The three stallions DM High Roller, Seis Smashin Fame and Adios Pantalones all qualified through to the Rodeo Austin Semifinals in the final week of March 2025, and here’s what you need to know about the barrel racing standouts who pull double duty in the breeding barn.
The first two stallions on the list went No. 3 and 4 in the go-round
Finishing the highest in the round were Tasha Welsh and Seis Smashin Fame, the 2015 son of Tres Seis out of Smashin Ta Fame by Dash Ta Fame. Welsh went 15.18 seconds in the long round of competition, which was made up of 88 contestants. See Austin format, payout and information here.
They earned $5,584, helping the stallion move closer to the $100,000 in QData recorded lifetime earnings—despite an injury that took him out of competition for a period of time in 2024. The duo will have an opportunity to run at $1 million at The American Rodeo in April, and they’ve been steadily placing at Texas Circuit rodeos around “Thor’s,” performances at Austin.
Just on her heels, Tricia Aldridge jockeyed her stallion Adios Pantalones to a fourth-place finish and $4,839 in 15.24 . After breaking the all-time earning futurity season record in 2024, Aldridge took to the rodeo trail to see if the now 5-year-old stallion could handle the rodeo road. Thanks to a top position in the 2024 WPRA World Standings, Aldridge qualified for Rodeo Austin. Going into the event, Aldridge’s $18,364.25 across 15 rodeos and position of No. 23 in the World Standings have demonstrated the yellow horse’s ability to excel in a variety of setups.
The 2019 son of Tres Seis is out of the decorated mare, French Bar Belle by Frenchmans Guy.
Latricia Duke came back to the first Semifinals on her rodeo fan-favorite golden stallion, DM High Roller after qualifying for Rodeo Austin thanks to her 2024 World Standings final position and making through the first round at No. 17, . “Vanilla Wafer,” qualified to and attended his first NFR in 2024 beneath Duke.
The 2017 son of French StreakToVegas and out of Happy To Run Em by FireWaterOnTheRocks earned the Rising Star Award while in Las Vegas, a unique honor voted on by the top 15 barrel racers on the first-time NFR qualifying horse who with standout talent.
The bar’s about to be raised
The iconic NFR qualifying stallion, Slick By Design’s had the all-time barrel racing stallion earnings record locked up since his retirement from the arena, but it’s not safe in 2025. Slick By Design sits at $643,000 via HighPoint Barrel Horses’ tabulations. According to QData’s reports, $626,962 of that made it into the official numbers.
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As of March 27, 2025, QData lists Adios Pantalones at $604,326, with the most recent recording coming from the ProRodeo in Mercedes, Texas, one week prior. See the report.
As of March 27, 2025, QData lists DM High Roller at $605,145, with the most recent recording coming from the ProRodeo in Mercedes, Texas, one week prior.
Both Duke and Aldridge have self-reported earnings in addition to the totals, as the recordkeepers watch to see how both horses will compete over the next few months, and just how far the bar will raise for the stallions who are only five and eight years old, respectively.
All eyes will be on these horses in the upcoming weeks, as the two golden studs race to Slick By Design’s record, and Seis Smashin Fame continues to carve out his own legacy en route to The American Rodeo and a potential $1 million payday. BarrelRacing.com will be there every step of the way thanks to Classic Equine’s support of the barrel racing horse industry all 2025 long.
