ProRodeo Sports News - October 30, 2020

2020 Horses of the Year announced Year’s Best HORSES OF THE YEAR

BY MATT NABER

STEER WRESTLING DASHIN HAZE “TYSON” Owner: Curtis Cassidy Riders: Curtis Cassidy and Jesse Brown

Key 2020 Accomplishments: Won the Roots N Boots Queen Creek (Ariz.) Pro Rodeo and split the win at the Bear Paw Roundup in Chinook, Mont., with Cassidy. Won Spanish Fork (Utah) Fiesta Days Rodeo with Baylor Roche, placed second at the Cody (Wyo.) Stampede with Jesse Brown. Why the horse is great: This year will mark the third consecutive time Cassidy rides Tyson at the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo. Tyson has taken numerous competitors to the winners’ circle of major rodeos, such as the Canadian Finals Rodeo for Scott Guenthner. Hailing from Elgin, Texas, Tyson started on the racetrack and was used in barrel racing until he was bought by Cassidy five years ago. Tyson, 15, is 15.1 hands tall, weighs 1,200 pounds and has a reputation for success in the U.S. and Canada. Hear it from Curtis: “I’d probably be semi-retired if I didn’t have him. Once I found Tyson and realized he was a top-notch horse, it lit a fire in me again to want to rodeo and try to make the NFR. I was doing it for Tyson more than myself because he deserved to be on the world stage. His whole demeanor isn’t hot-blooded at all – when you ride him you wonder if he will even run, but when you drop the rein, he is hauling butt. He’s one of those horses who wanted to be good from Day 1, you never had to ask him, he just wanted to. He’s one of the easiest horses I’ve ever started. Even when he was green, the rodeos never bothered him at all. It’s good when you find ones like that for sure.” Key 2020 accomplishments: Won the Deadwood (S.D.) Days Of ’76 Rodeo with Smidt. Won the Wyoming State Fair & Rodeo in Douglas with Marty Yates. Why the horse is great: Both of Smidt’s tie-down roping world titles (2015 and 2018) came on Pockets. Together, they’ve won Houston and San Angelo, among other major ProRodeos. Smidt attributes at least 90% of his career earnings to Pockets and estimates he’s won at least $1.5 million on Pockets. Standing at more than 15 hands tall, and weighing 1,300 pounds, the 13-year-old has been Smidt’s trusty companion since buying him in February 2015. Hear it from Caleb: “It’s just his consistency that sets him apart. He does everything well and does the same thing every time. He’s a good horse, but he’s as lazy as you can be, so if you don’t kick, you’re not going anywhere. The first time I tried him, Ian Wells brought him to Jake Pratt’s house and he (Pockets) was big, fat and out of shape and had just come from Wyoming, so he had like an inch of hair on him, but he’s always been a good horse. He just wants to be a calf horse, there’s no other way around it. You can find some that have attributes like him, but you’ll never find one just like him.” TIE-DOWN ROPING POCKETFUL OF LIGHT “POCKETS” Owner: Caleb Smidt Riders: Caleb Smidt

Jackie Jensen photo

Jackie Jensen photo

ProRodeo Sports News 10/30/2020

ProRodeo.com

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