The first barrel racing horse practice for the 2024 qualifiers took place early on the morning of Dec. 3, 2024, where the barrel racers had the opportunity to get their A-list strings of horses ready to compete in Round 1 on Thursday, Dec. 5.
Tiany Schuster kicked off her practice session on Show Mance, coming in hot to her left-handed first barrel and letting the powerful horse cruise through. After Show Mance, Tiany swapped to Mic Guy Ver, opting first to lope the gelding loosely around his turns, She kept special attention on keeping his hips kicked slightly closer to the barrel than his front end, and allowed him to snap back hard on his turns. Schuster pushed the gelding out of the arena, breezing him across the timer line and into the long, dark alleyway outside.
Schuster then swapped back to Show Mance, who was feeling himself on the cool Nevada morning. As practice closed out, Schuster also climbed aboard Shines By Design, the younger gelding she won Salinas on in 2024, and he made a smooth, collected pass through in the small building.
LaTricia Duke is responsible for training multiple horses that have been to the Thomas & Mack, but she and DM High Roller, “Vanilla Wafer,” are at the Thomas & Mack for their first trip together. Vanilla Wafer found the barrels with ease on his first pass, and his butt-dragging slides in the dirt tested the integrity of the footing. While groundman Randy Spraggins looked on, the base held as Wafer sent dirt flying on his first and second barrels. Another work through on the gelding, and Duke was ready to make a horse swap from her flawless yellow stallion. Next up was Judge JB Cash, Jordan and Jennifer Driver’s salty grey gelding who had the Nampa, Idaho, coliseum among his win pile from the regular season.
“He runs on all four feet and stays very square,” said Jennifer Driver, who was watching on while Duke was in her session. “My daughter, Jordan, says he feels very round and soft to ride, but he runs with that stiffer, balanced style.”
Halyn Lide spent the entirety of her session on Jettin Ta Heaven, “Keeper.” The gelding looked tight, but comfortable in the slightly claustrophic setup. After a gentle pass through, Lide trotted the excitable gelding back through. She let him stop and survey the stands at the second barrel, giving him encouraging neck pats at various points along the pattern. By the end of the practice, Keeper was relaxed, attentive and licking his lips inside the Thomas & Mack.
Dona Kay Rule chose the gray mare NB Ladybird for her practice horse of choice, opting to let Valor skip the intense morning. The winning mare turns in a very different style than Rule’s fan-favorite gelding, with her feet aggressively moving at blurring speeds on the backsides of each turn. Rule hasn’t had the mare in her care for long, but her expertise shone through in the pattern work. Her hips, back and shoulders moved smoothly with the horse at every step, never looking out of position.
Wenda Johnson is always one to watch at practice, her unique hand positoning and perfect seat always making her working sessions aboard Steal Money, or “Mo,” a study session on their own. Mo was excitable in the beginning, so Johnson gave him ample room on the backside of the second, plus spent extra time at the third barrel allowing him to get comfortable with the roping boxes and people around the fenceline. When Mo did throw some extra opinions into his second pass and bounced a bit, Johnson laughed and talked the horse through his emotions until he eventually settled in.
Next up, she climbed aboard Heza Mr Moonflash for tuning. She guided the 8-year-old through his sticky points, helping him find his perfect foot placement at each turn. For those questioning, yes, the gelding is by First Moonflash, a bloodline that Johnson is known to mesh with, but seems to carry a style more reminiscent of, but appears to boast the longer-strided, evenly spaced turn that Johnson’s late Macgyver Moonflash “Mac,” was famous for, rather than the quicker timing of Mo’s efficient turn.
Andrea Busby kicked her practice off with an easy trotting pass on Jets Top Gun, “Benny,” smiling when the gelding picked up his momentum around the third barrel, excited to work. She then swapped to the 2022 Cheyenne Frontier Days champion, Blazing With My Dude, “Tito,” and took another slow working session through on her second pass. While Busby worked Tito, his original trainer, and 2023 NFR qualifier Sue Smith watched on from the alleyway.
After the drag by Randy Spraggins partway through practice, Busby was one of several that chose to breeze through on the fresh dirt. It held both Benny and Tito, who looked flawless to the left and right-handed turns, respectively.
Abby Phillips looked like a seasoned veteran at her first NFR practice. Andi Andersen, her sorrel mare looked to be on the muscle at the beginning, but through four calm, slow walk throughs, the horse settled down to a slow, calm walk by the end of practice. With a heavy, thick pair of split reins with knots tied on the ends, Phillips stuck to the basics. A toddler in the stands, related to Phillips loudly cheered during one of the sessions, and Phillips smiled up at the young girl, breaking up the silence in the early morning. She opted to cross into a figure-eight drill in front of her third turn, as did a couple of other riders for light tuning, but ultimately looked ready to rock for Round 1.
At the tail end of practice, Phillips slowly worked through Epic Guy, whom she added to her lineup for NFR 2024. The duo looked like a natural fit for one another, taking just a step past their first barrel, before figuring their angles out with smooth second and third turns.
Carlee Otero burst into the arena on her first run, after the high-energy Blingolena got out from under her control momentarily in the alley. (Apparently, the derby horse didn’t get the memo that he would be practicing before Round 1.) The move led Otero into a fit of laughter once she got the strong gelding under control. After settling him in and acclimating “Sly,” to the arena, Otero swapped to her younger mount, HB Firewater Vanila to make a salty pass through on the 5-year-old.
Shelley Morgan and Kiss walked calmly into the pen for their first pass through, and Morgan worked Kiss an extra few steps past her first barrel, nearly to the fence. She let her spin on her butt and exit the turn in a straight line, demonstrating the style that’s helped the massive horse shut the clock off, while staying clear of barrels and being an aggregate threat in small setups. Morgan also worked Kiss to the fence on turn three, allowing her to get comfortable with the yellow walls and chaotic backdrop.
Next up, young Bucky Wonder Horse, or “Bee,” pranced into the pen while Morgan vocally worked to relax him from the saddle. The powerful horse transitioned from a walk to lope with ease, rocking back on his hocks and showing a glimpse of the power he brings to his turns. By the end, the final horse of the class was walking in a relaxed manner out of the pen.
