Ask a roper why they keep entering Mathews Land & Cattle ropings and the answers tend to be short: the cattle run right, the payout is honest, and the crew knows what it's doing. With the Ariat WSTR Finale in Las Vegas coming December 3–13, 2026, and our South Point Outside Qualifiers running December 4–13, it's a good time to lay out why ropers pick MLC, and why the Finale is worth making the trip at least once.
The cattle come first
We rope fresh Corriente cattle only, and we hold them to a standard. Corriente are lean, quick, and athletic, which is exactly what a roping needs, and consistency is the whole game. If one steer is a rocket and the next is a slug, the draw decides the winner. We don't want that.
"It shouldn't be a drawing competition," Oren Mathews told Team Roping Journal in 2018, and that's still the philosophy. Our family has worked cattle around Las Vegas, New Mexico for more than 120 years. When the stock is conditioned and consistent, the results come down to roping, and ropers notice.
Honest payouts, familiar faces
Ropers also come back because they know what they're getting. We advertise our payouts and we pay them. Our South Point Qualifier during Finale week paid out $2,696,200 in 2025, according to WSTR's own results page. Every roping we run gets its results posted on our News & Results page, so you can see who won and what it paid.
The same people run the show event after event. Chris Francis, a 2018 BFI champion, runs day-to-day operations. Cade Passig, also a 2018 BFI champion, is the voice on the mic. Kenna Francis coordinates dates, locations, and staff, and Kersti Passig handles social media and keeps the ropings running smoothly. On Facebook, ropers have given MLC a 98% recommend rate across 68 reviews.
In their words
We'd rather let ropers tell it. These quotes come from winners of the 2025 South Point outside qualifiers.
Photo by Shelby Lynn Photography
"You guys always have really even set of steers and always run a great production outside there."
Tyler Tryan
Photo by Shelby Lynn Photography
"Roping at the jackpots by Mathews Land and Cattle during the World Series Finale at South Point is always an excellent experience. It made for an even better experience this past year after winning it, with a great payout. The cattle were superb in every roping. They have the best flaggers, always watching and making sure things are going as smoothly as possible and you can't beat the location. It is so nice having good jackpots that pay so great during the Finale that get you warmed up to go inside and win big. Heck where can a person go to one location and have a chance to win that kinda money in one spot."
Justin Fox, heeler
Photo by Shelby Lynn Photography
"I like Mathews ropings because of the cattle and how they run their ropings."
Chance Gainer, heeler
"I love our ropings and the overall camaraderie! The great folks we get to deal with, the NFR, Christmas time. It's my happy time of the year!"
Oren Mathews, owner
Why the Finale is worth the trip
The Ariat World Series of Team Roping Finale has been held at South Point Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas since the first one in December 2006, and it's now the richest week in amateur team roping. In 2025 it paid out $17,731,800 in cash. The reason ordinary ropers have a real shot is the handicap system: you rope in a division matched to your number, so a weekend roper competes against people at his own level, not against NFR veterans.
WSTR's own Finale page states that the Outside Qualifiers "are produced by Mathews Land & Cattle," and we've run them since the first one in 2014. In 2024, Team Roping Journal reported that the outside Super Qualifiers we manage ran an additional 4,339 teams on top of the main arena's runs. It's a big crowd and a big week, and we're glad to be part of it.
Planning your stay
South Point is a hotel, casino, and equestrian center on one property, so you can stay where you rope. That's a big convenience with horses, trailers, and a packed schedule, but the Finale fills up fast. Book your room early, and check with South Point and WSTR directly for current stall and facility availability, since those details change from year to year.
Entries for our outside qualifiers open on GlobalHandicaps.com in stages starting November 9, and online entries close November 16. The full day-by-day schedule, entry fees, and rules are in our South Point schedule breakdown.
The friends you make
Talk to anyone who's been to Finale week and sooner or later the conversation turns to people, not payouts. You're in one building for ten days with thousands of ropers who all speak the same language. You trade horse advice in the warm-up pen, watch each other's runs, and end up swapping phone numbers with people from three states away. By the next season, half of those folks are showing up at your home qualifier.
What a good roping feels like
A roping runs on small things done right: a draw that's posted on time, cattle that are sorted and ready, a secretary who answers the phone, and a payout list you can read without a calculator. None of it makes the highlight reel, but it's the reason a roper decides to enter the next one. We'd rather be known for running a clean, predictable roping than for any one big weekend.
Come rope with us
Whether you're hauling to one of our Texas stops this season or loading up for Las Vegas in December, we'd like to see you in the draw. Our crew's phone numbers are on the Contact page, and results from every roping go up on News & Results as soon as they wrap.