When time came for the qualifying rounds of the 2014 RFDTV’s The American Rodeo, Wicked Leo was watching from the sidelines.
“I rode another horse in the qualifier, but we slipped at the first barrel and we didn’t try to qualify elsewhere,” rider Quay Eaves of Louisville, Mississippi, said. “I’d only had ‘Streaker’ back a week when the show came up, so I didn’t put him in, but all weekend long he ran fast enough times to qualify.
“I told my wife, Ashley, that if I had Streaker in 2014, I’d run him and see what happened.”
This year, Quay and the 1999 sorrel solid gelding by Terribly Wicked (QH) and out of Any Mans Fancy were ready, smoking the competition with a 14.972 run at the Horse Poor BBR Southwest Regional Finale and American Qualifier on October 17 in Starkville, Mississippi.
Gerald and Megan Williams of Daingerfield, Texas, own Streaker, and the gelding has been under Quay’s direction for a number of years.
“Oh, I knew [Streaker] could do well—he’s a super fast horse,” Paula Williams said. “And we just have all the confidence in the world in Quay. We’re so excited to see how he does.”
Though Streaker is a large-bodied mount, Quay says he manages well in smaller pens.
“He’s just kind of a big, classy horse,” Quay said. “He’s got a really classy style to him; you don’t have to run him in too much headgear, just a D-ring and a German martingale. You just have to set him up for the first barrel and he’s solid for his second and third. Even though he’s a big horse, he seems to like those smaller patterns.”
Quay and Streaker are no strangers to success, and the duo cleans up well locally and even won the Mississippi NBHA state show in 2013 and finished second in 2014. The American, though, is their biggest event so far.
“It’s a pretty neat deal,” Quay said. “There’s a lot of steps involved, but we’ve got the first one down. I’m pretty excited to go to Fort Worth.”
The next big step is to pass the Semifinals event, held a week before The American Finals. This year’s semifinals rodeo will take place February 20–22 at the Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas.
Stay tuned for updates on Streaker and other Paints vying for The American’s titles.
Photo courtesy Quay Eaves. Learn more about Quay and his barrel racing program at quayeavesbarrelhorses.com.
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