Twelve teams will rope for a potential $59,066.80-a-man payday at the 2026 Governor’s Cup in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Sept. 25-27. Eight of the horses underneath them made the same trip with the same riders last year.
Eight horses are making a return trip to Sioux Falls, and the head and heel horses of the 2026 Governor’s Cup range from a 23-year-old veteran to a reigning world champion’s 7-year-old.
The confirmed head horses average 14.3 years old, led by Jake Smith’s 23-year-old Friendly. On the heel side, the average drops to 11.3, and reigning world champion Jake Long’s 7-year-old Copper is the youngest horse in the field.
