Over 1,000 contestants, 500 rodeos, and 33 states have come down to one short round at the National Little Britches Rodeo Association Finals. But how did we get here?

Champions will be crowned at the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, Oklahoma, today—find out how they’ll have to do it below:

The Regular Season

Contestants earn points at NLBRA franchise rodeos throughout the regular season. At the national finals, the standings leaderboard is determined based on each contestant’s five best rodeos coming into the finals.

The Finals

The NLBRA finals offered an opportunity to earn more points in each of the two go-rounds, the short round, and the aggregate/average. 

The Short Round

There are two ways you can qualify for the short round of the NLBRA finals.

1. The Aggregate: The 10 fastest combined times or highest combined scores from rounds one and two will qualify for the short round.
2. Points: The 10 contestants with the most points will also qualify for the short round. These points include season points (their top five rodeos), and points earned during the first and second round.

*If any of the 10 that qualify through the aggregate have also qualified via the points system, the NLBRA will roll down through the point system to fill the 20 spots.

Finals Champions

Champions of the NLBRA finals will be crowned in individual events based on a three-run/head aggregate. The fastest times or highest score total from round one, round two, and the short round will become the finals champion.

In the all-around race, the winners will be determined based on total points from each of the rounds, the short round, and the aggregate.

World Champions

The world champions in both the individual events and the all-around are determined solely on points. Their regular season points, round one and two, the short round, and the aggregate points will all be added together to crown the world champions of the NBLRA.