How the Field Got Here
Twenty ropers, two doors in.
Eight got invitations, and the criteria read like a who’s-who of the Premier Women’s Rodeo (PWR) season: the 2026 PWR world champions in the Pro, Challenger and Limited divisions, the 2026 PWR Championship event champion, the 2025 Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) world champion, and whoever sat No. 1 on each of the three 2027 PWR leaderboards as of June 14.
The other 12 roped their way in. Ten came out of the open aggregate at the last chance qualifier in Hamilton, Texas, on May 10—a $150 entry with a Las Vegas ticket on the other end. The last two came off the three-head aggregate at the PWR Championship in Fort Worth, May 12-15.
The Invited Eight
The 12 Qualifiers
Thirty-Two Gold Buckles in One Pen
Lari Dee Guy and Jackie Crawford, between them, own 32 WPRA world championships, and both drew into this field the hard way—through the aggregate in Hamilton. Guy has been roping at this level since before breakaway had a world title to win. Crawford became the sport’s first million-dollar cowgirl in May 2025.
Then there’s the youth end of it. Amy Ohrt won $60,000 at AT&T Stadium at 18 and is in the 2026 Resistol Rookie class. Harley Pryor was winning junior world championships at 14. Sarah and Martha Angelone are sisters, and both are here.
Where Breakaway Fits in the Week
The Run For A Million runs Aug. 11-15 at the South Point, and it is a reining, cutting and cow horse event—breakaway is the first rodeo discipline it has ever added. The week builds across three marquee nights: cutting Thursday, with a $250,000 Cutting Horse Challenge and a $125,000-added Non Pro Cutting Challenge; cow horse Friday, with a $250,000 Cow Horse Challenge, a $30,000 Cowboy Heritage Ranch Challenge and the youth cow horse work; and the $1 million Million Dollar Competition Saturday, the reining final the whole week is named after.
Our 20 cowgirls open Friday night. The breakaway is the first thing out of the box at 6 p.m., in front of a crowd that came for cow horse—which is the point of putting it there.
How to Watch
The showcase streams exclusively at therunforamillion.com. The Friday-night package runs $29 and covers the breakaway plus the $250,000 Cow Horse Challenge, the Youth Cow Horse Challenge and the Cowboy Heritage Ranch Challenge. All-access for all three nights is $75. Tickets to be in the building are through South Point.
One thing to be clear about: the two-hour CBS special on Saturday, Aug. 22, at 8 p.m. ET/PT is the reining Million Dollar Competition only. The breakaway is not part of that broadcast. Friday’s livestream is the only way to see it.
