Western Bloodstock catalogs have long brought together horses from some of the leading cutting and reined cow horse programs in the business. At the 2026 Riata Championships, a group of Western Bloodstock sale graduates showed just how far the value of those horses can extend.
Twelve horses previously sold through Western Bloodstock were represented in $503,800 in unique posted team and incentive payouts during the Riata Championships, held September 23-27 at the Lazy E Arena. They came through Western Bloodstock sales from 2018 through 2023, including the NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity Sales, NCHA Futurity Sales and Mid-Year Sale. They made money in both heading and heeling, and across divisions ranging from the Pro Futurity to the 8.5 Championship.
The rope horse business continues to create another substantial market for horses carrying pedigrees and traits developed in the cutting and cow horse industries. The jobs are different, but many of the qualities buyers have selected for in those programs for decades translate: cow, rate, feel, the ability to stop and use their body, trainability and the mental capacity to handle pressure.
Leading Western Bloodstock Graduates at the Riata
SJR Diamond Playit | $132,000
(CD Diamond x Playin Lil Pistol)
Sold at the 2020 NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity Sales
Consigned by San Juan Ranch
SJR Diamond Playit topped the Western Bloodstock graduate list with one of the biggest checks of the week. Travis Browne headed aboard SJR Diamond Playit to win the Riata 8.5 Championship, finishing at 40.38 seconds on four for a $132,200 team payout.
SJR Diamond Buck | $88,300
(CD Diamond x Oak N Sugs Ufo)
Sold at the 2018 NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity Sales
Consigned by San Juan Ranch
Another San Juan Ranch graduate made a presence felt in two divisions. SJR Diamond Buck and Lucas Goehring finished reserve in the Riata 9.5 Championship on the heel side with a 37.37 on four, a placing worth $83,200 to the team. The pair also placed seventh in the 8.5 Rope Horse Rewards Championship for another $5,100 team payout.
Mr Beast | $79,800
(The Animal x HL Sheza Playful Rey)
Sold at the 2022 NCHA Futurity Sales
Consigned by Sigala Ranch
Mr Beast put together a productive week with Wesley Thorp on the head side. Their biggest result came in the Riata 14.5 Championship, where a 27.60 on four earned reserve and a $68,800 team payout, just 0.14 seconds behind the win. Mr Beast also earned the $6,000 second-place Head Horse Incentive and teamed with another Western Bloodstock graduate, Fly Mister, for the second-fastest time in Round 1 of the Pro Futurity and a $5,000 payout.
Outtkast | $44,000
(Once In A Blu Boon x Cromed Out Cat)
Sold at the 2023 NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity Sales
Consigned by Beechfork Ranch
Outtkast and Saulo Garcia finished fourth in the Riata 9.5 Championship on the head side. Their 37.74 on four earned a $44,000 team payout, adding another Once In A Blu Boon-bred horse to the Western Bloodstock graduate results.
AR Bamaboy | $38,000
(Bamacat x Stylish Lizzie)
Sold at the 2023 NCHA Futurity Sales
Consigned by Atwood Quarter Horses
AR Bamaboy and Billie Jack Saebens finished third in the Riata Pro Futurity on the heel side. Five clean runs put them at 40.39 seconds on five and earned the team $38,000.
Test My Metal | $26,400
(Metallic Cat x Lila Rey)
Sold at the 2020 NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity Sales
Consigned by Alan Chappell
Test My Metal, ridden by Neal Wanless on the head side, finished sixth in the Riata 8.5 Championship. The pair finished with a 45.88 on four for a $26,400 team payout.
Fly Mister | $26,200
(SJR Diamond Mist x Highly Unlimited)
Sold at the 2020 Mid-Year Cutting Horse Sale
Fly Mister and Colton McCarley collected checks in both the Pro Futurity and the 14.5. In the 14.5 Championship, they finished ninth on the heel side with a 29.09 on four for $16,200 and also posted the fastest time of the first rotation, a 6.25 worth another $5,000. Earlier in the week, Fly Mister and Mr Beast paired up for the second-fastest time in Round 1 of the Pro Futurity at 6.57 seconds, worth $5,000 to the team.
CR Tuff Stylish Rey | $24,700
(Woody Be Tuff x CR Stylish Play Rey)
Sold at the 2020 NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity Sales
Consigned by Center Ranch
CR Tuff Stylish Rey and Lance Robinson placed eighth in the Riata 10.5 Championship. Working on the head side, they finished with a 34.27 on four and were part of a $24,700 team payout.
SJRDiamondGoldDigger | $24,600
(CD Diamond x Catlike Kit)
Sold at the 2019 NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity Sales
Consigned by San Juan Ranch
SJRDiamondGoldDigger and Annette Stahl finished fourth on the heel side in the 11.5 Rope Horse Rewards Championship, posting a 33.20 on four for an $18,600 team payout. SJR Diamond GoldDigger also earned the $6,000 National Rope Horse Rewards Heel Horse Incentive.
Dontt Cha Wish | $12,100
(Dont Stopp Believin x Tuesdays Fast Gun)
Sold at the 2023 NCHA Futurity Sales
Consigned by Spitz
Gunnar Lemond rode Dontt Cha Wish on the heel side to 11th in the Riata 14.5 Championship. Their 29.45 on four figured into a $12,100 team payout.
SJR Diamond Fortune | $7,500
(CD Diamond x Oak Ill Be)
Sold at the 2020 NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity Sales
Consigned by San Juan Ranch
SJR Diamond Fortune and Andy Holcomb delivered when the short go got fast. The pair posted a 6.68 on the head side to take the fastest time of the 14.5 short go, worth $7,500 to the team.
SJR Diamond Smoothie| $5,000
(CD Diamond x SJR Smooth Gina)
Sold at the 2022 NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity Sales
Consigned by San Juan Ranch
Coleman Reid and SJR Diamond Smoothie turned in the fastest time of the second rotation in the 8.5 Championship, stopping the clock at 7.08 seconds for a $5,000 payout.
A Cow Horse Pedigree With a Growing Roping Record
Within the larger group, the San Juan Ranch graduates make the crossover particularly easy to see.
Five of the Western Bloodstock graduates on the Riata list were bred and consigned by San Juan Ranch and sired by CD Diamond: SJR Diamond Playit, SJR Diamond Buck, SJRDiamondGoldDigger, SJR Diamond Fortune and SJR Diamond Smoothie. Those five horses alone were represented in $257,600 in posted payouts during the week.
Fly Mister adds another branch to the same family. Bred by San Juan Ranch, Fly Mister is by SJR Diamond Mist, himself by CD Diamond.
That pedigree was built first in the cow horse arena. CD Diamond won the 2012 NRCHA Open Futurity, while SJR Diamond Mist followed as the 2018 NRCHA Open Futurity Champion. Today, San Juan Ranch lists CD Diamond as a two-million-dollar sire, and both stallions have become part of breeding programs with a substantial presence in both the cow horse and rope horse business.
The Riata results show what that development looks like in practical terms. These are not simply pedigrees with roping eligibility attached to them. They are horses winning and placing from the higher-numbered ropings down through the 8.5, carrying headers and heelers, and producing checks at several levels of competition.
For buyers, that widens the way a prospect can be evaluated. A young horse with the breeding and ability to fit the cutting or cow horse market may have another viable path in the roping arena.
The Next Group Comes to Fort Worth
The 2026 NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity Sales return to the Watt Arena in Fort Worth on October 23 and 24, with the Select 2-Year-Old Sale and the first Select Yearling and Broodmare session on Friday, followed by the second Select Yearling and Broodmare session on Saturday.
San Juan Ranch again has a substantial group consigned to the sale, including prospects carrying many of the same bloodlines now showing up on major roping results. The current catalog includes San Juan Ranch consignments by SJR Diamond Mist, CD Diamond, Smooth Talkin Style and One Time Royalty, among others.
A sale staged alongside the NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity will naturally draw buyers looking for their next cow horse. The Riata Championships offer a good reason for rope horse buyers to study the same catalog.
Western Bloodstock graduates are already showing that a horse bought with one arena in mind may have considerably more ahead of it. For the programs breeding those horses, and the buyers trying to identify where the next good one will come from, that kind of versatility has real value.
The next opportunity to find one comes through the Western Bloodstock ring in Fort Worth.
