With the top 25 calf ropers in the PRCA world standings set to cast their votes for the 2026 AQHA/PRCA Tie-Down Roping Horse of the Year, The Tie-Down Breakdown asked three of the best in the business, including 2025 Horse of the Year owner Riley Webb, which horses deserve the bronze this year.
Horses are nominated in early September, when the top 25 ropers submit three names apiece. From there, those same ropers vote on which horses they believe should win. Results are announced in mid-October, with the top three honored.
After visiting with Webb, Shad Mayfield and Haven Meged, one horse showed up on every list: Meged’s For Goodness Shakes, “Lil Punch.” Back after sitting out almost a year with an injury, Lil Punch carried Meged to a big summer. Shane Hanchey’s 2023 Horse of the Year, Stylish Bugsy, “Bugsy,” Logan Bird’s Daddys Shiner Cat, “Peso,” and Webb’s reigning Horse of the Year, Marked Up Cat, “Rudy,” each landed on two of the three ballots.
Riley Webb’s Horse of the Year Picks
Webb knows what it means to own one. Rudy took home the 2025 AQHA/PRCA Tie-Down Roping Horse of the Year title, and Webb’s fiancé, Josie Connor, has won the Breakaway Roping Horse of the Year twice on Stylish Drifter, “Dutch.”
Asked to name five, Webb started with Bugsy, then went to Django, a horse that’s carried Ty and Joel Harris to countless checks this year, both of Meged’s horses, Lil Punch and Smoke, and Rudy.
“I’m going to get in trouble,” Webb laughed. “Probably Haven’s, both of his are always in the running. Probably more Lil Punch, he’s rode him more this year. And then Rudy. I would think Rudy’s, both of Haven’s, Shane’s and Ty’s and Joel Braden’s.”
Webb said owning a Horse of the Year was a dream come true, and having two in the same barn made it even sweeter.
“It’s a huge, huge accomplishment to own one of them horses,” Webb said. “And Josie’s won it twice, so that’s cool. We have two Horses of the Year in the same barn, and that’s something that you work hard at every day. You’re trying to get a horse, try to get something else to practice on or trade on and try to keep upgrading or trying to find the next Rudy. And it’s a never-ending deal.”
With Rudy and his newer horse, Patron, on the trailer this season, Webb said good horsepower is what lets him stay focused on his job.
“That makes my job easier,” Webb said. “It’s not easy, but when you got a good horse underneath you that lets you stay out of your way and lets you win, and you have a partnership built with them, it makes it easier. And when you back in there, you’re not having to worry about the horse and can just go do your job.”
Shad Mayfield’s Horse of the Year Picks
Mayfield’s mare, Figure To Fly, “Lollipop,” won the award in 2024, and he didn’t hesitate on his No. 1.
“I think Shane Hanchey’s horse Bugsy should be number one,” Mayfield said. “He’s gone all year. I feel like to win Horse of the Year, it needs to be a horse that works all year long, no matter the setup. And that’s Bugsy. He’s a horse you could ride in the wintertime. In the buildings he’s going to work, small setups, big setups. NFR compared to Cheyenne, you could ride him at any type of setup all year long. Also, a lot of guys have won on him. I know I won some money on him. Beau Cooper’s won money on him. Brodey Clemons, I mean the list goes on.”
Second and third, Mayfield said, belong to Meged’s pair.
“I’m going to have to go with Haven Meged’s horse, Lil Punch, or Smoke,” Mayfield said. “I think either one of them could be second and third right there. Those are two phenomenal horses as well. He swaps them off quite a bit depending on the setup, but every time you see those horses, they work.”
For No. 4, Mayfield went with a horse he believes is overdue.
“I think you always got to throw Peso in there,” Mayfield said. “The amount of guys he helps get to the Finals and continue on through the Finals. I think that horse deserves to win Horse of the Year one year as well.”
Rounding out his five is Quade Hiatt’s newer horse, “GQ.”
“That’s a horse that’s been awesome all year, and Quade’s had a lot of success on him,” Mayfield said. “He’s Quade’s new horse actually, and he’s been a nice horse for a lot of guys. I watched Haven Meged ride him at St. George, and Haven’s only going to ride a good horse, so him asking Quade to get on GQ, I feel like that says a lot. Haven won second over there on him. But Quade, ever since he got him, he’s been an awesome and fun horse to watch.”
What ties the five together, Mayfield said, is that none of them take a guy out of the running.
“A Horse of the Year is consistent and going to give you a chance every time,” Mayfield said. “I feel like every horse hasn’t eliminated a guy from winning or anything like that, especially Shane’s. He’s the same every time. I know Shane could just back in there and know that his horse is going to do his job, so he just has to go win. With both of Haven’s, they’re phenomenal horses, probably a couple of the best you’ll ever see. And for him to have two of them, that’s pretty badass. Peso, he’s consistent. Never have to worry about that horse not working, and so is Quade’s. I think Quade’s horse is even young, so that horse is going to get better and better every year.”
Having built his own string from the ground up, Mayfield knows how much rides on the horse.
“I feel like that’s the difference in the top guys versus the guys that are around them,” Mayfield said. “When you have that horse that you can trust, that’s your teammate, nothing beats that. I’ve had a couple of those horses, back when Lollipop won Horse of the Year and back when I had Rampage, and I won so much on those horses because I had so much trust in them. With calf roping, a horse is 80% of what we do. You got to have a horse that fits for any type of setup and is going to give you a chance to win every time, because the worst thing is when you have a horse that you just don’t really feel like you can trust or win on every run.”
He called Lollipop’s title one of his biggest accolades.
“That’s very prestigious,” Mayfield said. “I feel like that’s just something that you earn together, as well as something that those horses put out so much for us. It’s something that they could have for theirself, an accolade of their own for everything that they go out there and do. A good horse like Shane’s horse, Bugsy, they got to have an award as well for everything they do. You got to be awarded.”
Haven Meged’s Horse of the Year Picks
Meged kept his list to three: Peso, Rudy and Lil Punch.
“They score good and they’re winners, the biggest deal,” Meged said. “Those three are the top three horses. You could probably ask anybody going down the road. They have the most money won on them all year long, and they back in there, they know their job, and they’re 99% of the time on your team trying to help you win. They try harder. They’re great horses. They’re not good horses.”
Lil Punch’s summer wasn’t part of the plan.
“Punch has really stepped up this year,” Meged said. “I wasn’t really planning on riding him outside as much, but honestly, it helped get him out of the fast setups. I obviously won a lot on him in the fast setups, but I got to ride him outside a bunch more and let him go five, six swings, and I think it’s really helped him. Coming off an injury, sitting out for a year, I felt like he did really good this summer, and I think if he stays sound all winter, next summer he’ll be really, really good. He’s kind of slow to mature. He’s like a little kid. He wants to mess around all the time, but I think once he matures, when he’s 10, 11 years old, he’s just going to get better.”
“And same with Smoke,” Meged added. “He’s a big part of where I’m at, obviously, but I definitely rode Punch a lot and won a lot of money on him this year.”
Meged calls both horses once in a lifetime, and he said taking care of them on the road is the job.
“You don’t really find those horses very often,” Meged said. “So when you do, you got to take care of them. You got to take care of all of them, but you try to make them last. The road’s tough on them. It’s not the calves you run, it’s all the miles that they’re bouncing across the world, all-night drives. Our job is to make sure, hopefully you got an air ride on your trailer, and take care of them good and keep them rejuvenated and whatever they need to have the longest career so you can win the most. Because a good horse and a great horse is a big difference. When you have a good horse that lets you win 50% of the time, they’re not letting you win enough.”
For Meged, the proof is in the world standings.
“The guys that are riding the great horses usually are kind of at the top,” Meged said. “It doesn’t matter what event you’re in, barrels, whatever it is. In tie-down, you don’t have to blow the barrier out every single time when you’re riding a great horse. You can go an extra swing, and they’re going to stop big and do their job every single time. You should win really 95% of the time when you nod your head. A lot of the draw comes into it, but when you have a great horse, you can make a bad calf good.”
Behind the Bloodlines
For Goodness Shakes, “Lil Punch”
Lil Punch is a 9-year-old sorrel gelding by Kit Kat Sugar out of Goodness Reycious who is by Dual Rey. Trained as a breakaway horse by Meged’s wife, Shelby Boisjoli-Meged, Lil Punch carried Meged to the 6.4-second NFR arena record and the NFR average title in 2023 before an injury sidelined him in 2025.
Stylish Bugsy, “Bugsy”
The 2023 AQHA Tie-Down Horse of the Year, Bugsy is a 14-year-old gelding by A Dera Dual Lena and out of A Stylish Junebug, by Docs Stylish Oak. A Dera Dual Lena is by the iconic Smart Little Lena. Bugsy was bred by Louis and Karen Smith of Newkirk, Oklahoma. Hanchey purchased him from six-time NFR qualifier Adam Gray.
Seven S Tomahawk, “Smoke”
Smoke is a 10-year-old gelding by Mr Playinstylish and out of the Seven S Zanaday mare Seven S Sassy Zan. Mr Playinstylish is an AQHA World Champion and Riata stallion who stands at the 6666 Ranch and is owned by Moncrief Quarter Horses. Smoke was bred by the AQHA Best Remuda-winning R. T. Stuart Ranch in Waurika, Oklahoma.
Daddys Shiner Cat, “Peso”
Peso is a 15-year-old buckskin gelding by Shiners Black Cat and out of Paddy Lena’s Twist. Shiners Black Cat is an own son of Shining Spark, who retired with $62,674 in earnings and has progeny earnings of more than $10 million. Both Shining Spark and his dam, Diamonds Sparkle, are in the NRHA Hall of Fame. Peso was bred by Garry Charles of Grovedale, Alberta.
Bomb Dot Com, “GQ”
GQ is an 8-year-old sorrel gelding by Hottish and out of El Sauz Doll, by Peptoboonsmal. Hottish is by Spots Hot and out of Stylish Play Lena, by Docs Stylish Oak. On the bottom side, GQ’s second dam is Dual Rey Anna, by Dual Rey. GQ was bred by Jaime and Ashley Snider.
Marked Up Cat, “Rudy”
Rudy is a 13-year-old sorrel gelding by the legendary Metallic Cat and out of NRCHA money earner HA Gay Freckles. Metallic Cat has $637,711 in lifetime earnings and more than $78 million in offspring earnings. Rudy’s dam earned $54,948 in the NRCHA. Both Rudy and his dam were bred by Mark and Wendy Froman of Cameron, Texas.
