

Part of that turnaround has come alongside a young horse that’s starting to click.

Garman has been riding Smart Metallic Fox, better known as “Nacho,” a 7-year-old Metallic Everything gelding out of a ZZ Docs Lil Fox mare. She’s spent the last three years starting and seasoning him, and the payoff is starting to show.

“It’s been a long process to get him where he is, but he can run and score,” Garman said. “It’s a lot of fun when the reward of putting all that hard work into one finally gets to see some light.”

The setup at Red Bluff played right into their strengths, too. With a longer box and calves that allowed her to see them out in front, Garman was able to stay in position and let her horse do his job. It’s a style that suits both her and Nacho, especially when the pace is fast and timing matters.

California is a place Garman has returned to over the years, knowing the setups and cattle tend to fit her eye. Having claimed the Wilderness Circuit, she was already headed west, making the trip to California a natural extension.

Like most on the road, though, decisions don’t stop at the arena gate. Rather than staying on the West Coast to finish out the California Swing, Garman made the call to head back and regroup, weighing the cost of travel against opportunity.

“With the rodeo count now, it’s important to know which ones are worth it,” Garman said. “Staying that extra week just didn’t make sense with the expenses, so it was better to come back.” Now, with a big win behind her and confidence building, she’s turning her focus to the next stretch of rodeos, kicking it off in Guymon May 1-3, 2026