While some eyes were focused on the 2025 Northern California Classic last weekend, another competition was going down in Texas at the Cowtown Coliseum in the Fort Worth Stockyards.
The first-ever Red Bull Rancher Strong event, hosted by Red Bull athlete Noah Ohlsen, combined strength tests and obstacles.
- Known for engineering extreme and unique events, Red Bull upheld its reputation by showcasing big names tackling new challenges.
Gui Malheiros and Arielle Loewen were among the athletes who donned their boots and hats for the weekend and faced the course.
They were joined by American Ninja Warrior competitors, Division I athletes, rodeo champions, and real-life ranchers — athletes from a wide range of fitness backgrounds representing various countries and sports.
The Race
The event featured an eight-station obstacle course, where athletes attempted to complete it as quickly as possible, using an elimination-style format.
- Challenges included a tire throw, trailer push, monkey bar traverse, feed sack carry, and pulling a sled while seated in a stationary saddle.
Loewen admitted that she was intimidated leading up to the event. After years of competing in CrossFit, she has come to know her competitors, understanding their strengths and weaknesses, which helps her build effective strategies.
- “At a CrossFit competition, I can look across the room and think Tia’s going to be good at this, Brooke’s going to be good at this, I’ll be good at this, and gauge what I need to do based on that,” Loewen told Morning Chalk Up. “In this room, I had no idea what anyone was, so it was honestly really intimidating because I’m used to knowing a lot about my competitors, and I knew nothing about these other than their strengths are different from my strengths.”
Both Loewen and Malheiros shared with us that they had limited experience with many of the obstacles and implements. Both have competed at the Rogue Invitational, so the monkey bars and sandbags were familiar to them. Still, the tire throw was brand new, as was the sled pull from a seated position – something that Loewen said was particularly challenging.
- “I was blown away at how large-scale everything was – the hay bales, the ladders, etc. They went above and beyond to make the obstacles look beefy, and that’s what made it fun – it felt like a real ranch thing,” Loewen said.
The Outcome
Facing fellow professional athletes with significantly more experience in obstacle courses, Loewen emerged as the winner and proudly won a brand-new Polaris Sportsman ATV.
Malheiros and Loewen agreed that it was a breath of fresh air to take a step away from CrossFit for a moment for something new and different.
- “It was nice to compete in something so fun, and awesome to compete in something that’s so different than CrossFit,” Malheiros said.
Loewen added that it was all about the experience. She entered the competition just wanting to be part of something unique: pure fitness with no strings or drama attached.
In the midst of Games training, she appreciated the challenge of fitness at this stage of the season.
- “All I’m training right now is CrossFit – running, weightlifting, agility, a little bit of strength training, and it 100% prepared me for this race. It was a last-minute decision to join, and I just hoped that my CrossFit training could stand up to it,” Loewen said.
Well, it sure did.
Turns out, cowboy boots and CrossFit trainers aren’t so different after all, at least not when grit is part of the uniform.
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Featured Image: Gui Malheiros
