A tough matchup
5–1
behind in the head-to-head
HOLD YOUR HORSES BBQ ahead in 83% of their meetings
HOLD YOUR HORSES BBQ has come out ahead in 5 of their 6 shared contests.
Tru Grit BBQ
Tru Grit BBQ is a competition barbecue team with 6 Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) contests on record between 2021 and 2023. Their best overall finish is 10th of 30 at the Pigs & Peaches BBQ Festival (2022). They are ranked #3109 of 6,491 teams in the KCBS power rankings. Also listed in KCBS results as “TRUGRIT BBQ”.
At a glance (the record in numbers)
Rating
1503
peak 1507 · rated over 6 contests
Contests
6
in the data
First seen
Mar 5, 2021
latest Nov 17, 2023 · 2.7 years on the trail
Grand champs
0
0 reserve
Category wins
0
1 podium
Overall top-10s
1
17% of 6 contests
Avg finish
top 45%
overall standings
Perfect 180s
0
Walk rate
33%
contests with a top-10 call
Consistency
±9.50
spread of their Backyard (3-meat) overall scores (lower = steadier)
Strongest meat
Pork
avg 163.02 · weakest Pork Ribs (151.85)
Road miles
199
across 6 mapped stops · furthest 55 mi
Schedule strength
48%
of rated fields were softer than their average draw (1563)
Purse competed for
$56K
listed at 6 contests — purses, not winnings
State championships
0 🏅
won from 6 state-championship entries
Backyard avg
308.47 / 360
1 Backyard contest · 0 GCs
Backyard (3-meat) avg
473.01 / 540
5 Backyard (3-meat) contests · 0 GCs
These overall scores sit on different scales (Backyard out of 360, Backyard (3-meat) out of 540), so they're kept separate — averaging them together would be misleading.
This team cooks the Backyard series — its own boards, records and Team of the Year are here.
Team of the Year (rank per category by season — the year links to the full board on kcbs.us)
Teams like this (closest power rating)
The teams rated closest to Tru Grit BBQ, each with one reason worth a look.
113 rated teams sit within a point of this rating, so a place on this list means the numbers match — no more than that.
#3,114 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 17%
- Peak
- 1513
Careers of much the same size, 6 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careers#3,128 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1515
They were already cooking in 2013, 8 years before Tru Grit BBQ's first contest.
⚔ Compare careers#3,111 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 0%
- Peak
- 1503
Their last contest in the data was back in 2018, 5 years before Tru Grit BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#3,098 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 17%
- Peak
- 1506
Level with Tru Grit BBQ on power rating, which is the whole reason they're on the list.
⚔ Compare careers#3,123 of the rated field
- Contests
- 6
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 33%
- Peak
- 1503
Their last contest in the data was back in 2016, 7 years before Tru Grit BBQ's most recent — their rating stopped moving when they stopped cooking.
⚔ Compare careers#3,103 of the rated field
- Contests
- 7
- GCs
- 0
- Top-10s
- 14%
- Peak
- 1513
Careers of much the same size, 7 contests to 6, so neither rating has had more chance to settle than the other.
⚔ Compare careersFamiliar foes (most-met opponents in overall standings — one meeting per contest)
| Opponent | Meetings | Ahead | Behind | Win rate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peckerwood Country Club | 6 | 6 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| Willingham's | 6 | 5 | 1 | 83% | ⚔ compare |
| ZIPS BBQ | 6 | 4 | 2 | 67% | ⚔ compare |
| Wine Me, Dine Me and Swine Me | 6 | 4 | 2 | 67% | ⚔ compare |
| COOL HAND QUE | 6 | 3 | 3 | 50% | ⚔ compare |
| Stewbabys BBQ | 6 | 2 | 3 | 33% | ⚔ compare |
| HOLD YOUR HORSES BBQ | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| SMOKIN' SWEETMEATS | 6 | 1 | 4 | 17% | ⚔ compare |
| Wiggle Butts BBQ | 5 | 5 | 0 | 100% | ⚔ compare |
| BAD ROOSTER BBQ | 5 | 2 | 3 | 40% | ⚔ compare |
| ROLLIN KOLBZ | 5 | 1 | 4 | 20% | ⚔ compare |
| TFS PIT VIPERS | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0% | ⚔ compare |
By meat
| Category | Entries | Calls | Wins | Podiums | Best | Worst | Average | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicken | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 162.8340 | 141.0284 | 157.19 | top 42% |
| Pork Ribs | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 158.8000 | 145.6340 | 151.85 | top 53% |
| Pork | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 167.3828 | 158.8228 | 163.02 | top 30% |
“Calls” = top-10 category finishes (getting called to the stage). Scores here are the final weighted totals KCBS publishes; per-criterion appearance/taste/tenderness marks aren’t in the public results feed.
By field size and state
By contest size
| Field | Contests | GCs | Avg finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium (20–39) | 3 | 0 | top 42% |
| Large (40+) | 3 | 0 | top 49% |
Repeat visits (contests they've cooked twice or more)
| Contest | Visits | Best | GCs | Avg finish | Last visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sip & Swine BBQ Festival | 2 | 34 | 0 | top 48% | Mar 3, 2023 |
More numbers
Contests a season
2
across 3 seasons in the data
Most contests held in
GA
6 of 6 contests
Contests visited
5
1 of them more than once
Opponents faced
272
finished ahead 189 times, behind 271
Milestones (the firsts, the round numbers and the personal bests)
20231 milestone
- Most recent contest Atlanta BBQ Store Classic
20225 milestones
- First call Honeybee BBQ Competition
- Career-best single call (Pork)167.3828 Honeybee BBQ Competition
- First overall top-10 Pigs & Peaches BBQ Festival
- Career-best overall score481.0168 Pigs & Peaches BBQ Festival
- Peak power rating (1507) Pigs & Peaches BBQ Festival
20211 milestone
- First tracked contest Sip & Swine BBQ Festival
Power rating over time (1500 = average; recomputed nightly)
📈 Biggest rating jumps
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| +5.5 | Pigs & Peaches BBQ Festival | Aug 19, 2022 |
| +2.5 | BBQ Boogie & Blues | Sep 24, 2021 |
| +0.6 | Honeybee BBQ Competition | Jun 3, 2022 |
📉 Toughest weekends
| Swing | Contest | Date |
|---|---|---|
| -2.8 | Sip & Swine BBQ Festival | Mar 3, 2023 |
| -1.8 | Sip & Swine BBQ Festival | Mar 5, 2021 |
| -1.1 | Atlanta BBQ Store Classic | Nov 17, 2023 |
Scores over time (% of a perfect score — tap a meat to add it)
Overall finish over time (top-% of field, lower is better)
Where they finish (overall)
Best vs average (by meat)
How entries end (by meat)
Season by season
| Season | Contests | GCs | Top-10s | Category wins | Walk rate | Avg finish | Best overall (% of perfect) | Avg overall (% of perfect) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 52% | 87% | 86.3% |
| 2022 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 100% | top 41% | 89.1% | 89% |
| 2021 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | top 43% | 88.7% | 86.5% |
Contest history (click a row for the event, a column to sort)
| Date | Event | Overall | Chicken | Ribs | Pork | Brisket |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 17, 2023 | Atlanta BBQ Store Classic 🏅 Cumming, GA | 30 / 60 (308.4684) | 24 (159.9428) | 31 (148.5256) | 22 (158.8228) | — |
| Mar 3, 2023 | Sip & Swine BBQ Festival 🏅 Lawrenceville, GA | 35 / 65 (469.6340) | 32 (159.4172) | 40 (145.6340) | 17 (164.5828) | — |
| Aug 19, 2022 | Pigs & Peaches BBQ Festival 🏅 Kennesaw, GA | 10 / 30 (481.0168) | 9 (162.8340) | 14 (158.8000) | 12 (159.3828) | — |
| Jun 3, 2022 | Honeybee BBQ Competition 🏅 Lafayette, GA | 12 / 25 (479.8628) | 9 (161.0856) | 16 (151.3944) | 3 (167.3828) | — |
| Sep 24, 2021 | BBQ Boogie & Blues 🏅 Calhoun, GA | 12 / 27 (478.7428) | 15 (158.8228) | 14 (157.6456) | 11 (162.2744) | — |
| Mar 5, 2021 | Sip & Swine BBQ Festival 🏅 Lawrenceville, GA | 34 / 81 (455.8056) | 35 (141.0284) | 33 (149.0972) | 19 (165.6800) | — |