ProRodeo Sports News - December 16, 2022

HORSES OF THE YEAR

Best horses of the year honored

BY BRADY RENCK, Special to ProRodeo Sports News S uccess in the sport of rodeo doesn’t fall on just the cowboys and cowgirls. Their horses play just as big of factor when they step foot in the arena. The Nutrena Horse of the Year presented by AQHA awards provide recognition to ProRodeo’s top horses.

circuit. Turbo can run, but what separated him this season was figuring out his job description. He learned the timing of heeling, leaving him excellent in small arenas where you have to be fast “and in the big places, too, like Cheyenne and Reno,” cowboy Patrick Smith, a two-time world champion and 13-time NFR qualifier, explained. For the first nine years of his life, Smith said Turbo was “broncy.” But he has come into his own with age. Turbo is 15 hands. Hear it fromPatrick: “This is a great deal. It’s the first time he has been entered. Honestly, I have been super blessed to have some great heel horses in my career. Amigo, who also won horse of year, and the horse that I won my first world title on didn’t have papers or I believe he would have won it. “I have always said that great years are attached to great horses and whether heading, heeling or barrel racing, it doesn’t really matter. I have tried on the average horse, and you become a very average roper when you don’t have a great one under you. Turbo, he’s just been phenomenal.” POCKETFUL OF LIGHT “Pockets” Tie-Down Roping Owner: Caleb Smidt Rider: Caleb Smidt, Marty Yates Why the horse is special: Pockets is as reliable an ol’ pickup truck, as consistent as a metronome. Smidt bought Pockets in 2015, looking to take his career to the next level. Smidt missed the 2014 season due to injury. He hasn’t missed the National Finals Rodeo since acquiring Pockets. The horse is known for giving his rider a chance, “not by doing anything really fancy, but by doing the same thing every single time. If you have a decent calf, you have an opportunity to win something.” Pockets, who won tie-down horse of the year in 2020, is 15 years old, stands 15.2 hands tall and weighs 1,300 pounds. Hear it fromCaleb: “Man, Pockets is just so solid. He doesn’t do anything wrong. He scores really good, that’s probably his best attribute. He just runs, stops, and pulls every single time. Everything I have won I have won on him. I have made the NFR on him every year since 2015. “ I rode him in every rodeo pretty much. Won lots of jackpots on him. All three gold buckles (2015, 2018, 2021), the average, won everything on him. He’s a great horse.” Why the horse is great: “Last year he was a little lost being green and everything and at the end of the year he started putting things together. He scores good and he can run. “The horse has a lot of gas. He also got stronger throughout the year, and he’s probably reached his potential. I almost gave up on him two- or three-times last year. My wife (Kelli) kept saying, ‘Don’t give up on him, you know how those green horses are and I’m glad I listened to her. This one I’m going to hold on to for a while and I’m glad he’s gotten to the top of the game.” Goose is 13 years old and weighs 1,275 pounds and is 15.1½ hands. Hear it from Scott: “It always means the world to me to have a Horse of the Year, especially because I train horses for a living. I make a lot of steer horses and I have a lot of customers who come to me for that. “I didn’t train (Goose) from ground up he just started as a steer horse when I got him. I put in a lot of work last year on this horse and he has come around a long way. “It is good that they acknowledge horses because without a good horse, I’m just another steer roper. You have to have a good horse to be elite in this competition.” JS FROSTYS BADGER, “Goose” Steer Roping Owner: Scott Snedecor Rider: Scott Snedecor

DASHIN HAZE “Tyson” Steer Wrestling Owner: Curtis Cassidy Rider: Curtis Cassidy

Why the horse is special: Tyson was named after a boxing champion. Now, the horse has more hardware than Home Depot. Tyson has won the PRCA Steer Wrestler Horse of The Year three consecutive seasons, pulling off the feat in 2022 while leading owner Curtis Cassidy, an eight-time NFR qualifier, and J.D. Struxness, Jesse Brown, Stephen Culling and countless others to victories. Tyson is fast by any measure. He is a retired racehorse, earning more than $30,000 in stakes races in Alberta. He began a second career as a barrel racer where Cassidy’s wife Shannon noticed him. They purchased the horse, and he took to steer wrestling like a natural. He has carved out a reputation as a horse who is rugged with a big heart. Tyson is 17 years old and stands 15 hands. Hear it fromCurtis: “He got his name for being tough. He’s named after Mike Tyson (the former heavyweight champion boxer). Being tough, No. 1, is a great asset he has. No. 2, he’s so user friendly. I could throw a high school kid on him, and he would turn and stand in the box perfect or I go could throw J.D. Struxness, No. 2 in the world, and he’s going to stand there perfect. “That’s probably another great quality. If there’s one horse you’ve never rode before and you had to get on him in a rodeo to win something, he’s definitely one of the top horses to do it. He does his job and lets you do your job.” JESS A MOOSE “Gray” Team Roping Header Owner: Jim Donnan Rider: Lightning Aguilera Why the horse is special: Lightning Aguilera, befitting his name, is always looking to go faster. In December, he was told about Gray, advised to buy the gelding from JordanWeaver. One ride, and Aguilera was convinced. He won on Gray in San Antonio, Texas, creating a successful partnership that will continue for 10 rounds at the NFR. Gray, who won the award as a first-time nominee, brings consistency, speed, and an uncommon focus, always heading straight toward the steer, providing a platform for Aguilera to place in every rodeo. Gray is 11 years old. Hear it fromLightning: “ He’s just been on my team the whole time this season. He always scores, always gives me a chance. He never tries to beat me. He always rises to the occasion no matter where we are and no matter what the setup is. “He just does what he needs to do. We got him in December. And I was jackpotting on him and I needed a horse to rodeo. And I rode him all year. It was a blessing to have him.”

KADABRA KING “Turbo” Team Roping Heeler Owner: Patrick Smith Rider: Patrick and Christi Smith

Why the horse is special: Turbo always had talent but needed time to mature. Over the last season, the 11-year-old turned into a turbo force on the

ProRodeo Sports News 12/16/2022

ProRodeo.com

99