There are fast rounds—and then there’s what happened inside NRG Stadium.
Riley Webb set a new RodeoHouston arena record with a 6.5-second run in the 2026 Shootout Round, capping a four-man stretch where the record was broken three times before he ever nodded his head.
Brushton Minton backed in first and broke the barrier, turning what would’ve been an 8.0 into an 18.0. Kincade Henry came right behind him and did what hadn’t been done in nearly a decade—he beat Caleb Smidt’s 7.4 arena record from 2017 with a 7.3. Before anyone could really process it, Shane Hanchey stepped in and went 7.2—resetting the record again, just like that.
And then the last man backed in the box.
Riley Webb didn’t just take the record, he ran away with it.
A 6.5.
The record that stood, and the one that didn’t
Smidt’s 7.4 had held since 2017, set the year he won Houston.
“I had a guy text me out of the blue and said, ‘Are you at Houston? Riley just went 6.5,’” Smidt said. “I believed him, but it was kind of hard to believe that somebody could tie one in 6.5 there.”
When he finally saw it, there wasn’t much to argue with.
“That’s impressive,” Smidt said. “But honestly, it didn’t really surprise me. I think that guy’s going to break every record ever wrote down in the calf roping record book.”
For Smidt, there was some humor in it, too.
“That might’ve been my only standing record to date,” Smidt laughed. “But of course Riley broke it.”
Faster cattle, faster game, same pressure
Smidt will tell you the game looks different now.
This year’s RodeoHouston field roped dairy-cross calves instead of the beef calves Smidt set his record on.
“I wish they’d rope beef calves,” Smidt said. “But also, it’s fun to watch Riley go 6.5. Everybody had a fair chance… the only unfair advantage was that Riley was there.”
Smidt doesn’t see Webb as some outlier that’s built different from the rest.
“I think he’s just very mature in his roping,” Smidt said. “That comes from mindset and work ethic.”
That foundation started early.
Webb’s dad, Dirk, helped Riley build it from the ground up. And from there, Webb sharpened it, as he climbed through the youth ranks and into professional rodeo.
Now, with the help of his future father-in-law Jade Connor, that foundation has turned into something even more dangerous.
“I’ve always thought Jade Connor was one of the greatest to ever teach calf roping,” Smidt said. “He just sees it through a different set of glasses than everybody else. I know he helps him a lot… I think Riley was special before he got there, but that’s what puts the winning touches on him.”
That combination—foundation, mentorship, and a mindset built for moments like that—is what showed up in Houston.
Where does it stop?
That’s the question no one can answer.
“It’s just getting faster,” Smidt said. “I don’t know where you put a stopping point on it. I don’t see it taking a standstill. The kids are tying them in seven and eight now. When I was in high school, we were nine and 10. I don’t know if it’s the calves or the talent, but it’s not slowing down.”