Hondo Rodeo Opening Night Hit by Barrel Racing Issues, Tim McGraw Absence

The 2026 Hondo Rodeo Fest opened in Phoenix on Friday night and while most of the rodeo performance was filled with incredible action, there were a few obstacles that caused a rough road for some contestants and concertgoers.

There were several concerns with the barrel racing ground and it was clear from the first horse that ran all the way to the end that this was not the standard the Hondo has set in the past. On top of that, the electric eye didn’t work for the first few ladies.

According to reports from barrel racers entered at the Hondo, there was a meeting after the barrel race and event organizers agreed to offer them an opportunity to rerun on Saturday morning.

To complicate matters further for the Hondo, country music star Tim McGraw was unable to reach Phoenix for his scheduled concert on Friday evening due to the nationwide Federal Aviation Administration ground stop.

Barrel Racers Offered Another Run

It is very rare in the rodeo world when barrel racers are offered another chance when ground conditions are not up to par. Especially in a case where no horse went all the way down.

The Hondo is aiming to rewrite the script of professional rodeo and bring the best to the contestants. They proved this by going above and beyond what they were required to do.

Watching the barrel horses run, it was evident to the trained eye that the horses were having trouble and were not able to perform to the best of their ability. With thousands of dollars on the line, the ground can be the difference between winning $12,000 and walking away with nothing.

The decision by the Hondo to allow contestants the opportunity to compete again Saturday was a clear-cut move to make sure every lady had the same opportunity. Those that were happy with their time could keep it, or they could choose to run again Saturday morning at 10 am.

The initial results showed Lisa Lockart taking the first-round win with a time of 13.70. Mackenzie Mayes was second with a time of 13.77 and then right behind was Emily Beisel with a 13.79.

All of those ladies can choose to keep those times or rerun. The official results won’t be available until after the completion of the “slack” run on Saturday.

Whoever comes out on top finally will get to claim the $12,000 nightly prize for first place.

Nationwide FAA Ground Stop Affects Concert

While the live crowd probably didn’t know too much about the problems in the barrel racing, one thing is sure — they noticed when Tim McGraw was absent.

McGraw was to be the headliner on Friday, following a performance by Miranda Lambert. The FAA ground stop prevented him from traveling to Phoenix.

According to news reports, the FAA issued the ground stop on Friday due to a telecommunications problem that affected air traffic control operations.

The interruption lasted for several hours and there were widespread flight cancellations and delays that extended well into Saturday.

According to KTAR News in Phoenix, the Hondo announced McGraw’s absence on social media around 8 p.m. after the rodeo was complete.

That left relatively little notice for fans who had purchased tickets expecting to see both artists.

The circumstances were way beyond anything McGraw or event organizers could have controlled, but were certainly disappointing for some concertgoers.

Hondo Rodeo Fest Continues Through Sunday

Despite the two hiccups in the performance, the Hondo Rodeo Fest provided fans with some incredible action.

World Champions and rookies alike put on quite a show with fast times and high scores throughout the night.

Saturday will bring more action to the arena floor and then the scheduled concerts are Turnpike Troubadours followed by Blake Shelton.

Sunday will conclude the Phoenix event with the final rodeo performance and Lynyrd Skynyrd and Park McCollum taking the stage.

The focus for organizers now turns to making things right for the barrel racing group and moving forward with all of the weekend’s competition and concerts.

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