Fort Worth, Texas, hosted some extra chrome as ropers from around the country converged on Cowtown for the third annual USTRC Cowtown ShootOut, November 13–15 at the Will Rogers Memorial Center. Those riding registered Paints competed for an extra $5,000 Paint bonus at the premier event, co-hosted by APHA and the United States Team Roping Championships.
Wyatt Muggli and Chris Young teamed up with Tanks Bueno Streak to take home second in the #13 handicap, netting them checks worth more than $2,000. As the high money-earning Paint in the #6 & Above category, Tanks Bueno Streak earned a $2,500 APHA bonus for owners Mark and Robin Muggli of Lane, Oklahoma.
Bred by the Muggli family, Tanks Bueno Streak is a 2007 sorrel solid Paint-bred stallion by Houses Bueno Cody (QH) and out of Black Tank. However, it wasn’t until visiting with other ropers at the event that Wyatt thought to register for the bonus.
“I was sitting there on the fence during the Open thinking about the Paint bonus, and Tee Luttrell was complaining about not being able to find a Paint to bring. I remembered that he was a solid Paint-bred, so I ran to the office and registered,” Wyatt said.
“Streak” handled the busy roping with ease, even though it was only his second USTRC roping.
“We were a little worried about him because he’s green, and Chris and I were back to back in the short go. I roped, took my rope off, rode back up the arena, switched the stirrups and Chris rode into the box. He handled it really well,” Wyatt said.
The weekend also proved especially successful for Twister Royal Pepto and Colt Miller of Royse City, Texas—after bringing home a #8 Pick Draw check for more than $2,000 with partner Bodie Brassfield, Colt received the news that “Twister” had also earned the $2,500 APHA bonus for Elite #5 & Below ropers.
A 2011 sorrel tobiano gelding by Pepto Flyer and out of Sweet Royal Treasure, Twister was bred and is owned by Sandy Miller of Royse City, Texas, and is trained by Kinzy Donnelly of Valley View, Texas. Twister is a product of generations of breeding by the Miller family, whose connections to his bloodlines goes back more than a decade.
“He’s a really special horse to ride. It’s been a pleasure and a joy to be a part of him,” Colt said. “He’s so good-minded and soft-hearted. You could go do anything on him.”
The Cowtown ShootOut win was the icing on top of a great week for Twister, who also took home APHA world championships in Amateur Ranch Sorting, Amateur and Junior Heeling, and Amateur Steer Stopping at the 2015 APHA World Championship Show, along with reserve world championships in Junior Heading, Junior Tie-Down Roping and Junior Steer Stopping. His success at the World Show earned the gelding the title of Reserve Super Gelding.
Whether they’re preparing to go to a judged roping or a jackpot, Colt cites calm preparation as their key to success.
“Going from a jackpot roping to a show being judged, it’s really all the same to us. A lot of the professionals will tell you being slow is being fast. When you set things up correctly and do things right as a header, your heeler can rope faster and you’ll be faster as an overall time,” Colt said. “You want them calm and at ease in their mind so when you’re in the box and you’re locked and loaded, when you release, he fires. Our day to day practicing, whether it’s a jackpot or a judged horse show, it’s usually about the same on all our horses. Kinzy has some of the best fundamentals that I’ve seen yet on the new up and coming rope horses.”
Colt credits Twister’s natural talent and support team as the reason for his success as a 4-year-old.
“It’s never a guarantee. It’s always the luck of the draw on the cattle, but the hard work and dedication that Kinzy Donnelly at Sliding K Performance Horses and I have put in definitely paid off,” Colt said. “Heading or heeling, he’s just a phenomenal rope horse. He loves to stop. He loves to go to a cow. He’s going to give you the stop of your life and drag his rear and get tight. You can put him in any situation and he’ll clean up for you.”
To learn more about the APHA World Championship Show, visit apha.com/oawcs. For fast, flashy news about Paints excelling in timed events, check out myflashyride.com/news.
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About APHA
The American Paint Horse Association is the world’s second-largest international equine breed association, registering more than a million horses in 59 nations and territories since it was founded. APHA creates and maintains programs that increase the value of American Paint Horses and enriches members’ experiences with their horses.