Although a leg in Round 2 kept them from absolute domination in Fort Worth, sometimes it is just your day.
“I think he got a leg, and it almost went on two,” Kleinhans said. “It was kind of weird, but it worked out.”
It was a good win for the Montague, Texas, and Weatherford College student-athlete Kleinhans, who didn’t grow up as involved in the sport as some.
“I grew up playing basketball,” Kleinhans said. “I didn’t really start roping until high school – about 16 or 17. From then on, I just tried to go everywhere I could.”
Kleinhans ropes with Kanady, his Cisco College heeler who hails from Breckenridge, Texas, at the college rodeos in the Lone Star Region.
With the help of “Mixer,” the 15-year-old head horse that came from Jake Smith, Kleinhans has been able to make leaps and bounds in a short period of time.
“He’s been a game-changer ever since,” Kleinhans said. “I don’t see my small career without him.”
With a solid payday from the Resistol Rookie Roundup, Kleinhans and Kanady are sitting in the top five in the 2026 Resistol Rookie Standings and are looking forward to a summer full of rodeoing.
“I just wanted to go this summer and see,” he said. “I don’t really care about the rookie of the year deal. If I win it, I win it. It kind of depends what the bank account says, but that’s the plan for now.”
2026 Resistol Rookie Roundup
Average: 1. Conley Kleinhans/Kyler Kanady, 17.0 seconds on two head, $1,817 each; 2. Cole Smith/Caden Beatty, 18.6, $1,363; 3. Caden Lehman/Jarrett Peek, 21.0, $909; 4. Jet Toberer/Cody Egusquiza, 5.6 on one head, $454.
READ: Not a Bad Spot: Kyler Kanady Leads Resistol Rookie Heeler Standings Midway Through June
