The Program

In partnership with Riata, AQHA and Equine Network

$300 a year. Your horse earns at every roping.

Entries are handled at riatabuckle.com. Sign in with your Global Handicaps ID and password — the same one you use to enter ropings.

Why it exists

The discipline nobody was tracking

Team roping pays out more prize money than any horse discipline outside of horse racing, over $120 million a year. Until now there has been no organized effort to record those dollars to the horse that earned them.

The gap

AQHA has had no mechanism to track earnings in the largest untracked discipline in the industry
A rope horse could win for a decade and finish with no record of it
There are over $120 million in earnings waiting to be unlocked and attributed

What the program does

Captures entries and results through the Global Event Management System and AQHA
Builds a verified performance record for every enrolled horse
Pays ropers monthly while it does it, rather than asking them to wait for a year-end award
That record is what builds long-term value in a rope horse

Joining

One entry, one year

There is a single fee. After that your horse is eligible everywhere you already haul.

Entry: $300One roper, one horse, for the whole year
Covers: Every ropingAny team roping event running Global Handicaps
Extra fees: NoneDrawings and earning are automatic

Every month

The monthly drawings

Win an aggregate check anywhere and you are in that month’s draw. You do not enter, and you do not pay again.

Which tier you are paid in
Tier	Who it is for	Per winner
Riata	A current Riata-nominated horse	$1,500
AQHARiding a horse in your name	Recorded owner of an entered AQHA registered horse	$1,250
Non-ownersRiding a horse not in your name	Roping a horse you do not own	$1,000

$300,000

Free cash awarded across 2026

Winners drawn each month20
Awarded each month, up to$25,000
Paid across 6 months$142,000

Every month’s results

How a draw entry happens

You win an aggregate check at a team roping running Global Handicaps
That result is captured automatically against your entered horse
You are paid according to which tier you are in
Every drawing winner qualifies to enter the Finals in Las Vegas

Where the year leads

Guthrie, then Las Vegas

The Rope Horse Rewards Championship and the Rope Horse Rewards Finals are brand new this year, open to enrolled horses, and both are WSTR Super Qualifiers for the Riata WSTR Finale.

The Rope Horse Rewards Championship

September 23–27Lazy E Arena
Divisions13.5 to 8.5
Riata Bonus$20,000 per division

$100,000 Riata Bonus

Across five days

Championships detail

The Rope Horse Rewards Finals

December 9South Point, Las Vegas
Divisions13.5 · 11.5 · 9.5
Teams per division100
Entry$2,500 per roper
Guaranteed to each winning team$150,000
+$25,000 for any 1st place riding a Riata Buckle eligible horse

One of the six champions wins a custom Laredo truck

On the roulette wheel

Finals entries are limited to 100 teams per division. Unfilled entries are released on a first-come basis.

Enter your horse See the Championships

$300 for the year. Every check counts.