Six-Figure Payday for Royal Crown Barrel Racing Champions in Rock Springs

Round 2 action in Rock Springs determined the 2025 Royal Crown Barrel Racing Champions in the Futurity and Derby. With so many incredible runs, the competition was fierce and it was no surprise to see some familiar names at the top when the dust settled.

$600,000 Added Royal Crown Futurity

Round 2

A lightning fast time of 14.817 seconds by Steely Steiner and Get Tha Goody (The Goodbye Lane x Teena Turner x Blazin Jetolena) topped the leaderboard for $27,203 and a round win.

With six 14-second runs at the top, the round was incredibly tight. Two of those times belonged to Ashley Schafer. She placed fourth on The Coffee Guy (The Goodbye Lane x Guys Tots N Fries x Frenchman’s Guy) with a 14.940 and sixth on HP Hotrod (Dash Ta Fame x Rods Last Ladybug x Sharp Rodney) with a 14.976. Schafer also finished twelfth with a 15.161 aboard Wayde (The Goodbye Lane x Fames French Kiss x Dash Ta Fame).

Average

Heidi Gunderson and Wonder If Im Lucky (Lucky Wonder Horse x TS Sunnys Superstar x PC Mr Sun Peppy) earned $54,406 for their big win. A third-place finish in Round 1 at 15.065 seconds was worth $18,136, followed by another third-place in Round 2 with a 14.887 for the same earnings. By our unofficial calculations, the duo earned over $100,000 in futurity earnings alone, with much more to come from sidepots, incentives, and the open. 

$10,000 Added SVE Open Futurity 

The same two teams swept the SVE Open Futurity to double down on their earnings. Steiner topped Round 2 for $2,725. Gunderson claimed the Average win for $5,450.

$100,000 Added Royal Crown Derby

Round 2

Anita Ellis and SGL Rico (The Goodbye Lane x Version Blue x Winners Version) were back strong for a round win, clocking a 14.918. Fresh off a huge month in July in professional rodeo, the pair added substantially to their lifetime earnings in Rock Springs. 

Average

In fitting fashion, the 2024 Royal Crown Futurity Champions claimed the 2025 Royal Crown Derby Championship. Earning approximately $46,000 between the Royal Crown and SVE derbies, Ellis and Rico added another very impressive accolade to their decorated resume.

$5,000 Added SVE Open Derby

Round 2

Youth phenom Dusky Lynn Hall had an outstanding day in the derby. She topped the SVE Derby aboard Chasin A Win (Chasin Aces N Fame x The Lion Queen x Highly Visible) with a 14.887-second run, bypassing Ellis and Rico. She also finished second in the Royal Crown Derby and third in the SVE Derby on JH Firewater Honor (FirewaterOnTheRocks  Packin Honor Jet x Packin Sixes). 

Average

Ultimately, it was once again Ellis and Rico claiming the average win.