The opening day of Ruby Buckle Central barrel racing action proved profitable for program stallion JL Dash Ta Heaven when TR HeavensIlluminated and Hell Bent For Heaven went first and second in the first round of Derby competition beneath Jordan Driver and Destinee Wofford.
The Pink and Ruby Buckle-eligible JL Dash Ta Heaven is ranked at No. 6 on QData’s all-time barrel racing stallion leaderboard, with a steadily climbing $10,370,979 for the 2005 son of Dash Ta Fame out of Dynas Plain Special by Special Feelings. He earned $211,969 in recorded earnings during his own career, where the Jud Little-bred horse accumulated futurity wins beneath Jolene Montgomery in 2009, then went to the National Finals Rodeo eventually beneath Bennette Barrington-Little. Well after his retirement from the arena, JL Dash Ta Heaven was sold to Lainie Whitmire in 2020.
TR HeavensIlluminated
Driver and TR HeavensIlluminated have been raking in the cash all 2025 long. Driver’s worked for a qualification to The American Rodeo, collegiate rodeo domination for her team at Tarleton State University, and she’s sitting No. 16 in the WPRA World Standings with over $34,000 earned so far on the 2025 ProRodeo regular season. She’s also qualified via the VRQ Leaderboard to WCRA’s Rodeo Corpus Christi and the Women’s Rodeo Championship in the top positions.
“This arena gave him a chance to run,” Driver said. “We’ve got some rodeos with bigger arenas coming up, so I mainly wanted to get on some great ground and let him open up and run.”
Prior to his $6,000 total payday in Guthrie and April 30’s second round of the Derby, Cyrus was ranked behind KL Touch of Heaven ($571,207) as JL Dash Ta Heaven’s No. 2 all-time earning progeny. Driver pointed out that opportunities like the Ruby Buckle race have helped Cyrus earn a considerable chunk of that number. He even earned the reserve futurity aggregate title inside the Lazy E Arena at Ruby Buckle Central 2022 with Molli Montgomery.
“It’s no secret that we believe in Molli Montgomery’s training,” Driver said. “She had a lot of success on Cyrus his futurity year… and horses only get to compete at the derbies for the amount of money that they do.”
“Cyrus won a lot during his futurity year with Molli,” Driver said. “And now, I love running him at rodeos. But they only get a chance to run at this money for a few years of their life in the derbies. So, letting him have a break from running for a few weeks, then to come up here and run on great ground, in controlled conditions? It’s definitely worth it.”
Driver and TR HeavensIlluminated have been raking in the cash all 2025 long. Driver’s worked for a qualification to The American Rodeo, collegiate rodeo domination for her team at Tarleton State Univerisity, and she’s sitting No. 16 in the WPRA World Standings with over $34,000 earned so far on the 2025 ProRodeo regulat season. She’s also qualified via the VRQ Leaderboard to WCRA’s Rodeo Corpus Christi and the Women’s Rodeo Championship in the top positions.
“This arena gave him a chance to run,” Driver said. “We’ve got some rodeos with bigger arenas coming up, so I mainly wanted to get on some great ground and let him open up and run.”
Prior to his $6,000 total payday in Guthrie and April 30’s second round of the Derby, Cyrus was ranked behind KL Touch of Heaven ($571,207) as JL Dash Ta Heaven’s No. 2 all-time earning progeny. Driver pointed out that opportunities like the Ruby Buckle race have helped Cyrus earn a considerable chunk of that number. He even earned the reserve futurity aggregate title inside the Lazy E Arena at Ruby Buckle Central 2022 with Molli Montgomery.
“It’s no secret that we believe in Molli Montgomery’s training,” Driver said. “She had a lot of success on Cyrus his futurity year…and horses only get to compete for the amount of money that they do for a few years of their life in the derbies. So, letting him have a break from running for a few weeks, then to come up here and run on great ground, in controlled conditions? It’s definitely worth it.”
Hell Bent for Heaven
Destinee Wofford and Hell Bent For Heaven have only been partnered since September, but their connection is clearly taking shape.
“I have a pretty good relationship with (Hell Bent for Heaven’s breeder) the Youree-Wards, and I work for Dr. Robin Johnson, a veterinarian,” Wofford explained. “I was over there one day—I’d ridden a horse for Renee before—and she just told me that she had another one for me whenever I was ready. So I got him, and we’ve just been easing along, finding our groove. I think it’s finally coming.”
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The 2020 gelding, is out of Designer Red by Designer Ruby, making her a full brother to Youree-Ward family member, Kylie Weist’s NFR mount, Hell On The Red ($468,333), is quickly proving to be more than just a prospect.
“He’s stupid talented,” she said. “He has so much try, and he really doesn’t even know what he’s capable of yet. He’s just a big red, dumb gelding—and I wouldn’t have him any other way.”
Wofford’s 16.799-second run in Round 1 earned her $4,250 and praise for how the horse handled the conditions, despite a few flaws in the run.
“He kind of got a stride by the first barrel, and at the third he lost his back end a little bit. It was far from perfect,” she said. “But I talked to Renee afterward and we agreed—he definitely had a 16.4 or .5 in him that day.”
Despite a relatively short team resume—only six or seven runs under saddle together—Hell Bent For Heaven has already placed at all three rodeos he’s entered.
“We’re super excited for the summer,” she said. “He’s been great.”
Living near Guthrie gave Wofford the opportunity to head home to Velma, Oklahoma between rounds and reset. “I’m going to ride him tomorrow, bring him back down to Earth a little bit, and start again Wednesday.”
Off the arena floor, Wofford balances work as a vet tech with training horses and rodeoing. “It’s a lot, but Robin Johnson is absolutely awesome. She’s never thought twice about letting me do what I need to do to make sure my horses are ready.”
Wofford credits her support system for helping her stay focused in the pressure of her first Ruby Buckle appearance. “My best friend Kobe and Ivy Hurst have done more for me than I can imagine. Ivy always reminds me to breathe, and Kobe… she’s basically my emotional support animal,” she laughed. “My grandparents are the reason I get to do this at all. My grandpa was tickled to death, my grandma cried, and so did my mom.”
Top 5 JL Dash Ta Heaven Offspring by Earnings
As of April 2025, from QStallions. See full report here.
1.KL Touch Of Heaven
Dam: Junior Country Girl x Deep Note Jr
Total Earnings: $571,207
2. TRHeavensIlluminated
Dam: TR Dashing Badger x Mr Illuminator
Total Earnings: $468,333
3. Hell On The Red
Dam: Designer Ruby x Designer Red
Total Earnings: $404,645
4. Runnin With Wings
Dam: Nicki Nick Bar x Colonel Azucar
Total Earnings: $348,005
5. JL Jamaican Me Rich
Dam: Frenchmans Lana x Frenchmans Guy
Total Earnings: $319,606
