Rough Rock breakaway roper wins year-end title, earns first INFR qualification

50th Annual Indian National Finals Rodeo

WINDOW ROCK

The 50th Annual Indian National Finals Rodeo gets underway Tuesday, Oct. 13, at the South Point Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, with two performances.

The first performance starts at 12:30 p.m., followed by the 6:30 p.m. show, which will conclude first-round action of the weeklong rodeo. After three rounds, the top qualifiers will advance to Saturday night’s championship round, where the 2026 INFR world champions will be crowned.

Rough Rock, Arizona, cowgirl Reneille Sells enters this year’s finals as a first-time qualifier in breakaway roping. Last year, she made her INFR debut in open team roping with her partner, Montana cowboy Charlie Ereaux.

Through 27 rodeos, Sells won the regular-season year-end crown, placing at 10 rodeos and earning a total of $17,418.72.

“I’m pretty excited about making the INFR,” said Sells, who is scheduled to compete Tuesday afternoon. “I’m pretty blessed and humbled, and I couldn’t have done this without my family. This is literally a family accomplishment because we do everything together.”

Her son, Robbie J. Sells, and niece Harleigh Sells also qualified for the INFR. Robbie captured the junior breakaway roping year-end crown with $10,891.81 in winnings, while Harleigh qualified in junior barrel racing.

“There is six of us that rodeo and three of us made it from the Sells & Sells Production, which is good,” Sells said.

Sells said most of her winnings came aboard her primary horse, Daisy, which she said was named the INFR Horse of the Year.

“We’ve had her about six years and she’s about 15 years old,” Sells said. “She’s actually my mom’s horse. She bought her a few years back and that was her investment for her kids, so my niece Autumn, my son Robbie and I ride her in the breakaway.”

As an INFR year-end champion, Sells will receive a $1,000 bonus, a trophy buckle and a jacket.

“I honestly didn’t think I would win the year-end,” Sells said. “My main goal was basically to qualify for the INFR.”

After starting the 2026 season with a pair of top finishes during the Florida INFR Tour in late January, Sells picked up her next check at the Calgary Stampede First Nations Rodeo & Relay in mid-June.

Sells said she secured her INFR qualification by tying for first in breakaway roping at the Mînî Thnî Stampede in Morley, Alberta, Canada, in late June and early July.

“Once I got qualified at Morley, Alberta, Canada I pretty much told myself that I have nothing to lose, so I went to a couple of rodeos and I placed at a majority of them,” Sells said. “When I went to Standoff (Canada) for another rodeo, I looked at the standings and I was leading it by $3,000.”

Down the stretch, Sells collected another $4,831.60 at three rodeos, holding off a late surge by Canadian cowgirl Rayne Bruised Head, who earned $7,409.55 at two rodeos. Sells claimed the year-end title by just $165.44, finishing ahead of Bruised Head’s $17,253.28.

“No one knew that this is my first year coming in as a breakaway roper,” Sells said. “It’s actually pretty exciting and I think everyone is excited to see it as well, especially my family.”