August 4, 2024 • 23 mins
Join us as we dive into a exciting discussion on the incredible growth of the rope horse industry. In this episode, key figures like Trevor Brazile, Rhen Richard, Chelsea Shaffer and Lari Dee Guy share their personal journeys, reflecting on pivotal moments and the industry's transformation since 2017.
Discover how the infrastructure of the team roping industry supports a variety of horses and why it stands apart from other equestrian disciplines. You'll hear anecdotes about significant purchases, the importance of horsemanship, and the impact of judging on training and selling horses.
Learn about the trickle-down effect of the industry's success, from the opportunities it creates for everyday ropers to the broader economic impacts. Experts discuss the future of the industry, emphasizing the role of sponsorships and the ripple effects on related professions.
This episode offers a comprehensive look at the rope horse industry's past, present, and future, providing valuable insights for enthusiasts and professionals alike.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Music.
(00:06):
Welcome to the Business of Horses with Solo Select.
This podcast is all about running your horse business with some news and updates
from us here at Solo Select along the way.
We talk to industry experts about effectively running your business,
explore the exciting news and events as Solo Select develops,
and through it all, educate you on what it takes to run a successful business in the horse world.
(00:29):
I am your host, Melanie Smith, owner and founder of Solo Select Horses and the
Solo Select family of businesses.
This is the Business of Horses with Solo Select.
Music.
Hey everyone, this is Melanie Smith with Solo Select Horses.
(00:50):
We are sharing a really exciting episode with you guys today.
This is based off of a panel of speakers we had at the Old West Futurity a couple weeks ago.
Many of you have probably seen and heard about this futurity.
It is the largest paying judged rope horse futurity thus far.
I think we are going to see a significant change in the rope horse business
(01:13):
based off of this futurity alone.
This futurity was produced by the American Rope Horse Futurity.
The concept was put together and the maturity was put together by the Probst
and the Rashard families.
It was hosted at Reggie Probst Ranch up in Utah.
And these guys did an amazing job, first class event.
They gathered up a lot of sponsorship money. This event paid out over a million dollars.
(01:36):
I don't think a lot of us can really grasp the work and the time and the effort
and the phone calls that went into this.
And these guys did it to keep moving the Rope Horse Futurity world forward.
So I think this is a pivotal time for people that are in the rope course business
that get opened a lot of eyes to what is to come.
(01:57):
I know there are some really exciting additional events coming up,
and I think it is a great, great time to be in the fortuity rope horse business.
The trickle-down effect from an event like this is really hard to measure.
We talk a little bit about that in this panel.
The panel included myself, Chelsea Schaefer from the Team Rogan Journal,
(02:20):
26-time world champion Trevor Brazil, the legend herself, Larry D guy,
and Ren Richard, who is a multiple time NFR qualifier and his family worked
alongside Reggie to get this deal put together.
So we have a really great set of speakers that come from all different parts of the business.
(02:40):
And I think there are some cool ideas and points being made here.
So if you've considered jumping into the road business, or you're kind of wanting
to know how this is going to affect your business, whether you are a roper,
a cutter, a racehorse person, cowhorse guy, rainer, I think that we're all going
to see some effects from this.
So listen in here. If you guys see Reggie and Wren's family or any of the sponsors
(03:05):
from this fraternity, I encourage you guys to jump in and tell them thank you,
because I think this is the start of something that's going to be really big.
And I think when we look back in five years, this is going to be one of the
points that we say the industry pivoted.
And this was one reason why when you could go up and win $100,000 on your five
(03:26):
and six-year-old horses.
So listen in, guys, and I hope you enjoy.
But, Trevor, in 2017, I remember sitting with you and Bobby Moe and Gary McKinney
at the American Railcourse Maturity Youth First World Championships.
And you were taking it all in. I don't think you had anything entered. You were watching.
That was 2017, seven years ago, eight years ago.
(03:49):
Did you see when you were sitting there watching that, what were you thinking
and did you see this trajectory right now?
I don't think there's any way I
could have seen the trajectory that this industry has taken by any means.
When I was sitting up there in 2017, I was just horse shopping.
You know, I was rowing and this field was primed for picking for,
(04:13):
you know, the next generation of great row horses.
I don't know which year it was, but I know I bought a horse that Andy Holcomb had rowed there.
So, I mean, I was a customer first before I was ever in the mix as a trainer.
I never could have imagined, like I said, the success and the growth that this industry has had.
But it's amazing and it's important because I think we're one of the few industries,
(04:38):
everybody says, I don't understand that roping can keep going up.
And I've seen cutting, I've seen cow horse, I've seen reining.
They don't have the infrastructure that we are afforded in the team roping industry.
Industry like there's if you have a great horse if
you have a super talented horse like there's rodeo guys for that
(04:59):
horse if you have a great horse that's just a sweet horse that maybe just
average talent but just a great minded horse
there's a place for that horse you know with the team roping industry we've
got the backside that these other industries don't have you know once they age
out of these other disciplines they're kind of just weekenders or go to pasture
(05:19):
year or whatever that may be or whatever that looks like.
But team roping as a whole has the legs for this thing to keep growing.
And I think Scott is the limit for sure.
That's funny that you say that about buying the horse from Andy Holcomb,
because I think that was the year that you broke the barrier in the first round
on a horse that like Clay Smith's riding at all the pro rodeos right now.
(05:45):
You remember that? Yeah, he had to fix him.
He had to fix him is what Trevor said. I didn't hear that. But I remember that
because, LZ, you were sitting there.
And yes, I would like to end the recording. Thank you.
Ld you were sitting there and we were trying to buy him because trevor went
home before the short round he did they gave me a microphone yeah i know trevor
(06:10):
went home before the short round and ld said go buy that horse for mandy holcomb
for her and you two are best friends and,
you've been to it so trevor i'm telling
stories because i get to do this very often but trevor
sent me a snapchat or not a snapchat just a picture
not a snapchat he doesn't have a picture of the
(06:31):
horse's butt on the stock trailer the next day and i had gone down there twice
to try to buy it from andy for larry d and they're best friends and he didn't
he yeah he bought it right out from underneath us okay anyway enough storytelling
about that now the next My question is for Wren,
because your family has always been involved.
(06:54):
It's AOC racing and roping.
And the roping part was like, I don't know if it was an hour and then y'all did the LLC or not.
But the roping is in capital letters now and the racing is in lowercase letters.
Talk about that transition for your family and everything that you've done.
Don't talk till you get the mic.
Wow, that was funny.
(07:18):
So my grandpa, he was a big part of the racehorse deal.
He hit his back at a pretty young age. And so he had some of the poor too of
the baby and had a lot of passion for it.
But yeah, we were in the racecars business for probably 30 years.
Had quite a bit of success for not knowing a lot about it. But actually,
(07:42):
I'll kind of tell a story. We went to the Heritage Sale.
It would have been 2005, 2006.
And we were walking around, and my dad, he was always looking at that little
stuff he felt built worse.
And he'd had a two-year-old named Brooke Stone Bay, and we were trying to buy
some mares that we thought would cross good on that horse.
(08:04):
So we're walking around, and this little mare, little gray mare comes by.
She's 14 3 real heavy but by cat doors does she comes through the ring and we
buy her It's 70 pop on her for she had a baby in her first cold wasn't much and we breed her back to.
Brit's home and Her first second cold ends up winning all-american fraternity.
(08:25):
So it's pretty cool story now it all started I mean people spend a lot of money
and the whole lives trying to win that race and our doubt was me I mean,
probably a lot of luck involved, but it's pretty cool.
And that's kind of how we started our program is we went out looking for mares
that we thought would probably spit on that horse.
And now we're three generations back on those same type of mares,
(08:50):
but we're crossing on the cowhorses to try to make fat horses.
So that's kind of where the racing came from. And I guess if we have roping
in capitals now, you know, we're pushing the rope horse deal a lot.
Lot might might have said we have a lot of passion for and fund the
board funders grant i've had a lot of money and
what he said earlier about there was only two opportunities in
(09:13):
rovio to win this kind of money just puts it in perspective and that it's just
got thrown up how long have y'all been talking about doing this four or five
months it just shows you what the industry can do when they want to do something
great because because of people like you that are sitting out here that makes this thing go.
It's just, it really gives me chills. It's cool to know that stuff can happen
(09:35):
this big in our industry because of people in it.
And that is a perfect transition to Mel, because what do you see as the larger
impact of everything that's happening here?
The larger impact of all these people in this room, of what's going on in that
arena, what J. Ron Sun sees in 2017 of the road course industry?
(09:56):
I'd probably have a little bit of a unique perspective because I am still relatively
new to the road course industry, right?
You know i remember back watching trevor
and miles whenever they started into this and thinking how cool it was and to
see the growth has been incredible but it is because of people like jay and
these guys that have put the money up and made this you can't go very many cuttings
(10:16):
of 100 000 and that is supposed to be such a huge industry and it is but i think that you know.
The trickle-down effect is really what we're talking about with you know you
can come wait they'll own 55,000 or the guy's going 55,000 on a mare a day.
That is going to inspire somebody that was watching, whether they see it online
or they were here today, to breed that mare and maybe flush an extra embryo
(10:41):
out for the next year, which is going to in turn go to somebody to,
a two-year-old guy, to be started.
And then it's going to go to a trainer to hopefully cut down the faturities.
And so you add that up and you have 50 guys that do that, that's a lot more
business in our industry.
So I think, you know, not only is it cool to know that we've invested the money
(11:02):
or anybody in this room has invested the money to have a horse here or the time
or the expertise or just the love of raising these horses,
you know, they can actually pay off now.
We're not winning $15,000. $55,000 on a four-year-old is huge and $100,000 tomorrow
could be life-changing for someone.
So I think the big picture here really is that this is an opportunity we all
(11:24):
need to continue to support and, you know, hopefully come back and add more
sponsorships and make it bigger and better for everybody next year.
And these guys themselves put their time and money on the line to do a great
thing for the road course industry.
And I think we all need to make sure we shake their hand this week and tell them thank you.
And today we had a breakaway that paid $20,000.
(11:45):
$25,000. I'm sorry, they had to rewrite that check.
That was my fault. um but they had 25 000
and larry d is here and i want
to be clear larry d is very focused
on breakaway right now because that is the opportunities that
we have in the industry but she is the og and head
horse trainer as far as i said the first story we wrote
(12:06):
about head horse trainers was in 2010 and it was
about larry d being the great the goat of head horse to cat horse trainers back
then so so her impact is pretty pretty significant but i wanted to ask today
about specifically the breakaway what are you seeing the trickle-down effect
being in the breakaway for what's going on in the road course for charity business
and the stallion incentive business.
(12:29):
You sure you don't want to talk? I mean, it's hard to let it pass.
I know. You know, the Great Barrier Open has gotten so big.
I mean, I think we have over 1,000 members in the WPRA right now.
And, you know, back when I was in Great Barrier Open all the time,
we started going to the WPRA rodeos to try to help that event.
And I think there was like 20 Breakway Rovers entered at those rodeos.
(12:53):
And, you know, it's grown so much just in, like, in the rodeos.
But when you add this, it just changes the whole dynamics of it because it gives,
you know, today I was a judge, but a friend of mine, Cheyenne McCartney,
had my horse and has been rodeoing on him and he's eligible.
(13:14):
You know, he's six years old, so he could enter today and she was able to ride him.
So that gave me an opportunity, even though I wasn't roping,
it gave me an opportunity to make money as a homeowner.
You know and also i have i have two three-year-olds at
home right now and a four-year-old that i'm fixing to get started on and
start training and that's going to give me an opportunity to make
(13:34):
money as a trainer and maybe if i'm still out here rodeoing i'll have you know
the great younger ropers be able to ride them and i'll be able to train you
know is it when i'm rodeoing but you know i'm a lot older now and rodeoing is
really not what i want to do i would rather their trained horses.
That's what I did my whole life. I rodeoed on the side, but I was a horse trainer.
(13:58):
And that's kind of where my passion is. And this just opens up so many opportunities
for me to be able to go home and be able to do that and still make a living at it.
Now, what we've talked about a lot was the opportunities professionals have.
And Trevor touched on it a little bit about the infrastructure in the road course industry.
(14:19):
What is the effect on everyday rovers
i mean we think about what miles did today
what you know the horses that you all ride are
so amazing and there's hopes of nfr hope
there's so many of them but what do you all see and and whoever wants to have
a mic first can just raise their hand but what do you see this having an effect
(14:39):
on the u.s rovers the world series rovers the people that are the kind of the
groundswell of the industry how do you see that affecting the way people who especially
people who are in this audience, who are sponsors, who use team roping as their
way to enjoy the industry and their way to enjoy their horses?
How is it going to affect them?
I can tell you, I know for a fact that those people that have no intention of
(15:04):
entering the futurity themselves are breeding horses and buying prospects specifically
to send to these rope horse trainers to come to these futures.
So I think we are just getting more and more people in the game.
I think their understanding of the horsemanship and the importance of horsemanship
to develop these horses to be, whether we say a big-time horse,
whether that means going to the NFR or being a safe, consistent horse for that person.
(15:29):
That's what Trevor and Miles and all these horse trainers that are so great
in this room are developing.
So from my standpoint, somebody that sells a lot of horses, I get the feedback
every day. And I can tell you guys that what is happening here,
it is just making this industry take off.
And she said a lot, a lot right there that the team roping industry hasn't been
(15:49):
known for horsemanship.
And I think with the next generation coming up, there's there's so many ways
to be great. And what used to just be roping on a dummy.
I've seen the shift of young people come up and tell me they can name every
horse in our barn and they keep up with that.
And it just makes me know that the future of our industry is not only going
(16:10):
to be brighter and better, but it's going to have the horse in mind through the whole process.
And I think, once again, that's a win for everybody involved.
You know, and adding the judging part of it, which puts the horsemanship in
it, is for so many years, you know, like when you trained a horse,
you had to pick where it could go.
(16:31):
And adding the judging to it you know
that that gives you an opportunity to to sell to
your world series guys because those horses you know
they they they have to stand there they have to score
they have to run they have to stay in there they have to do all the things
that like these guys can get by out there
on the road i mean they have one that can maybe be moving a little
(16:52):
bit or a little strong or doing certain things and they can get
by but when you're training and having to get scored
for what you train i think it opens a lot
of avenues for the people that you can sell these horses to as
well yeah i mean the one
thing that comes to my mind is just the foundation right which
you all talked about but i know even
(17:12):
five six years ago you could
get a young horse going and you thought he was ready and you took him to the
first open rope and then just flew he stirred up and like a lot of them would
be ruined i mean the first two or three rope that you took him to So to be able
to season these horses and give them the right kind of looks,
(17:33):
true looks that aren't, you know, you're not just thinking about you,
you're actually trying to help the horse.
We've already seen guys where they're taking them out there at the highest level and winning them.
So I think as a whole, it's great.
All right. Thanks, you two. Keeping it light.
(17:54):
Okay. Thank you, guys. Thank you, everybody. But we want to open it up to questions.
If anybody has any questions, and it can be on anything as far as what's going
on in the workforce industry or what Trevor eats for breakfast when he's going
to be superhuman or anything like that.
Lunch yeah he it's been a minute since you've seen breakfast yeah we know that
oh well yeah i mean we say what it does the trickle down effect from when when
(18:21):
someone that's sitting out here,
makes makes the investment of owning a horse then all of a sudden the two-year-old
guy gets a job the horse trainers get a job and even i've had quite a bit of
success in rovio and then for me to be retired now and see other people having
success on horses that have my brand on man i'm I'm telling you, it means a lot to me.
And if you haven't had the chance to get in the industry, and if you're thinking
(18:44):
it's not for you, you don't have to know a lot about courses.
There's people that will help you in this and that will guide you in the way to go.
And it's a real rewarding feel because it is all about the horse.
And anybody that wears a cowboy hat and lives in America loves horses.
I mean, so there's a lot of opportunity and a lot of ways to get involved.
(19:05):
And I think you'll love that decision.
I don't think you'll ever regret it. But speaking of that trickle down effect,
this was a young lady that was probably overqualified to be in the industry that she chose.
But she was passionate about it and i think this not only this but i mean it
started in rodeo and then this created another opportunity and what has it done
(19:30):
for people that were just in rodeo or were just in team roping like what opportunities
does it do outside of here.
That's rude anyway i i came from outside the industry came up outside and worked
my way up through Spin to Win first and Team Roping Journal.
Trevor and LD have been some of my best friends since then.
(19:53):
And I don't know why, but they would always tell me that I wasn't doing rider.
I should be doing more. And the rope horse industry kind of started to develop.
I think we started our first rope horse pedigree tracker for the NFR in 2018,
which was a year after the first American Reckon Rail Force Futurity.
(20:14):
And somehow, some way, just from communicating with them all the time and talking
to people like Mel and talking to Ren, this industry has kind of given me a platform.
To change my life financially, professionally, everything with the Team Robe Big Journal.
It's changed the way the Team Robe Big Journal operates.
We have a huge focus now on the rail force industry that was very strategic
(20:37):
from the time that we kind of started this.
I remember were talking to advertisers back in 2017 in October.
And I would say, oh, let's go to dinner. I'll be at the Futurity in Fort Worth.
And they were like, you're going to Snafflebit?
I'm like, well, and they're like our biggest advertisers and didn't know that
the road course futurity industry was getting ready to go on.
So through that and through covering that, we have built.
(21:01):
Pathways for people who never, maybe they might have just been lopers in the road course industry.
Oh, and then they got a camera and that camera has built them a six-figure salary,
working for stallion owners, working for horse trainers.
Those horse trainers have people who are making a great living being their drivers,
(21:21):
being their grooms. There might be some grooms in here that are saying it's
not a great living, but a pretty good living anyways. ways.
I think that that trickle-down effect has hit more people than a lot of people
in this room could ever imagine, whether it's social media marketing.
I think since we started our Breeders Guide back in 2019 or 2020,
I've been able to add two or three staff members to my team simply because of
(21:45):
how the Breeders Guide has affected our industry.
But people are doing that because they're seeing breedings being sold.
They're seeing mares being flushed. They're seeing all And so that side of the
industry is something that we don't talk about because people like myself and
Kenzie and Liz, everybody who works on the marketing side,
we're the marketers, so we don't talk about ourselves.
(22:08):
But it's changed our lives dramatically. So that's something they wanted me
to talk to you all about. But it's been life-changing, and it has nothing to
do with I never win $100,000 up there on that hill. That will never be me.
But anyways, enough about me. Let's hear questions because you guys make me uncomfortable.
Hey, guys. I hope you enjoyed listening to the panel speak.
(22:31):
I think there was a lot of really insightful things said, and I think we have
a lot to look forward to in this business.
Our next episode is going to be one with AQHA past president Butch Weiss.
We're going to talk a little bit about his career, what got him from just an
Oklahoma kid that grew up enjoying horses to one of the most renowned bloodstock
(22:57):
agents that there's ever been in the racehorse industry.
We're going to talk about his journey there, and then we are going to touch
a little bit on the horses that we have headed to Rio Dosa here in a month.
So that's coming this week. You guys enjoy.
Music.
Music.
(00:06):
Welcome to the Business of Horses with Solo Select.
This podcast is all about running your horse business with some news and updates
from us here at Solo Select along the way.
We talk to industry experts about effectively running your business,
explore the exciting news and events as Solo Select develops,
and through it all, educate you on what it takes to run a successful business in the horse world.
(00:29):
I am your host, Melanie Smith, owner and founder of Solo Select Horses and the
Solo Select family of businesses.
This is the Business of Horses with Solo Select.
Music.
Hey everyone, this is Melanie Smith with Solo Select Horses.
(00:50):
We are sharing a really exciting episode with you guys today.
This is based off of a panel of speakers we had at the Old West Futurity a couple weeks ago.
Many of you have probably seen and heard about this futurity.
It is the largest paying judged rope horse futurity thus far.
I think we are going to see a significant change in the rope horse business
(01:13):
based off of this futurity alone.
This futurity was produced by the American Rope Horse Futurity.
The concept was put together and the maturity was put together by the Probst
and the Rashard families.
It was hosted at Reggie Probst Ranch up in Utah.
And these guys did an amazing job, first class event.
They gathered up a lot of sponsorship money. This event paid out over a million dollars.
(01:36):
I don't think a lot of us can really grasp the work and the time and the effort
and the phone calls that went into this.
And these guys did it to keep moving the Rope Horse Futurity world forward.
So I think this is a pivotal time for people that are in the rope course business
that get opened a lot of eyes to what is to come.
(01:57):
I know there are some really exciting additional events coming up,
and I think it is a great, great time to be in the fortuity rope horse business.
The trickle-down effect from an event like this is really hard to measure.
We talk a little bit about that in this panel.
The panel included myself, Chelsea Schaefer from the Team Rogan Journal,
(02:20):
26-time world champion Trevor Brazil, the legend herself, Larry D guy,
and Ren Richard, who is a multiple time NFR qualifier and his family worked
alongside Reggie to get this deal put together.
So we have a really great set of speakers that come from all different parts of the business.
(02:40):
And I think there are some cool ideas and points being made here.
So if you've considered jumping into the road business, or you're kind of wanting
to know how this is going to affect your business, whether you are a roper,
a cutter, a racehorse person, cowhorse guy, rainer, I think that we're all going
to see some effects from this.
So listen in here. If you guys see Reggie and Wren's family or any of the sponsors
(03:05):
from this fraternity, I encourage you guys to jump in and tell them thank you,
because I think this is the start of something that's going to be really big.
And I think when we look back in five years, this is going to be one of the
points that we say the industry pivoted.
And this was one reason why when you could go up and win $100,000 on your five
(03:26):
and six-year-old horses.
So listen in, guys, and I hope you enjoy.
But, Trevor, in 2017, I remember sitting with you and Bobby Moe and Gary McKinney
at the American Railcourse Maturity Youth First World Championships.
And you were taking it all in. I don't think you had anything entered. You were watching.
That was 2017, seven years ago, eight years ago.
(03:49):
Did you see when you were sitting there watching that, what were you thinking
and did you see this trajectory right now?
I don't think there's any way I
could have seen the trajectory that this industry has taken by any means.
When I was sitting up there in 2017, I was just horse shopping.
You know, I was rowing and this field was primed for picking for,
(04:13):
you know, the next generation of great row horses.
I don't know which year it was, but I know I bought a horse that Andy Holcomb had rowed there.
So, I mean, I was a customer first before I was ever in the mix as a trainer.
I never could have imagined, like I said, the success and the growth that this industry has had.
But it's amazing and it's important because I think we're one of the few industries,
(04:38):
everybody says, I don't understand that roping can keep going up.
And I've seen cutting, I've seen cow horse, I've seen reining.
They don't have the infrastructure that we are afforded in the team roping industry.
Industry like there's if you have a great horse if
you have a super talented horse like there's rodeo guys for that
(04:59):
horse if you have a great horse that's just a sweet horse that maybe just
average talent but just a great minded horse
there's a place for that horse you know with the team roping industry we've
got the backside that these other industries don't have you know once they age
out of these other disciplines they're kind of just weekenders or go to pasture
(05:19):
year or whatever that may be or whatever that looks like.
But team roping as a whole has the legs for this thing to keep growing.
And I think Scott is the limit for sure.
That's funny that you say that about buying the horse from Andy Holcomb,
because I think that was the year that you broke the barrier in the first round
on a horse that like Clay Smith's riding at all the pro rodeos right now.
(05:45):
You remember that? Yeah, he had to fix him.
He had to fix him is what Trevor said. I didn't hear that. But I remember that
because, LZ, you were sitting there.
And yes, I would like to end the recording. Thank you.
Ld you were sitting there and we were trying to buy him because trevor went
home before the short round he did they gave me a microphone yeah i know trevor
(06:10):
went home before the short round and ld said go buy that horse for mandy holcomb
for her and you two are best friends and,
you've been to it so trevor i'm telling
stories because i get to do this very often but trevor
sent me a snapchat or not a snapchat just a picture
not a snapchat he doesn't have a picture of the
(06:31):
horse's butt on the stock trailer the next day and i had gone down there twice
to try to buy it from andy for larry d and they're best friends and he didn't
he yeah he bought it right out from underneath us okay anyway enough storytelling
about that now the next My question is for Wren,
because your family has always been involved.
(06:54):
It's AOC racing and roping.
And the roping part was like, I don't know if it was an hour and then y'all did the LLC or not.
But the roping is in capital letters now and the racing is in lowercase letters.
Talk about that transition for your family and everything that you've done.
Don't talk till you get the mic.
Wow, that was funny.
(07:18):
So my grandpa, he was a big part of the racehorse deal.
He hit his back at a pretty young age. And so he had some of the poor too of
the baby and had a lot of passion for it.
But yeah, we were in the racecars business for probably 30 years.
Had quite a bit of success for not knowing a lot about it. But actually,
(07:42):
I'll kind of tell a story. We went to the Heritage Sale.
It would have been 2005, 2006.
And we were walking around, and my dad, he was always looking at that little
stuff he felt built worse.
And he'd had a two-year-old named Brooke Stone Bay, and we were trying to buy
some mares that we thought would cross good on that horse.
(08:04):
So we're walking around, and this little mare, little gray mare comes by.
She's 14 3 real heavy but by cat doors does she comes through the ring and we
buy her It's 70 pop on her for she had a baby in her first cold wasn't much and we breed her back to.
Brit's home and Her first second cold ends up winning all-american fraternity.
(08:25):
So it's pretty cool story now it all started I mean people spend a lot of money
and the whole lives trying to win that race and our doubt was me I mean,
probably a lot of luck involved, but it's pretty cool.
And that's kind of how we started our program is we went out looking for mares
that we thought would probably spit on that horse.
And now we're three generations back on those same type of mares,
(08:50):
but we're crossing on the cowhorses to try to make fat horses.
So that's kind of where the racing came from. And I guess if we have roping
in capitals now, you know, we're pushing the rope horse deal a lot.
Lot might might have said we have a lot of passion for and fund the
board funders grant i've had a lot of money and
what he said earlier about there was only two opportunities in
(09:13):
rovio to win this kind of money just puts it in perspective and that it's just
got thrown up how long have y'all been talking about doing this four or five
months it just shows you what the industry can do when they want to do something
great because because of people like you that are sitting out here that makes this thing go.
It's just, it really gives me chills. It's cool to know that stuff can happen
(09:35):
this big in our industry because of people in it.
And that is a perfect transition to Mel, because what do you see as the larger
impact of everything that's happening here?
The larger impact of all these people in this room, of what's going on in that
arena, what J. Ron Sun sees in 2017 of the road course industry?
(09:56):
I'd probably have a little bit of a unique perspective because I am still relatively
new to the road course industry, right?
You know i remember back watching trevor
and miles whenever they started into this and thinking how cool it was and to
see the growth has been incredible but it is because of people like jay and
these guys that have put the money up and made this you can't go very many cuttings
(10:16):
of 100 000 and that is supposed to be such a huge industry and it is but i think that you know.
The trickle-down effect is really what we're talking about with you know you
can come wait they'll own 55,000 or the guy's going 55,000 on a mare a day.
That is going to inspire somebody that was watching, whether they see it online
or they were here today, to breed that mare and maybe flush an extra embryo
(10:41):
out for the next year, which is going to in turn go to somebody to,
a two-year-old guy, to be started.
And then it's going to go to a trainer to hopefully cut down the faturities.
And so you add that up and you have 50 guys that do that, that's a lot more
business in our industry.
So I think, you know, not only is it cool to know that we've invested the money
(11:02):
or anybody in this room has invested the money to have a horse here or the time
or the expertise or just the love of raising these horses,
you know, they can actually pay off now.
We're not winning $15,000. $55,000 on a four-year-old is huge and $100,000 tomorrow
could be life-changing for someone.
So I think the big picture here really is that this is an opportunity we all
(11:24):
need to continue to support and, you know, hopefully come back and add more
sponsorships and make it bigger and better for everybody next year.
And these guys themselves put their time and money on the line to do a great
thing for the road course industry.
And I think we all need to make sure we shake their hand this week and tell them thank you.
And today we had a breakaway that paid $20,000.
(11:45):
$25,000. I'm sorry, they had to rewrite that check.
That was my fault. um but they had 25 000
and larry d is here and i want
to be clear larry d is very focused
on breakaway right now because that is the opportunities that
we have in the industry but she is the og and head
horse trainer as far as i said the first story we wrote
(12:06):
about head horse trainers was in 2010 and it was
about larry d being the great the goat of head horse to cat horse trainers back
then so so her impact is pretty pretty significant but i wanted to ask today
about specifically the breakaway what are you seeing the trickle-down effect
being in the breakaway for what's going on in the road course for charity business
and the stallion incentive business.
(12:29):
You sure you don't want to talk? I mean, it's hard to let it pass.
I know. You know, the Great Barrier Open has gotten so big.
I mean, I think we have over 1,000 members in the WPRA right now.
And, you know, back when I was in Great Barrier Open all the time,
we started going to the WPRA rodeos to try to help that event.
And I think there was like 20 Breakway Rovers entered at those rodeos.
(12:53):
And, you know, it's grown so much just in, like, in the rodeos.
But when you add this, it just changes the whole dynamics of it because it gives,
you know, today I was a judge, but a friend of mine, Cheyenne McCartney,
had my horse and has been rodeoing on him and he's eligible.
(13:14):
You know, he's six years old, so he could enter today and she was able to ride him.
So that gave me an opportunity, even though I wasn't roping,
it gave me an opportunity to make money as a homeowner.
You know and also i have i have two three-year-olds at
home right now and a four-year-old that i'm fixing to get started on and
start training and that's going to give me an opportunity to make
(13:34):
money as a trainer and maybe if i'm still out here rodeoing i'll have you know
the great younger ropers be able to ride them and i'll be able to train you
know is it when i'm rodeoing but you know i'm a lot older now and rodeoing is
really not what i want to do i would rather their trained horses.
That's what I did my whole life. I rodeoed on the side, but I was a horse trainer.
(13:58):
And that's kind of where my passion is. And this just opens up so many opportunities
for me to be able to go home and be able to do that and still make a living at it.
Now, what we've talked about a lot was the opportunities professionals have.
And Trevor touched on it a little bit about the infrastructure in the road course industry.
(14:19):
What is the effect on everyday rovers
i mean we think about what miles did today
what you know the horses that you all ride are
so amazing and there's hopes of nfr hope
there's so many of them but what do you all see and and whoever wants to have
a mic first can just raise their hand but what do you see this having an effect
(14:39):
on the u.s rovers the world series rovers the people that are the kind of the
groundswell of the industry how do you see that affecting the way people who especially
people who are in this audience, who are sponsors, who use team roping as their
way to enjoy the industry and their way to enjoy their horses?
How is it going to affect them?
I can tell you, I know for a fact that those people that have no intention of
(15:04):
entering the futurity themselves are breeding horses and buying prospects specifically
to send to these rope horse trainers to come to these futures.
So I think we are just getting more and more people in the game.
I think their understanding of the horsemanship and the importance of horsemanship
to develop these horses to be, whether we say a big-time horse,
whether that means going to the NFR or being a safe, consistent horse for that person.
(15:29):
That's what Trevor and Miles and all these horse trainers that are so great
in this room are developing.
So from my standpoint, somebody that sells a lot of horses, I get the feedback
every day. And I can tell you guys that what is happening here,
it is just making this industry take off.
And she said a lot, a lot right there that the team roping industry hasn't been
(15:49):
known for horsemanship.
And I think with the next generation coming up, there's there's so many ways
to be great. And what used to just be roping on a dummy.
I've seen the shift of young people come up and tell me they can name every
horse in our barn and they keep up with that.
And it just makes me know that the future of our industry is not only going
(16:10):
to be brighter and better, but it's going to have the horse in mind through the whole process.
And I think, once again, that's a win for everybody involved.
You know, and adding the judging part of it, which puts the horsemanship in
it, is for so many years, you know, like when you trained a horse,
you had to pick where it could go.
(16:31):
And adding the judging to it you know
that that gives you an opportunity to to sell to
your world series guys because those horses you know
they they they have to stand there they have to score
they have to run they have to stay in there they have to do all the things
that like these guys can get by out there
on the road i mean they have one that can maybe be moving a little
(16:52):
bit or a little strong or doing certain things and they can get
by but when you're training and having to get scored
for what you train i think it opens a lot
of avenues for the people that you can sell these horses to as
well yeah i mean the one
thing that comes to my mind is just the foundation right which
you all talked about but i know even
(17:12):
five six years ago you could
get a young horse going and you thought he was ready and you took him to the
first open rope and then just flew he stirred up and like a lot of them would
be ruined i mean the first two or three rope that you took him to So to be able
to season these horses and give them the right kind of looks,
(17:33):
true looks that aren't, you know, you're not just thinking about you,
you're actually trying to help the horse.
We've already seen guys where they're taking them out there at the highest level and winning them.
So I think as a whole, it's great.
All right. Thanks, you two. Keeping it light.
(17:54):
Okay. Thank you, guys. Thank you, everybody. But we want to open it up to questions.
If anybody has any questions, and it can be on anything as far as what's going
on in the workforce industry or what Trevor eats for breakfast when he's going
to be superhuman or anything like that.
Lunch yeah he it's been a minute since you've seen breakfast yeah we know that
oh well yeah i mean we say what it does the trickle down effect from when when
(18:21):
someone that's sitting out here,
makes makes the investment of owning a horse then all of a sudden the two-year-old
guy gets a job the horse trainers get a job and even i've had quite a bit of
success in rovio and then for me to be retired now and see other people having
success on horses that have my brand on man i'm I'm telling you, it means a lot to me.
And if you haven't had the chance to get in the industry, and if you're thinking
(18:44):
it's not for you, you don't have to know a lot about courses.
There's people that will help you in this and that will guide you in the way to go.
And it's a real rewarding feel because it is all about the horse.
And anybody that wears a cowboy hat and lives in America loves horses.
I mean, so there's a lot of opportunity and a lot of ways to get involved.
(19:05):
And I think you'll love that decision.
I don't think you'll ever regret it. But speaking of that trickle down effect,
this was a young lady that was probably overqualified to be in the industry that she chose.
But she was passionate about it and i think this not only this but i mean it
started in rodeo and then this created another opportunity and what has it done
(19:30):
for people that were just in rodeo or were just in team roping like what opportunities
does it do outside of here.
That's rude anyway i i came from outside the industry came up outside and worked
my way up through Spin to Win first and Team Roping Journal.
Trevor and LD have been some of my best friends since then.
(19:53):
And I don't know why, but they would always tell me that I wasn't doing rider.
I should be doing more. And the rope horse industry kind of started to develop.
I think we started our first rope horse pedigree tracker for the NFR in 2018,
which was a year after the first American Reckon Rail Force Futurity.
(20:14):
And somehow, some way, just from communicating with them all the time and talking
to people like Mel and talking to Ren, this industry has kind of given me a platform.
To change my life financially, professionally, everything with the Team Robe Big Journal.
It's changed the way the Team Robe Big Journal operates.
We have a huge focus now on the rail force industry that was very strategic
(20:37):
from the time that we kind of started this.
I remember were talking to advertisers back in 2017 in October.
And I would say, oh, let's go to dinner. I'll be at the Futurity in Fort Worth.
And they were like, you're going to Snafflebit?
I'm like, well, and they're like our biggest advertisers and didn't know that
the road course futurity industry was getting ready to go on.
So through that and through covering that, we have built.
(21:01):
Pathways for people who never, maybe they might have just been lopers in the road course industry.
Oh, and then they got a camera and that camera has built them a six-figure salary,
working for stallion owners, working for horse trainers.
Those horse trainers have people who are making a great living being their drivers,
(21:21):
being their grooms. There might be some grooms in here that are saying it's
not a great living, but a pretty good living anyways. ways.
I think that that trickle-down effect has hit more people than a lot of people
in this room could ever imagine, whether it's social media marketing.
I think since we started our Breeders Guide back in 2019 or 2020,
I've been able to add two or three staff members to my team simply because of
(21:45):
how the Breeders Guide has affected our industry.
But people are doing that because they're seeing breedings being sold.
They're seeing mares being flushed. They're seeing all And so that side of the
industry is something that we don't talk about because people like myself and
Kenzie and Liz, everybody who works on the marketing side,
we're the marketers, so we don't talk about ourselves.
(22:08):
But it's changed our lives dramatically. So that's something they wanted me
to talk to you all about. But it's been life-changing, and it has nothing to
do with I never win $100,000 up there on that hill. That will never be me.
But anyways, enough about me. Let's hear questions because you guys make me uncomfortable.
Hey, guys. I hope you enjoyed listening to the panel speak.
(22:31):
I think there was a lot of really insightful things said, and I think we have
a lot to look forward to in this business.
Our next episode is going to be one with AQHA past president Butch Weiss.
We're going to talk a little bit about his career, what got him from just an
Oklahoma kid that grew up enjoying horses to one of the most renowned bloodstock
(22:57):
agents that there's ever been in the racehorse industry.
We're going to talk about his journey there, and then we are going to touch
a little bit on the horses that we have headed to Rio Dosa here in a month.
So that's coming this week. You guys enjoy.
Music.
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