Aldridge and Adios Pantalones Continue to Set Bar High with Round 4 Win

Tricia Aldridge and her famous stallion set a record in Round 4, taking their first round win of the 2025 NFR.

Nathan Meyer Photography

Tricia Aldridge and her stallion Adios Pantalones have been setting records for the past two years. Qualifying for the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) in their first-ever year of professional rodeo, the rookies have come out on top and proven themselves as legends in the making. 

The Round 4 Win

Not only did the pair run the fastest time so far this year, they are now the first rookies to take home a round win this year. Unofficially, they broke the record for fastest time ever run by a stallion in the Thomas & Mack at 13.42 seconds. Michele McLeod and Slick By Design were unofficially the last to hold the title, with a run of 13.48 seconds in Round 7 of the 2013 NFR.

Slick By Design was one of the best to ever play the game, qualifying for the NFR three times. The beautiful black stallion passed away earlier this year, but not before creating a legacy that has proven hard to beat.

Adios is no stranger to the spotlight, as the all-time leading barrel futurity stallion. Aldridge has a goal for $1 million in lifetime earnings for Adios and that goal is well within their reach.

While it is difficult to verify the fastest run ever made in the Thomas & Mack by a stallion, one record is confirmed. In 2024, Kassie Mowry and Force The Goodbye set a Round 4 record with a 13.43-second run. Aldridge and Adios bested this time by one-tenth of a second and now hold the NFR Round 4 record.

From a post on Aldridge's Red Hot Barrel Horses social media:

"His ego is the size of Texas. I think sometimes people think it's cocky when I tell him he's a champion. But that's the jockey Adios needs. I tell him every day, I pet him, I tell him he's a champion, he's a winner, he can do it. Then he goes out there and does it for us."

Adios Proving the Champion Aldridge Knew He Could Be

Lexi Smith Media/Photo Courtesy of Tricia Aldridge

The duo has obviously set the bar high heading into the next six rounds of the NFR, as they continue to beat out some of the sport's top competitors. They’ve earned a paycheck every night except night three, and are only getting faster as the nights go on. 

What is so impressive about this pair is that it’s their first year ever competing in the PRCA, and they are already making the history books. Adios and Aldridge are moving up the ranks fast, as they now sit at No. 6 in the World Standings.

At such a young age, there is a huge chance that he and Aldridge will be back to prove themselves as one of the best barrel racing duos of all time.

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