Kimes Ranch Makes Major Announcement Regarding Million Dollar Breakaway

As the EHV-1 outbreak continues, major announcements are being made across the industry.

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It has been a day of sitting on pins and needles and waiting for the next thing to happen. Throughout the last 24 hours, it has been a flurry of cancellations, vet statements, contestants' sad stories, and organizations trying to figure out what to do.

Adding to the problems this is creating happens to be the timing. It is never a good time for something like this to happen, but this is certainly a bad time, if you had to pick one. The National Finals Rodeo and all of the other surrounding events in Las Vegas are a mere two weeks away from starting.

Given all of this, several organizations are having to make decisions regarding their events, and the Kimes Ranch Million Dollar Breakaway was at the forefront of everyone's minds today.

What Did Kimes Announce?

The highest-paying breakaway in history made the decision today to postpone their event. The roping was scheduled to happen November 24 through 30 in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Out of an abundance of caution and care for the animals involved, the event organizers, including CN Productions and Kimes Ranch, decided to reschedule the event to December 15 through 21. They went on to say that they will be closely monitoring the situation and, if necessary, will reschedule for the spring.

In their press release, "We understand the anticipation surrounding these events and share in the disappointment of our competitors and fans," event organizers said. "However, protecting the well-being of our equine partners comes first. We remain committed to
delivering exceptional events once it is responsible to do so."

More Actions Regarding EHV-1

The WPRA and Elite Barrel Racing Productions also released a statement today regarding actions being taken by the Texas Animal Health Commission.

"Texas Animal Health Commission will be directly contacting contestants who attended the WPRA World Finals and Elite Barrel Race in Waco, TX from November 6-9, 2025, regarding a 14-day hold on all horses that were present, as well as any horses located at the facility, barn, or home of the affected contestants."

The release went on to say that the horses would be unable to travel until December 2, 2025. This would have a major impact on those people who have qualified for the National Finals Rodeo, as they are required to be in Las Vegas sooner than that.

This would have a significant impact on the breakaway ropers who were in attendance in Waco as the National Finals Breakaway Roping actually is scheduled to start on December 2.

There will be plenty more announcements coming and Rodeo On SI will do our best to keep everyone informed as events make decisions. Stay safe out there!

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