Held in Odessa, Texas, the Sandhills Stock Show and Rodeo unofficially kicks off the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association’s (PRCA) annual “Texas Swing”, marking the beginning of a stretch filled with multi-week livestock shows, unique, indoor pens, and some of the most lucrative rodeos of the 2026 season.
While the new year has just begun, the PRCA season officially launched back in October 2025. With some of the largest payouts of the year on the line, the coming months will prove critical for athletes chasing qualifications for the 2026 National Finals Rodeo (NFR).
With stakes elevated, fans and competitors alike have turned their attention to West Texas, hoping to strike it rich in the petroleum-powered Permian Basin.
As the Sandhills Stock Show and Rodeo nears its final days of competition, it is already providing an early preview of the talent set to shape the 2026 season. Including several athletes coming off strong performances at the 2025 NFR, highlighted by reigning All-Around Cowboy Wacey Schalla.
Schalla is looking to start 2026 strong in both bareback riding and bull riding. He currently leads the bareback riding in Odessa after an impressive 89-point ride aboard Beutler & Son Rodeo’s Guitar Town. Fresh off a bareback riding victory at the Cinch World’s Toughest Rodeo in Des Moines, Iowa — worth $6,430 — Schalla aims to carry that momentum through the remainder of January.
In steer wrestling, Travis Munro leads the two-head aggregate with a combined time of 9.0 seconds. The Australian native finished the 2025 season inside the top 30 of the world standings and is looking to open his 2026 campaign on a strong note.
Team ropers Dustin Egusquiza and J.C. Flake captured the first-round win with a time of 4.1 seconds, earning $2,213 each. The duo also leads the aggregate with a combined time of 8.3 seconds on two head. After Flake narrowly missed qualifying for the 2025 NFR, while Egusquiza made his NFR appearance with Levi Lord, the reunited pair enters 2026 as a team to watch throughout the Texas Swing.
Reigning world champion saddle bronc rider Statler Wright currently tops the standings in Odessa after scoring 80 points aboard Beutler & Son Rodeo’s Holy Water.
Calf roper Kincade Henry is also building on his 2025 NFR success. The 24-year-old, four-time NFR qualifier leads the event with a two-head aggregate time of 17.7 seconds, making the Mount Pleasant, Texas, native one to watch as the Texas Swing moves through his home state.
In barrel racing, French-Canadian cowgirl Julie Plourde continues her strong start to the season, leading the event with a time of 14.38 seconds in the heart of West Texas.
Bull rider Boudreaux Campbell opened his 2026 season in impressive fashion, scoring 90 points aboard Powder River Rodeo’s Sour Patch to lead the event. After missing the 2025 NFR, the five-time NFR qualifier is looking to reassert himself during the Texas Swing and at the Sandhills Stock Show and Rodeo.
With $72,000 in added money, the Sandhills Stock Show and Rodeo also serves as the first stop in the Cinch Playoffs Series. Competition continues through Jan. 17, with coverage available across The Cowboy Channel’s broadcast and digital platforms.