Old West’s Road to the Million has 16 horses competing for $1.375 million in sale graduate-only money in the rope horse futurity’s pre-futurity June 14-20, 2026, and of those 16, two will compete in the breakaway.
Old West Futurity Road to the Million Entry Confrimations
Every entry that ran through an official Old West Horse Sale is chasing two things at once: a share of the $375,000-added Guaranteed Sale Graduate Side Pot and, for a first-place finish, a piece of the $1 million bonus.
The Old West Rope Horse Futurity runs June 14-20 at the Wasatch County Event Complex. The pre-futurity classes—heading, heeling and breakaway, all for horses 4 and under—run early in the week, with finals and the payout staged Saturday night.
Pre-Futurity Breakaway
Both breakaway graduates double up from other disciplines, a reminder that under Old West rules eligibility follows the horse—so a versatile horse can chase the side pot in two or three pens in the same week. Breakaway entries are limited to women competitors.
Reyzin Royals — 2022 bay mare | Owner: Reyzin Royals Partnership | Breakaway: Cheyanne McCartney
Pedigree: Reyzin The Cash x Queen Cisco, by Peptoboonsmal.
Analysis: The group’s most accomplished graduate and a multi-discipline threat—entered in heeling (with VonAhn) and breakaway (with McCartney). Sire Reyzin The Cash (by Dual Rey) is an NRCHA Million-Dollar Sire now standing at the 6666 Ranch; the Peptoboonsmal-bred dam is a proven rope-horse producer. Bred by Utah State University. She is the group’s leading earner at $85,652—winning the Guthrie graduate side pot in both breakaway and heeling ($40,000 each).
Woody To My Jessie — 2022 sorrel mare | Owner: Mike Van Egdom | Breakaway: Danielle Wray
Pedigree: Woody Be Tuff x Metallic Jessie, by Metallic Cat.
Analysis: The most versatile graduate in the group, pointed at the bonus from three pens—Kaleb Driggers heads on her, Trey Yates heels on her and Danielle Wray rides her in the breakaway. J.D. Yates developed the mare and rode her to the pre-futurity heading championship at the ARHFA Red Bud Spectacular (899.20 composite; a division-best $20,160 at the event). By $16-million sire Woody Be Tuff and out of the Metallic Cat mare Metallic Jessie—Woody Be Tuff’s signature cross—she was bred by Redgie Probst.
For the full sixteen horse breakdown, head to TRJ.
How The Money Works
The $410,000 is added money that is paid out across the board. It is funded by entry fees, pays back 80 percent and is open to every horse in the class regardless of where it was bought.
The Guaranteed Sale Graduate Side Pot pays five spots deep in each discipline, independently, and it pays on top of whatever a horse earns in the main futurity pot. The catch is that the horse must have been purchased through an official Old West Horse Sale, compete in the 4-and-under division of an Old West Futurity, and qualify for the short round.
Eligibility attaches to the horse, not the rider, so an owner can put any roper on it. No ground money is paid, and if fewer than five graduates qualify, the payout simply stops at the last one standing. Any ownership transfer after the sale must be approved in writing by Old West to keep eligibility intact.
The Road to The Million Bonus is the headline number. An eligible sale graduate that wins first place in the four-and-under pre-futurity main pot—in heading, heeling, or breakaway—at Heber City earns a shot at $1 million. It is offered only at the Heber City event. There is no extra entry fee; buying the horse through the sale is what makes it eligible. If more than one graduate wins a discipline title, the bonus is split pro-rata based on entry volume.
Past Winners
Last year in Heber City, Macie-Rae Warken made a clean sweep of the roping, winning both the futurity and open breakaway. Getting the futurity win aboard SLR Twenty Twenty—who also won second in the open breakaway—and the open breakaway win aboard FQH Chili Cat.
This spring, at the Old West event in Guthrie, Oklahoma, Cheyanne McCartney made a clean sweep winning the futurity and pre-futurity breakaway.
Schedule and Draw
The pre-futurity breakaway starts on Friday, June 19, at 8 a.m. with the open breakaway to follow. The entries close Saturday June 13 and then the full draw will be posted.
