Age: 28
Hometown: Witter Springs, California
Career Earnings: $680,262
NFR Qualifications: 2 (2023, 2025)
Best World Finish: 8th in tie-down roping, 4th in the all-around (2025)
2026 Standings: No. 8 in the world ($118,849)
Star Horsepower: Gunny
A fourth-generation cowboy from Witter Springs, California, Brushton Minton grew up involved in the sport of rodeo.
The 28-year-old from Witter Springs, California, is the son of Casey Minton, a horseshoer, trainer and the 1993 Linderman Award winner who still helps train every horse Brushton competes on.
Early in his professional career, Minton began stacking wins across the California Circuit. He won the tie-down roping at the California Circuit Finals Rodeo in both 2021 and 2022, along with victories at Rowell Ranch in Hayward and the Santa Maria Elks Rodeo.
Those wins helped build the momentum that carried into his breakout 2023 ProRodeo season, when he qualified for his first National Finals Rodeo and finished 15th in the world standings with $134,476 earned.
At the 2023 NFR, Minton placed in multiple rounds, including second place finishes in Rounds 1 and 2, and finished 12th in the average on nine head. After returning home from Las Vegas, he won the California Circuit Finals average for the third straight time, tying three calves in 27.7 seconds.
The momentum continued in 2024. Minton picked up all-around titles at Santa Maria, Redding, Auburn, Oakdale and Redmond, plus calf roping wins at Pueblo, Chief Joseph Days and the California Circuit Finals. He finished the 2024 season No. 18 in the world with $94,999 earned in the tie-down roping.
At the 2025 NFR, Minton finished second in the average with 84.1 seconds on 10 head—a career-best—placed in five rounds and won $134,198. He closed the year fourth in the all-around world standings with $281,662 and eighth in tie-down roping with $279,841.
California Circuit King
Before the Thomas & Mack spotlight, Minton was the man to beat in the California Circuit. He has won five straight circuit average titles, and in January 2026 he swept the California Circuit Finals—average, year-end and all-around—despite Tom Crouse giving him a run for his money.
“I kind of thought I was out of it,” Minton said after the average win in early 2026. “Me and Tom were pretty close on money going into it, and he won the first round. I came back and tied my last two in the seven range. It was good enough to catch up.”
He takes particular pride in doing it on a light schedule.
“I don’t go to all the circuit rodeos,” Minton said. “There’s a lot of guys that go to 25 or 30, and I go to about 14 or 15, so it feels cool to win it when you’re only going to that many.”
A Big 2026
Minton carried that momentum into a strong 2026. He won the all-around at the Gold Country Pro Rodeo in Auburn, the Clovis Rodeo and the Red Bluff Round-Up. Then came the biggest check of this season: at the Calgary Stampede in July, Minton won his pool and finished runner-up in the Showdown Round with a 7.8 for $20,000, behind Zack Jongbloed. He sits eighth in the tie-down roping world standings with $118,849 won.
Gunny: The Horse That Made Him
Through all of it, one horse has carried the load. Minton has won his last several circuit average titles aboard Gunny, and he doesn’t hesitate to spread the credit.
“He’s the horse that kind of made me,” Minton said. “Everything I kind of have is from him. He’s been my main horse, and I owe everything to him.”
Minton continues to develop his string with Gunny as the cornerstone. The Westyn Hughes-trained gelding returned from injury late in 2024 and carried Minton through key rodeos throughout the 2025 regular season.