Rylee George captured one of the coveted Texas Swing rodeos championships in Austin, looping a brahman-bred calf in 1.7 seconds for the $11,280 in the short go.
“The short round had some pretty good girls in it, and when I backed in the box, I knew I wasn’t going for second,” George, 25, said. “If you miss the barrier there, you’re running down the arena farther down than you want to go.”
George said she expected her short go calf to head right, leading her to rope with more downward angle and off to the right. When the lop-earred calf stayed straight, she decided go ahead and throw, counting on her follow through to carry her loop across the calf. The resulting catch saw her rope first make contact with the calves’ throat before swinging up onto its head. And while it may not have been the throw she envisioned, a win is a win.
George’s 2.0-second run in the first round and 2.1-second run in the Semifinals added more than $3,500 to her Rodeo Austin total, bumping her from No. 15 to No. 6 in the WPRA World Standings with $36,131 won,
“Having this much money right now is great,” George said. “I have three times as much money won now as I did last year leaving for California.”
Rodeo Austin context
In 2025 Rodeo Austin swapped from an average-based format to progressive rounds, leading the ladies to swing for the fences each time.
“It changed everyone’s game plans,” George explained. “You can’t back off on the one-headers and Deputy loves the one headers with the short gos.”
Riding 21-year-old gelding Fantaz Popularresort, known as “Deputy,” thrives on short setups, winning Round 5 on him at the 2024 NFBR with a 1.7-second run.
Deputy is pulling all the weight on Team George right now, too, with bay gelding “Royce” out with a strained tendon in his hock. As George eyes the California run and it’s longer scores, she’s planning on jump-riding friend’s horses to help fill in the gaps.
“In California and going to be jump-riding horses quite a bit,” George. “But I’ve ridden them before, so it gives you a bit of confidence. Going to California is fun—it’s going home. I get to see all the family and those rodeos are fun, seeing a longer score.”
