Battling injuries, Taylor Santos overcame adversity to reclaim the CTEC title, fueled by family and a spirit of resilience.
California cowboy Taylor Santos has won the 2026 Cinch Timed Event Championship, known as the Ironman of Rodeo, after his consistent excellence throughout each round. While Taylor has won before, with his first win at the CTEC being in 2020 (which was also his first time entering), this year the win was extra meaningful and emotional.
His past few years have been filled with injuries and yet he has kept working despite each setback, showing the world an example of true resilience. This year he also had his wife and young son Beau cheering him on, who he was quick to praise for their support.
Taylor was in the lead for the aggregate over several rounds. His total time on 25 head was 351.7 seconds which earned him a $100,000 paycheck.
In another truly classy act, Santos and numerous other cowboy competitors at the CTEC sported pink feathers in their cowboy hats in a nod of tribute to Oaklynn Domer, the 3-year-old daughter of Ryan and Kelsie Chace Domer who passed away in a tragic accident several weeks ago. The pink feathers said “LLO” as an encouragement to others to live and love with the tenacity of Oaklynn.
The Junior Ironman title went to Leo Loucks who won with an 80 plus second margin in comparison to the rest of the competitors. His time was 154 seconds. It was his second appearance at a junior ironman and one he came into with determination to make it his. He will undoubtedly go on to become a tough competitor in the Ironman competition as he ages.
After the elimination rounds, the final round roster was Taylor Santos, Ketch Kelton, Brushton Minton, Coleman Proctor, Seth Hall, Zane Kilgus, Dylan Hancock, Paul David Tierney, Clayton Hass, Wesley Thorp, Erich Rogers, JC Flake, Tyler Worley, Blane Cox, and Will Lummus.
Each of these men demonstrated elements of why they earned their spot in the competition. Zane Kilgus was a last minute replacement for K.C. Jones who had to pull out due to injury. With less than 36 hours notice that he would be competing and before the start, Kilgus loaded up and showed up ready to roll. He won round 3 in an impressive performance that reminded many why he got the call.
As trailers and trucks roll out of the Lazy E Arena and head homeward, the cowboys are leaving with runs to be proud of and a fire to come back and fight again for the win next year. Taylor Santos has plenty to celebrate, and yet was also quick to mention words of advice and inspiration from other top cowboys there that weekend and how it motivated him in his performance. His humility and hard work sets an example for the next generation of cowboys, like his son Beau.
With over forty years of this famous cowboy competition in the books, the Lazy E will start prepping to add another win to Santos banner and then prepare for the next CTEC this coming year.