When reigning World Champion Kassie Mowry reached out just over a week before the NFR and asked if she could bring Heavens Got Credit, Mindy Holloway didn’t hesitate. She said yes, packed her bags, and committed herself to making sure the 11-year-old gelding — “Cornbread” — had every chance to succeed on the biggest stage of his career.

For the Holloways, Cornbread’s success in the Thomas & Mack isn’t a surprise, but it’s still exciting as can be. It’s the culmination of years of work, setbacks, decisions, injuries, and careful management. What’s new is seeing the rest of the industry finally meet the horse they’ve believed in since he was two.

A Long Road Before the Bright Lights

Cornbread came to the Holloways long before anyone imagined he’d be helping one of the greatest jockeys in the sport navigate the NFR.

Originally purchased by Edwin and Tiany Schuster from the Jud Little dispersal, Cornbread arrived at the Holloway home as a 2-year-old to be started. Cutter, mindy’s husband, broke him, and Mindy spent his 3-year-old year preparing him for futurities while Tiany hauled for the NFR.

He wasn’t the type you had to teach how to be talented.

As a 4-year-old, Cornbread became one of the top futurity horses of his year and broke the Old Fort Days arena record in Fort Smith, solidifying the talent the Holloways always saw in him. But the momentum didn’t last. A significant injury in the BFA short round ended his futurity year abruptly. He spent all of his 5-year-old year recovering, then required kissing spine surgery as a 6-year-old.

Most horses don’t come back from that kind of string of setbacks. Cornbread did.

Edwin approached the Holloways at the end of that 6-year-old year: did they want to buy the horse they had started? They didn’t need to think twice.

Since then, Cornbread has been a lightly hauled, carefully managed athlete. Holloway doesn’t enter him at every jackpot. She chooses spots where the horse’s ability can shine — choices that led to wins like the arena record at Waco’s Xtreme Million this year and a strong placing at the Pink Buckle.

“You can count on him,” Holloway said. “I don’t haul his wheels off. He’s an amazing athlete, and I try to keep him that way.” 

At 11 years old with over $261,000 in recorded QData earnings pre-NFR, he’s sound, confident, and seasoned — a rarity for a horse that’s been this fast for this long.

How the NFR Call Happened

As the NFR approached, Mowry’s horse options kept narrowing. EHV testing protocols shifted daily. Horses fell through. She needed a second mount behind Will, and she needed one she could trust.

She texted Holloway.

Cornbread isn’t complicated — but he is particular. He’s sensitive, forward, and expects clarity from his rider. Holloway wasn’t about to send him into the Finals alone with a rider who’d never legged him up.

Then came the challenge: quarantine. No real way to practice. No way to get Mowry multiple runs before Round 5. They did what they could — slow work, a cruise-through, conversations over timing and feel.

“I’d never seen anyone else ride him in the five years I’ve owned him,” Holloway said. “It was nerve-wracking. But Kassie is such a professional.” 

When Mowry won Round 1 on Will, she stayed the course for the first four nights. Then, after Round 4, she texted Holloway:

“It’s time.“

Rounds 5 and 6: The Thomas & Mack Test

Cornbread’s Round 5 run didn’t get into the money, but it did exactly what it needed to: it showed Mowry she had another legitimate shot-horse in her trailer.

Holloway sat in the stands, for once not the one in the saddle, and watched something she’d never experienced before.

“I was like a parent in the crowd. Nervous, excited, everything. But I was happy with him,” she said. 

The next night, Cornbread showed what he was capable of in full.

He stopped the clock in 13.42, winning Round 6 and giving Mowry another huge check — $36,667.95 — while blowing the roof off the Thomas & Mack. Holloway was sitting with Mowry’s family, and the entire section jumped to their feet.

“It was surreal,” she said. “You think it could happen, but when it actually does, it hits different.” 

The moment meant even more given what Cornbread had come through physically, what the Holloways had invested in him emotionally, and how many years of careful decisions led to that run.

A Big Moment for a Family Who Built Him

While Cornbread has drawn plenty of attention this week, Holloway isn’t new to people following the horse — but she’s realistic about how big this moment is.

“He had a following before, just not like this,” she said. “I made this decision because I believed he’d be good here. Seeing it all pay off is pretty special.” 

Her husband Cutter, a farrier, has shoes on three of the fastest horses of the Finals so far — Cornbread, Smooth As Rico Suave, “Pancakes,” and Adios Pantalones.

Her vet calls three times a day during the Finals to check on the horse.
She’s been in the barns hours every day ensuring he stays comfortable.
She gave up working her real estate booth at South Point to stay by his side.

The stoyline hasn’t just been about a borrowed animal. It’s a member of a family stepping onto a national stage — and proving he belongs there.

What Comes Next?

Cornbread may not run every night, but he’s proven he’s a legitimate tool for Mowry in the back half of the NFR. He followed up his Round 6 performance with a third-place finish in Round 7, and is on the horse list for Round 8, however. He’s sound, confident, and carrying momentum.

And for the Holloways, regardless of what the rest of the week holds, Round 6 confirmed what they’ve known since the day the colt walked into their barn as a 2-year-old:

He’s the real deal.