Solo Select will offer its own exclusive stallion incentive for 2025, making available hundreds of thousands of new dollars to ropers, owners and breeders.
The event—held Oct. 1-2, 2025—will pay out an estimated $330,000 in added money in its first year.
To build an incentive to benefit the breeders of a relatively young roster of stallions, Solo Select decided to split the program into two phases: Phase 1 will take place from 2025-2029, and Phase 2 will begin in 2030. Beginning with bookings for the 2025 breeding season, a portion of each stud fee will go into a dedicated account for the Solo Stallion Incentive.
For Phase 1, the heading, heeling, breakaway and calf roping futurity—held October 1-2, 2025, during the Clay Logan Open to the World with the location to be announced—is open to ANY 4-year-olds whose AQHA-registered owners or riders have purchased a breeding to one of the stallions standing at Solo Select.
The foals resulting from breedings in 2025 will exclusively be eligible for the 2030 Futurity Incentive as 4-year-olds, the first year the event will shift to Phase 2, focusing solely on the offspring of Solo Select Stallions.
In Phase 2 of the incentive, beginning in 2030 (the year the foals resulting from 2025 breedings will be 4-year-old futurity horses), the incentive will be exclusive to horses sired by Solo Select Stallions in the incentive. As a result, breeders of these foals will be able to advertise them as "Solo Select Stallion Incentive-Eligible," competing only against other foals exclusively by Solo Select Incentive Stallions for an incredible amount of money in 2030 and beyond.
"In 2030 and beyond, the incentive will be exclusive to horses sired by Solo Select Incentive Stallions."
"Our core motivation is to bring more money to the rope horse industry for the breeders and owners and trainers," Ty Smith, Solo Select CEO, said. "We want this to be simple: A portion of each stallion fee at Solo will go to the added money. To enter the 2025 futurity, you must buy a breeding to a Solo Select stallion. Ride any horse that you want as long as it’s 4 years old, and each rider can only enter four horses on each side."
The stallion lineup at Solo Select is exclusive yet diverse, with a price point for every level of breeder in the industry:
Woody Be Tuff
Boons Reflections
Metallic Cattack
Metallics MVP
Pride And Joyy
Meteles Cat
Plain Catty
Sheik Jean Fly HTT
The Notorious BIG
The Animal
This Catt Shines
Time To Glo
"This takes a lot of the burden off of the idea of a stallion incentive, and, in a world of complicated futurity systems, it makes it simple," 26-time PRCA World Champion Trevor Brazile said. "For 2025, just by buying a breeding to any of those studs, you’re eligible to run at a lot of money. As a bonus, your resulting foals will be the first crop exclusively eligible in 2030. As much opportunity as there is in the futurity industry, there are a lot of stipulations. This incentive seems to be one of the simplest. They're thinking about the future."
Clay Logan will play host to the event at his Clay Logan Open to the World that runs Oct. 1-5.
"This is a new venue to put a lot more money out there for these horses, breeders and ropers their 4-year-old years," Logan said. "It makes the value of these horses higher. Once they go to that show, they’ll be able to go to other events their 5-year-old and 6-year-old years, too, but this will showcase the best 4-year-olds there are for esimated $70,000 checks on each end."
Southern Ranches' Shane Boston, who owns The Notorious BIG, has worked with Smith and Logan to make this futurity come to life because he's passionate about the long-term growth of the rope horse business.
"If we can get more of these higher-dollar futurities, and get more people coming to see what we offer, and take care of the sponsors and the VIPs, we'll see real growth," Boston said. "We’re a lot closer than we were five years ago. We’re another five away from really seeing the big money and big players. The payouts have to be big. I’m not going to spend $5,000 for a chance to win $15,000. I’m going to put $5,000 down if I can win $100,000."
A breeding to any stallion in the Solo lineup will allow one entry to the futurity. The entry fees will be $1,000, with three judges and a fourth score based on time. With both an Intermediate and Open short rounds, the payout will be based on four head. The intermediate will be capped at a 6.5 header, 8 heeler. It will be $500 to enter the intermediate, and they will be roping for 100% of their money. If a horse makes it back in the Open short round but the rider is also eligible for the Intermediate short round, the horse will go straight to the Open short round with his score rolling into the Intermediate.
"We've worked tirelessly to make sure we've got the very best stallions, vets, breeding specialists, mare offerings, recips, marketing and customer service in the industry," Melanie said. "So providing an incentive for customers who truly believe in maintaining that level of excellence in partnership with us is the next step. If you believe in doing your business this way, we want you to be part of our program, too."
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