Dashing Company “Ernie” spent most of 2026 getting the call from Brenten Hall, no matter what kind of setup they were headed to.

After a hectic Horse of the Year voting process ended with Ernie earning the 2026 Nutrena Head Horse of the Year title, Hall joined The Short Score to tell the story behind the 11-year-old gelding—from being bought off the track by Hall’s father-in-law, Guy Howell, to becoming Hall’s main mount throughout the 2026 ProRodeo season.

Hall estimates he rode Ernie on roughly 85% of his runs this year, relying on the gelding everywhere from tight indoor setups to long-score rodeos. For Hall, that versatility is exactly what separates Ernie.

“It’s taken me until Ernie that I felt like I had one that was good inside and outside,” Hall said.

Hall also talks about how well Ernie handles the ProRodeo pressures like the long hauls and big crowds, the family connection that makes the award especially meaningful and some of his favorite runs from their season together.

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The 2026 Old West World Championships paid out $1.13 million in Amarillo, pushing Old West’s total awarded money for the year to $5.1 million—and championship Saturday brought together some of the best young horses and horsemen in the business.

On this episode of The Score, hear from all the winners across the Non-Pro, Limited, Intermediate and Open as they break down their championship runs, the horses that got them there and what it means to compete in the middle of a rapidly-growing industry.

The episode includes Brooke Wilson, Sy York, Culley Morgan, Brodie Boyce, Jackie Crawford, Jordan Allyn, Trevor Boatwright, Andy Holcomb and Clyde Bolejack before moving into the Open champions with Joseph Harrison and Royal Nites, Hunter Koch and Rockk Star and Trevor Brazile’s sweep of both Open heading championships.

Brazile finished the week as Amarillo’s highest-earning rider with $166,472—more than double any other rider at the event—as another Old West World Championships came to a close. X Performance Horses, owners of Rockk Star, were the top-earning owners with $91,343 won on seven horses.

Jake Long knows what a Horse of the Year feels like, but after three-time winner Colonel, he wasn’t sure he would ever find another one of that caliber.

Then came 7-year-old Hezaluckysonofagun “Copper,” the horse that carried Long to his first world championship and is now the 2026 Nutrena Heel Horse of the Year.

On this episode of The Short Score, Long talks about Copper’s traits that make him a Horse-of-the-Year-type of horse, several of those reminding him of Colonel. But for Long, what makes Copper special goes beyond his ability in the arena. He’s a horse that wants attention, wants to be his buddy and, as Long puts it, “tries his hardest every single time.”

Long also reflects on the horse that helped build his career. After winning his first gold buckle aboard Copper, Long went home to Oklahoma to see Colonel, hugged the retired Horse of the Year and told him, “We got one.” Now, with Copper adding that same title to his résumé, Long has found another one he plans to keep for life.

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For Colby Lovell and Ty Arnold, winning $100,000 at the 2026 Riata Championships was about more than the check.

Lovell and Arnold won the Pro Futurity in Guthrie with a 34.82 on five head aboard Royal Underdog and Sugar Boom Boom, respectively, giving Lovell his third Riata Championship. But both horses carried a little extra meaning into the Lazy E: Royal Underdog came through Lovell’s own breeding program, while Arnold’s Sugar Boom Boom was raised by his longtime friend Justin Henson.

On this episode of The Score, Lovell talks about watching his breeding program come full circle and what it means to remember these horses from the day they were born. He also dives into the influence Metallic Payday has had on his program, what he looks for in a stallion and why great-minded horses with the ability to rise to the occasion have shaped the standard he tries to reproduce.

Arnold explains how Sugar Boom Boom came through Henson’s program before landing in his hands as a young horse, eventually becoming a horse he used every day and developed into the winner he rode at the Riata. He and Lovell also talk about their partnership at home, the importance of practicing against people who push you and the confidence that comes from knowing each man will handle his side of the run.

For Lovell, that trust showed up in the high call. Arnold said his only concern was doing his own job because he knew Lovell would give him the shot. Lovell echoed the same confidence from the other side: “If I do my job, Ty completes the course.”

The two East Texas cowboys break down the horses, the partnership and the years of breeding, training and preparation behind a Riata win that was anything but overnight.

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At just 5 years old, A Relentless Buzz is already the kind of head horse Trevor Brazile can back into the box on without much to manage—and that maturity helped carry the gray to the 6-&-Under Heading win at the Texas Best Futurity in Decatur, Texas.

On this episode of The Short Score, Brazile breaks down what makes A Relentless Buzz so solid, from the box and plenty of run to the smooth way the big horse handles himself. The gelding has become one Brazile takes to the jackpots, too, because there simply is not much about him that is easy to fault.

Brazile also talks through why the lighter cattle and setup at the Texas Best Futurity offered a valuable test ahead of the bigger fall shows. For young horses, he said, every trip to town is another chance to add pressure, see where anxiety may show up and make sure they are ready for the rest of the year.

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Growing up in Red Bluff, California, Chelsey Bushnell pictured her rope taking her to the biggest stages in rodeo.

She roped calves and team roped, won back-to-back California high school state titles and carried that with her into college, once dreaming of becoming the first woman to rope at the NFR. Flash forward and her career did end up revolving around a rope—it just took a route she never expected.

On this episode of The Score, Bushnell chats with host Calli Montague about moving from college rodeo into the marketing world, working with brands including Cactus Ropes and turning a trick-roping talent she learned as a kid into the recognizable Chelsey Trick Ropes social presence. What began with hours spent roping the dummy eventually grew into brand collaborations, her own trick rope and another way to make a living in the industry she grew up loving.

Bushnell also explains why the trick roping has always been about more than entertaining people. At its core, she wants it to help ropers—especially kids—learn to handle a rope better and become more capable when a run does not go perfectly. As she puts it, the better somebody can handle a rope, the better they can rope in general.

As part of Women in Rodeo Month, Bushnell also reflects on the opportunities available to women today, the importance of faith, character and integrity, and her desire to use her platform to help and encourage the people around her. She may not have followed the exact path she imagined as a girl, but the rope has remained at the center of nearly every chapter.

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James Arviso and Levi Lord didn’t head into the 2026 season knowing exactly what their new partnership would look like. Now, with the regular season winding down, both are sitting Top 6 in the PRCA World Standings and headed toward the Finals.

Fresh off splitting the Cinch Playoffs title in Puyallup, Washington, with Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueira, Arviso and Lord join The Score to break down the runs that earned them $14,858 apiece, including the 4.1-second run that tied for the Finals win.

Arviso and Lord also talk about why the Puyallup win mattered after a slower stretch late in the summer, how they’ve learned to manage rodeo formats without forcing fast runs, why their styles fit so well together and how their partnership clicked so quickly after coming together earlier this summer.

Plus, Arviso reflects on how much has changed since his rookie season, while Lord talks about handling partner changes, the amount of money still available late in the ProRodeo season and the mindset that has helped him find success behind different headers throughout his career.

Solo Select founder Melanie Smith joins The Score 30 days out from the second Solo Select Rope Horse Futurity, Sept. 30–Oct. 1 at Circle T Arena in Hamilton, Texas, where a minimum $620,000 in added money is on the line for 4-year-olds in heading, heeling, breakaway and tie-down.

Smith explains where the added money comes from (a cut of every 2026 breeding fee), what makes a horse eligible (one paid contract to a nominated stallion equals one entry, any sire), and how the 40/60 payout works: every entry runs for the 40 percent contract pot, offspring of Solo Select stallions that make the short round draw the 60 percent sire pot, and unclaimed sire-pot money rolls back to contract holders. She also makes the case for the clean-slate finals, the $50,000-added Intermediate on each end, and the long-term goal of the whole program: making yearlings, 2-year-olds and 3-year-olds worth more money.

The second half gets into managing junior stallions — setting Third Edge's fee, why hype doesn't matter if the babies don't win, and why Solo Select breeds its own mares to its young horses — plus the cutting, cow horse and $100,000 recipient mare incentives.

Entries close Sept. 28. Enter through ARHFA. Breeding questions: Solo Select stallion office, (903) 436-6615.