Adios Pantalones has been the talk of the industry in 2024, and whether or not you’re a fan of his sometimes controversial owner and rider, Tricia Aldridge and her social media presence, the barrel racing numbers do not lie when it comes to this palomino stallion’s resume.
Prior to Run at the Rose 2024, Adios Pantalones had already worked his way up the 2024 QData leaderboard, where he sits No. 3 on the overall list of 2024 barrel racing money-earners, second only to MJ Segers Fast Lane and Force The Goodbye.
Now the 2020 model is barely shy of $300,000 in LTE after adding the Run at the Rose Futurity 2024 title to his resume. Adios went 15.321 in Round 1 of the $15,000 added event, earning the $2,454 round win, returned in Round 2 to earn $1,132 for his fourth-place finish in 15.458 and clinched the aggregate win in 30.779 for $3,271. Combined, Adios banked $6,857 before his rollovers to the Open 5D both days and sidepots.
“He’s a unicorn,” Aldridge said. “That horse is just a winner.”
It’s no secret that riding a high-potential athlete, particularly a stallion that is publicly known, comes with immense mental pressure for trainers.
“It’s tough to ride a winner because you know if there’s a mistake made it’s yours,” Aldridge said. “As far as the mental side goes, you’ll see me out back before I run with my music playlist going. I try not to listen to the round because I’m here to run my own race. I know I’ve done my own preparation, my own work and I’m there to do the best I can. I know if I stay focused on what I’ve been training for he’ll come through for me.”
Adios was set up to be a champion from conception. His sire, Tres Seis is QData’s No. 8 all-time earning barrel racing sire at $7,587,858 in earnings, and his dam, French Bar Belle is rising up the top 50 all-time earning dam rankings with $564,703 in offspring earnings. Even his breeder, Leslie Bailey is an easily recognizable name in the industry.
Those spicy ingredients landed in the right mixing bowl when Aldridge purchased the stallion at five months old from Bailey. For the owner of Red Hot Barrel Horses, it’s always been about giving Adios the opportunity to excel in his first season, and for years to follow.
“I worked on socializing him from day one,” Aldridge said. “I wanted him as a stallion prospect, so I put the work in from the start. Last year, I drug him around with my geldings all year to socialize him and get him used to going. This year, he’s handled everything so well, which takes so much stress off.”
The stallion’s best boy behavior means that his dedicated followers usually get the chance to interact with both him and Aldridge at events. She’s been outspoken online about her goals to top $300,000 in earnings within Adios’ first year of competition— something that’s angered some, and inspired others.
“I share the ups and downs so people can see that it’s okay to fail and start over,” Aldridge said. “I always say ‘Speak what you seek until you see what you say.‘ People thought I was crazy at the beginning of the year when I said I wanted to win $300,000 on a colt in November, but we just started June with $280,000 on the board. When you realize it’s possible, and you start to see these things come to fruition, it just fuels that fire even more. So many people have grown to love Adios—a lot walked up to me this weekend and wanted to talk and meet him. Those people have also shared a lot of their goals and wins with me. I think it’s awesome that people feel comfortable doing that. They say that I inspire them, but they inspire me right back, so I’m going to keep sharing this journey with them.”
