Mallee Jones and Epic Future won the 2023 Richest Dinosaur Futurity in commanding fashion—not bad for a futurity newbie.

Jones finished third in round one with a 14.972-second run against some major players, and second in round two with a 14.868 to win a total of $5,796 in Glen Rose, Texas, Jan. 26–29, 2023.

For Jones, a 20-year-old college student from Wymore, Nebraska, the win is a sign she’s in the right place as she hits the futurity trail seriously for the first time.

Her partner, Epic Future was bred and trained by Justin and Jordon Briggs of Tolar, Texas. He’s got one of the most sought after gene crosses in the game—his sire is Epic Leader, and his dam is none other than Frenchmans Future, or “Stoli,” who won over $200,000 her futurity year with Jordon before sustaining a career-ending injury.

BRM sat down with Jones to get more information on her career, how she got paired up with Epic Future and where they plan to go next.

BRM: How did you know Epic Future was a good fit for you?

Mallee Jones: I knew he would be a good fit for me because of the way he felt (the first time I rode him). He’s just honestly an incredible athlete. He’s a little hotter horse and super fast. That’s the kind of horse I usually click with. I’m not into a push-style horse. We clicked from the get-go.

BRM: Mentally, how have you approached your first ‘big’ year of futurities?

MJ: I’m really trying to focus on myself and my horse It’s about what I need to do—I can’t let myself get in my head about too many thing. I want to just remember all the things I’ve done to prepare for each race, then execute when I get there.

BRM: Tell us about how you prepared Epic Future for the race. 

MJ: I exhibitioned him one time (at Glen Rose), but he’s honestly to the point where he doesn’t need it. I made my first competition run ever on him at Glen Rose so he knows the arena already. When running him, you have to two-hand him a little bit longer than other horses and make sure to really ride him into the right position. From there, he’s pretty confident.

BRM: How did you stay focused after your success in the first round?

MJ: I went into my second run trying to focus on doing what I needed to do. I just didn’t want to override or make mistakes on my end. Not override or make any mistakes on my end. I knew I was in there for the average if I just made a good run.

BRM: What bit do you run Epic Future in?

I run him in a Kerry Kelly Mini Hemi with the slow twist livesaver. I’ll ride him in a hackamore sometimes at home if we’re not working barrels, because he’s pretty chill in it.

BRM: Where are you two headed next?

MJ: The American contender in Tulsa with my other horse, then the Kinder (Louisiana) Futurity and the (Buckeye) Arizona Royal Crown.

Jones may have been a relative rookie to the futurity scene, but she showed out against some of the best in the game. Here’s how the futurity results stacked up in each round and the aggregate at the $10,000 added Richest Dinosaur Futurity.

Richest Dinosaur Futurity Results

Round 1-1D

Round 1-2D

Round 2- 1D

Round 2- 2D

Aggregate