The 105th Red Bluff Round-Up returned to the Frank Moore Arena at the Tehama District Fairgrounds on April 17 through 19, 2026, carrying the same legacy that has defined the event since 1921. The Round-Up was the first Northern California rodeo to join the Cowboys’ Turtle Association, the precursor to today’s PRCA, and has weathered the Great Depression, World War II, hoof-and-mouth disease, and a pandemic to become one of the sport’s signature events. It was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 2015 and continues to wear the crown as America’s largest three-day rodeo.
This year’s run paid out $366,782 across eight events, drawing top hands from across the country into a small Northern California town that becomes the center of the rodeo world for one weekend every spring. Under General Manager J.B. Stacy and a Board of Directors that has kept this event growing for over a century, the Round-Up generates an estimated $5 million in annual economic impact and supports countless local nonprofits and youth programs.
For the readers of Ropers Sports News, this rodeo holds a special place too. The Round-Up has been one of our most consistent and valued advertising partners for years, and when a hometown kid takes home the all-around title at this storied event, it is a story we are proud to tell.
That kid is Brushton Minton.
Hometown Cowboy: The Brushton Minton Story
The all-around title at the 2026 Red Bluff Round-Up went to a kid who grew up looking at the Pauline Davis Pavilion the way most kids look at their backyard. Brushton Minton, 25, was raised on a ranch in Witter Springs, a small mountain community west of Red Bluff. He is a fourth-generation roper. His grandfather Rex was an accomplished roughstock rider, and his father Casey was a regional PRCA competitor who won the prestigious Linderman Award in 1993, given each year to a single PRCA cowboy who proves himself in both timed and roughstock events. Brushton tried roughstock as a kid the way every Minton before him had, riding steers and junior bulls in high school. He was good at it. He just never wanted it the way the Mintons before him had. He picked roping instead and never looked back.
After a strong high school career, Brushton signed on with Coalinga Junior College and later transferred to West Hills, where he qualified for the 2018 College National Finals Rodeo as a heeler, tie-down roper, and steer wrestler, finishing second in the all-around cowboy race. He came out of college a true all-around hand and very nearly walked away from rodeo during COVID. He had already started hanging up his hat when something shifted, and instead of stepping away he stepped all the way in.
In 2023, Brushton qualified for his first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, finishing the year ranked 15th in tie-down roping with $134,476 earned. A horse injury in 2024 cost him another NFR qualification by a few thousand dollars. The disappointment fueled a career year in 2025, when he won the average at the California Circuit Finals, posted four-figure paychecks at Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Houston, took home $13,000 at the NFR Open, and won $18,000 at the Days of ’47 Rodeo in Salt Lake City. He punched his ticket back to Las Vegas for his second NFR qualification in three years.
What makes the 2026 Red Bluff all-around title sweeter than any check he has cashed before is the building it was won in.
“I feel comfortable in that building,” Minton said. “We used to have our high school rodeos there, so I’ve roped there a lot.”
That comfort is showing up on the leaderboard. Brushton won the 2025 California Circuit Finals tie-down average and All-Around Cowboy title in Red Bluff on New Year’s Eve, then carried that momentum into the 2026 spring run, taking the all-around at Red Bluff with $10,920 and following it with another all-around title at Clovis for $4,231 more.
The Minton family story keeps growing too. Brushton’s younger brother Bryor teamed with two-time NFR header Spencer Mitchell to win the 2024 California Circuit Finals team roping average right there in Red Bluff, punching his own ticket to the 2025 NFR Open.
“I think Brushton was more excited that I made it than himself making it,” Bryor said.
Brushton Minton is chasing a gold buckle and a third NFR qualification, but more than anything he is chasing it for Witter Springs, for the Pauline Davis Pavilion, and for four generations of Mintons who built the foundation he is standing on.
2026 Red Bluff Round-Up Results & Payouts
All-Around Champion: Brushton Minton, Witter Springs, California — $10,920 (tie-down roping and team roping). Bareback Riding Champion: Weston Patterson — 89 points on Yule Rodeo’s Mary Lou — $8,545. Steer Wrestling Champion: Chase Crane, Oklahoma — 21.8 seconds on four head — $4,237; fastest run of the rodeo: Eli Lord, 4.2 seconds (finals round). Team Roping Champions: Jr. Dees, Orange, Texas, and Landen Glenn, McAlester, Oklahoma — 29.8 seconds on four head — $5,147 each; second: Jaxson Tucker, Statesville, North Carolina, and Cesar de la Cruz, Casa Grande, Arizona — 31.4 seconds; Round 1 winners: Cory Kidd V and Carson Johnson — 6.8 seconds. Saddle Bronc Riding Champion: Cole Reiner, Buffalo, Wyoming — 87 points; tied for second: Tucker Carricato and Mason Stuller — 86 points each. Tie-Down Roping Champion: Hunter Herrin, Apache, Oklahoma — 41.2 seconds on four head — $4,858; second: Cash Hooper, Pampa, Texas — 41.4 seconds; finals round winner: Kyan Wilhite (Resistol Rookie leader) — 8.9 seconds. Breakaway Roping Champion: Peggy Garman, Sundance, Wyoming — 2.8 seconds; second: Fallon Ruffoni, Atascadero, California — 3.1 seconds. Barrel Racing Champion: Kathy Petska, Turlock, California — 34.73 seconds on two runs; fastest run of the rodeo: Julia Johnson, Tenino, Washington — 17.22 seconds. Bull Riding Champion: Stetson Wright, Beaver, Utah — 90 points on Powder River Rodeo’s Clyde — $8,488. Total Rodeo Payout: $366,782.
Brushton Minton of Witter Springs, California won the all-around title at the 105th Red Bluff Round-Up in 2026, earning $10,920 across tie-down roping and team roping. He is a fourth-generation roper who grew up roping in the same building.
The 105th Red Bluff Round-Up paid out $366,782 across eight events April 17–19, 2026, at the Frank Moore Arena at the Tehama District Fairgrounds in Red Bluff, California.
The Red Bluff Round-Up, held since 1921, is recognized as America’s largest three-day rodeo. It was the first Northern California rodeo to join the Cowboys’ Turtle Association (the precursor to the PRCA), was inducted into the ProRodeo Hall of Fame in 2015, and generates an estimated $5 million in annual economic impact.
Stetson Wright of Beaver, Utah won bull riding at the 2026 Red Bluff Round-Up with 90 points on Powder River Rodeo’s Clyde, worth $8,488.
