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Who’s Qualified for the 2026 Kimes Ranch Million Dollar Breakaway Semi-Finals

Josie Conner and her two-time Horse of the Year "Dutch" broke the rope of in 1.88 seconds in Round 3 of the Kimes Ranch Million Dollar Breakaway.
Blake RamseySep 29, 2026

Quealy Probst’s 2.37 on Avila Beach locked up the first automatic berth into the 2026 Kimes Ranch Million Dollar Breakaway Finals, and 45 more cowgirls have qualified for the Semi-Finals in Scottsdale, with 161 spots still up for grabs across five routes.

Probst’s run, the fastest of the Coastal Qualifier, won the clean-slate final on Sept. 24 and $10,000. The 45 cowgirls behind her came out of the First Chance and the brand-new Coastal, and four unclaimed Coastal PWR Challenger berths are still open, too. The next big one is Oklahoma’s Richest, with 60 spots, starting Oct. 15.

Every roper at the Semi-Finals on Nov. 25 has to earn her way in, because Kimes Ranch did away with the automatic bid for the top of the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) World Standings. Of those 211, 17 advance to join the three qualifier champions in the 20-woman Finals.

The Finals run 10 rounds over Nov. 26-28, with a cut from 20 to 15 after Round 6 and $1,000,000 on the line. The high-money title goes on cumulative earnings across the qualifiers, Semi-Finals and Finals. First Chance money from December doesn’t count this year; every qualifier counts starting in 2027.

First Chance Qualifier: 25 Qualified

Dec. 21, 2025 · Scottsdale, Arizona

Shania Johnston was the first one in. Her 1.89 topped a Round 1 that also sent Cloey Ketchum (2.03), Fallon Ruffoni (2.13), Taylor Girvin (2.15) and Alee Andrews (2.16) to the Semi-Finals. Johnston banked $2,021 for the round win.

Jackie Crawford, breakaway’s first $1 million ProRodeo cowgirl, made it on the aggregate. Two Thompsons are in, too: Haiden Thompson qualified in Round 2 and Hadley Thompson on the aggregate.

Cowgirl

Hometown

How She Qualified

Shania Johnston

Calera, Oklahoma

Round 1

Cloey Ketchum

Gladewater, Texas

Round 1

Fallon Ruffoni

Atascadero, California

Round 1

Taylor Girvin

Flagstaff, Arizona

Round 1

Alee Andrews

Blossom, Texas

Round 1

Blakely Boardman

Stephenville, Texas

Round 1 (PWR Challenger)

Haiden Thompson

Yoder, Wyoming

Round 2

Ali Norcutt

Fallon, Nevada

Round 2

Kaydin Finan

Wickenburg, Arizona

Round 2

Braylee Shepherd

Fitzhugh, Oklahoma

Round 2

Brooke Bruner

Parker, Colorado

Round 2

Linden Schenk

Joliet, Montana

Round 2 (PWR Challenger)

Hadley Thompson

Yoder, Wyoming

Aggregate

Kirby Rawlinson

Waller, Texas

Aggregate

Jackie Crawford

Stephenville, Texas

Aggregate

Rylie Edens

Hillsboro, Texas

Aggregate

Hailey Schafer

San Tan Valley, Arizona

Aggregate

Jakelyn Primrose

Eagle Lake, Texas

Aggregate

Quealy Probst

Wallsburg, Utah

Aggregate (won Coastal final; automatic Finals berth)

Josie Goodrich

Stanfield, Oregon

Aggregate

Kimberly Williams

North Powder, Oregon

Aggregate

Kieley Walz

Ainsworth, Nebraska

Aggregate

Alyesha Burford

Lipan, Texas

Aggregate (PWR Challenger)

Sophie Hruby

Hemingford, Nebraska

Aggregate (PWR Challenger)

Cora Brunori

Cornville, Arizona

Aggregate (PWR Challenger)

Coastal Qualifier: 21 Qualified

Sept. 23-24, 2026 · San Luis Obispo and Avila Beach, California

The first of Kimes Ranch’s two new stops opened Sept. 23 at Cal Poly with two rounds and a short go. Grace Sutton won Round 1 in 2.67 and Kimberly Williams won Round 2 in 2.42, each for $2,704. Lari Dee Guy won the short go in 2.81 and the aggregate with 9.49 on three head for $4,326.

The top 20 moved to the beach Sept. 24 to rope for a guaranteed $30,000. Grace Felton won beach Round 1 in 2.63 and Hope Thompson won Round 2 in 2.54, each for $2,500. That set up an eight-woman, clean-slate final, where Probst’s 2.37 beat Felton (2.67, $6,000) and Kaylee Hershberger (3.11, $4,000). Probst, who had already qualified on the First Chance aggregate, left with $13,596 on four checks, the most anyone won at Coastal. Because Coastal money counts toward the 2026 high-money title, she’s also No. 1 in that race.

The roll-down got a workout, too. K. Williams, Fallon Ruffoni, Josie Goodrich and Probst all placed high in Round 2 but already held First Chance spots, so those berths rolled to the next cowgirls in line. That opened the door for Elizabeth Miranda, Hope Thompson, Belah Brooks, Lari Dee Guy and Emilee Charlesworth. Jaycee Ware filled the one PWR Challenger spot claimed at Coastal. The other four went unclaimed.

Cowgirl

Hometown

How She Qualified

Grace Sutton

Cherry Valley, California

Round 1 (won it, 2.67)

Ricki Thiel

Pleasant Grove, California

Round 1

Blake Weekley

Boerne, Texas

Round 1

Anistyn Abel

Hobbs, New Mexico

Round 1

Kaylee Hershberger

Cokeville, Wyoming

Round 1

Elizabeth Miranda

Kula, Hawaii

Round 2

Hope Thompson

Abilene, Texas

Round 2

Belah Brooks

Ramona, California

Round 2

Lari Dee Guy

Abilene, Texas

Round 2

Emilee Charlesworth

Gorman, Texas

Round 2

Jaycee Ware

Bovina, Texas

Round 2 (PWR Challenger)

Zoie Bedke

Oakley, Idaho

Aggregate

Makayla Boisjoli

Stephenville, Texas

Aggregate

Kennedy Buckner

Powell Butte, Oregon

Aggregate

Sadie Grant

Santa Maria, California

Aggregate

Ariana Varischetti

Menard, Texas

Aggregate

Hailey Jo Guerini

Royal Oaks, California

Aggregate

Grace Felton

Fernley, Nevada

Aggregate

Ella Selby


Aggregate

Haliegh Grant

Santa Maria, California

Aggregate

Ellie Gomes

Coalinga, California

Aggregate

Still Ahead: Five More Ways to Scottsdale

Canadian Qualifier, Oct. 8-9, Edmonton, Alberta. The second new stop runs alongside the Canadian Finals Rodeo, with a qualifier day Oct. 8 and a broadcast performance Oct. 9 in the same two-rounds-plus-final format as Avila Beach. It sends 20 cowgirls, plus five PWR Challengers, to the Semi-Finals, and the finals-performance winner goes directly to the Finals.

Oklahoma’s Richest Qualifier, Oct. 15-18, Lazy E Arena, Guthrie, Oklahoma. This is the biggest single haul on the schedule. The top 15 from each of three rounds and the top 15 in the aggregate make 60 Semi-Finals spots, plus five for PWR Challengers, with $30,000 added. The finals performance on Oct. 18 crowns the third and final cowgirl with an automatic Finals berth. Entries closed Sept. 28.

Kimes VRQ Leaderboard, through Oct. 18. The top 20 on the Virtual Rodeo Qualifier leaderboard go straight to the Semi-Finals. The window opened Nov. 3, 2025, and closes the same day Oklahoma’s Richest wraps. There’s no extra entry fee. Ropers nominate events they’re already entering.

Then it’s back to Scottsdale for the Last Chance Qualifier, Nov. 23-24, with 40 spots plus five PWR Challengers, and the Buy Back Round on Nov. 24, where ropers can enter twice for the last five spots plus one Challenger.

Route

Dates · Location

Semi-Finals Spots

Canadian Qualifier

Oct. 8-9 · Edmonton, Alberta

20 + 5 PWR · winner to Finals

Oklahoma’s Richest

Oct. 15-18 · Guthrie, Oklahoma

60 + 5 PWR · winner to Finals

Kimes VRQ Leaderboard

Through Oct. 18

Top 20

Last Chance Qualifier

Nov. 23-24 · Scottsdale

40 + 5 PWR

Buy Back Round

Nov. 24 · Scottsdale

5 + 1 PWR

PWR Challengers, who need a PWR ID card and a VRQ nomination, also rope for $25,000 in added incentive money. Semi-Finals entry is $750 (full rules on the Million Dollar Breakaway How to Qualify page), and the full field ropes Nov. 25 at WestWorld of Scottsdale before the 20 finalists get their back numbers that night.

Similar reads: How to Qualify for the 2026 Kimes Ranch Million Dollar Breakaway · Kimes Million Dollar Breakaway Crash Course with Format, Draws, How to Watch · Williams, Conner Earn High Money, Deerman Takes Average: 2025 Kimes Ranch Million Dollar Breakaway Results

This article was originally published on Breakaway Roping Journal. View original article →