Formally tracking rope horse earnings is a relatively new phenomenon. 

Before the last 12 months, databases like the American Quarter Horse Association’s QData could only track rope horse earnings at judged shows, where pedigrees were verified by judges to ensure rampant cheating wasn’t fudging the numbers. But in 2022, the AQHA teamed up with the Riata Buckle Stallion Incentive Program to infuse some $2 million into the recorded earnings of rope horses. 

And, for the first time, the AQHA relied on this magazine’s indexing of the horses the Top 15rode at this year’s Wrangler National Finals Rodeo to funnel another $1.1 million from rodeo’s big show into QData, shifting the all-time earnings list dramatically for team roping horses. 

But who cares? Why should ropers care if this type of money is tracked on their horses? After all, they’re roping for millions in Las Vegas and Fort Worth, and you can’t ride papers…can you?

In this audio edition of this feature article from The Team Roping Journal's February 2023 issue, host Chelsea Shaffer reads the article to keep you in the know.

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