Jordan Driver and TRHeavensIlluminated came out on top of Progressive Round 1 at the 2024 WCRA Stampede at The E with a 15.227, despite a bobble on the third barrel.
Driver and the 6-year-old former futurity-standout gelding she calls “Cyrus” are locked in for the eight-man Triple Crown of Rodeo Round Saturday, Jan. 6, and she knows they can do even better.
“My first two barrels felt great,” Driver, a Garden City, Texas, native, said. “I think I freaked out a little bit going to the third barrel and I didn’t ride him just great, but he’s so fast and so talented that it doesn’t really matter. He probably could have been a lot faster if I would have done my job, but he’s so fast and talented that it doesn’t really bother him when I make mistakes on him.”
Big beginnings
Molli Montgomery trained and futuritied Cyrus, and he’s amassed some $246,147 in QData earnings to date. Driver got him at the end of his futurity year. She started hitting the road with Latricia Duke to help her in the hunt for the NFR, and while Driver didn’t originally plan on it, she started rodeoing on him.
“I just kind of brought him along to let him see the sights,” Driver said. “I honestly think that’s helped him grow and be very consistent despite my riding sometimes. He’s such a cool horse and has a big personality. He’s helped me ride and step up my riding, so he’s been such a blessing to me.”
Driver first cracked him out at the Reno Rodeo, and she quickly learned how unbothered he is by the bright lights.
“He loves the music, this kind of environment and he thrives off of it,” Driver said. “You can’t really hold back when you ride him—you got to be up there with him because he’s going to give it all every single time. He’s placed here in the futurities and stuff and different setups. So he doesn’t mind this.”
WCRA is for the college kids
As a student at Tarleton State and a member of the rodeo team, Driver’s focus is currently on college and college rodeo. With rodeos nearly every weekend, it can be hard for a college student to hit the road. Welcome, the WCRA.
“Getting to run and the nominate has been great because it helps me, and then even if I go to the little jackpots in town, that helps me, too, with the WCRA,” Driver said. “It’s kind of hard when they give you $5,000 rounds and then $15,000 grand prize not to come and run and try to get here, especially being a college student. My main priority right now is the rodeo team, but it is nice to be able to get away and come to a big event.”
Results
1. JORDAN DRIVER, 15.227, $1,500.00; 2. STEPHANIE FRYAR, 15.277, $1,000.00; 3. KINDYL SCRUGGS, 15.457, $750.00; 4. JULIE PLOURDE, 15.523, $350.00
