In 2019, Paramount Network and Academy Award-nominee Taylor Sheridan (Hell or High Water, Yellowstone) introduced The Last Cowboy, an unscripted original series that spotlighted horsemen and trainers competing in the high-stakes world of professional reining.
In conjunction with the show, Sheridan also launched The Run for a Million, the sport’s first-ever, arena-based competition — with a $1 million purse, the largest in reining history — held at the South Point Arena and Equestrian Center in Las Vegas.
While the show shed new light on the intense sport of reining and was met with much acclaim, neither The Last Cowboy nor The Run for a Million will not get a second season — at least not this summer.
Today the NRHA released an official statement for the producers of The Run for a Million:
The goal of The Last Cowboy and Run for a Million is to celebrate and grow the sport of reining. The inaugural Run for a Million generated an excitement that spread beyond the world of reining to all western performance horse disciplines — it could be felt at cutting events, cow horse events, and even in the world of rodeo. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is not possible to produce and film The Last Cowboy or The Run for a Million in August. We have made the difficult decision to postpone the event until it can be produced with the same energy and excitement we experienced at the inaugural event.
All competitors who have qualified for the RM in the Rookie, Non Pro, and last year’s open shoot out are still qualified for the event once a date is secured. Those who have paid entry fees but not yet competed for the qualifier may either allow that entry fee to carry over or they may have their entry fee refunded and re-enter once a date and schedule is released.
Read more on the cancellation by Western sports journalist Jennifer Paulson here.