Rylee George and her gray gelding Copper, bought from Rickie Fanning in mid-January, won the inaugural 2026 Premier Women’s Rodeo Championship breakaway roping event title and a $60,000 paycheck inside Cowtown Coliseum on May 15, bringing her championship-week total to $62,607.14.
The Oakdale, CA, roper roped her calf in 1.93 to take the Championship Round outright. Her PWR week paid roughly 2.5 times what she banked at the 2025 National Finals Breakaway Roping in December, where she was the high-money winner at $25,000.
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“That’s my biggest payout in one place,” George said. “So this is a really exciting week.”
George worked her way to the Championship Round through the 3-run aggregate. She placed fourth in Round 1 at 2.50 for $500, then played the average through Round 2 and the Semi-Finals.
“Last two rounds, everybody’s got it figured out,” George said of the preliminary competition. “I just made sure to try to catch them and get to the final round, where the big money was.”
She backed Corona Colours, a 2008 son of into the box in the Championship Round knowing the calf she drew didn’t have a clean track record. Her plan was to take her first shot.
“My game plan going into it was just hit the barrier and take the first shot I had,” George said. “Because I knew that was going to be my best throw at him.”
Copper, the gray gelding most insiders still associate with Rickie Fanning, was a horse George had been chasing for two years before Fanning finally agreed to sell in January. George’s stepdad helped her make the buy. He’s a 2008 model registered Corona Colours.
“I’ve been watching that horse for so long, and he just looked so easy to me,” George said. “I bugged Rickie forever to sell him, and she finally sold him to me this year. He’s been so good for me. He’s easy, fits my style, wants to be freer and just scores so good.”
What makes Copper work at Cowtown, known to regulars as Northside, is how he handles the corner.
“He stands so good in the box and scores so good,” George said. “You can go right on him, he can see whatever he needs to see, and he’s going to leave the corner strong and just head right to the calf. All you have to worry about is your own start.”
George’s read on the building itself: it’s a barrier game.
“Cowtown is so short and you run an arena so fast, that if you can get your start—whether your calf runs good or not—and hit the barrier right, you’re going to get a good throw in that building.”
This was George’s third year through the WRWC, now branded PWR, pipeline. She made the final round her first year, missed it last year and got back through this year on a generic-qualification spot earned at the Oil Classic in Oklahoma City.
“I try to nominate one place and get my spot one time and be done,” George said. “If not, you have to nominate a little more and try different places to get points.”
She’s planning to take Copper and a 5-year-old prospect by Call Me Mitch on the summer run. Although she’ll stay focused on the rodeos, George noted that the futurity events are beginning to call her name.
“I’ve been trying to find a young horse that I like, and I’ve taken her to a couple. Pretty easy. I definitely want to find more horses.”
She closed on the support behind it all.
“I’m just thankful for my parents that helped me get down the road,” George said. “My stepdad, too. They’ve helped me with horses, and a lot, and I just couldn’t do any of this without a great support team.
