It is a huge sense of accomplishment. That horse, he is different from the other horses. He is something very special. All of these horses take time. I spend as much time on his back as any of the others. But, he takes his job more seriously than what the others ones do. You can really feel the difference the next day, when you find out if it was a good work or a bad work. He adapts to change, he adapts to getting better and he accepts it. Win, lose or draw, he is a horse that you look forward to getting back on the next day.

As proud of myself that I am to bringing him to this level and making him a big-time bridle horse and the incredible year that we just had, a lot of this comes from the special horse that he is. You do not see that very often, and if you did, I probably would be out of a job.

The first time I saw him I was in Grandview Texas out in a pasture. It was the summer of his 2 year-old year. Austin Adams had raised him, and I was driving clear over to Weatherford and looking at other horses, and other 2 year-olds. We were getting ready to rope that evening, having some fun and I was leaving town the next morning to head home. Grant said, you really should ride that colt. He has been turned out and not ridden for a week. I went out and grabbed him. We really were just messing around. As soon as I got on him and loped off, I could feel immediately that he was my kind of horse. The way he travelled, the way he moved, the way he thought. He was a bit greener than the other 2 year-olds I had been trying, but he just gave me a great feeling. I try and keep that in mind any time I go and look at 2 year-olds. These horses have got to fit. It's like going and buying a new pair of shoes, if there is a break-in period or you have something to work thru, it seems like it just never works out. It is a feeling that I honestly cannot describe, but it is like, "Yes, I love this". I can feel it as soon as I get on, or start playing around with them. I get along better with that feeling, rather than horses that I talk myself into.

Yes, I have a cute story about that. She had called me about the 2012 Snaffle Bit Futurity. She introduced herself to me and said, "If you have some time, I would like you to find a 2 year-old for me for the futurity coming up." I said, "it's like this, I don't go out shopping for them, they just sort of come into my life. If I find one and one comes along I will give you a call. It might be 2 days, it might be a couple of months." So, 2 months go by and she called me. She said, "You haven't forgot about me, have you?" I told her, "No ma'am, I just have not found one. Be patient, I'll come across something." A couple of months later I found Good Time, and the story goes on from there. I trained him up, we won the futurity and some other major events. It was kind of a Cinderella story. Then she said, "Can you for find another for me," so I said, "OK, I cannot make any promises that it will turn out the same way." She agreed, and understood. There were a couple of other horses along the way, and she said, "Find me another." I told her, "I cannot make any promises," she understood. I told her, "The same rules apply," she said, "I know, I know."

Then there is Hott Rod. He shows up and look what he has done. Long story short, first horse I find her is Good Time, he wins the futurity in 2014. He does good in the derby's, and now he is my special kid's horse! Then Hott Rod comes into our lives and you know what all he has done for us! It has all been pretty cool. She has to pay attention to how much she can spend, and where she can go, what events. She has done it right and she let me guide her the whole time, so his is a really, really cool story! You hear about a lot of people that spend this much money, and are buying horses, like you said Tracy, that have already hit the show pen. But she is loving the journey!

This is exciting. It very truly is! What is even more exciting is that people are starting to recognize more than ever, is that the horses we have, are just as special and just as important as any single event for performance horses. Like the Reiners, the Cutters. We are getting to where these horses could have gone to the Reining pen or the Cutting pen, but they can do the 3 events. And I guarantee you that they are just as good in all 3 events, not just one. The adrenaline and the excitement shows that the NRCHA puts on for the crowd. Everyone cheering for each other, the camaraderie…that is the biggest thing.

Our board is a huge part of that, plus our numbers going up over the past couple of years at the Futurity & the Derby's, plus the additional money that is coming in we are turning around and putting it right back in to the premier events. To build up to the Association to the point where this year it will be the first year that the Snaffle Bit Futurity is going to pay $200,000.00 to win!

It is just as tough now as it was the first time I stepped into that pen. All the exhibitors, all the horses, are all very, very capable. Anyone that is entered is very capable of doing better than you. That is what really drives me. As times change and a person learns more, you can never stop learning. We all know that! There are some things out there that put a little bit more pressure on you or that make you strive a little bit harder. But today it is just as hard as it ever was!

Thomas Tull is incredible in the way that he is wanting to do this. He is making this so that trainers like us can do this. It took me 3 days to get back to you Tracy, because we are out here schooling the horses and not just working 8 hour days. I mean it is 15 to 17 hour days! Getting these horses ready. If this was to work out the way Thomas wants it too, it can be life changing for us to where it can do so much more with our life. And when we do get older we could retire.

This is making a difference not only in the performance horse world, but it will make a difference for everybody to enjoy. He is bringing us television. We have been waiting a long time for this. Taylor Sheridan and Yellowstone opened the door to people being really interested in this lifestyle and it set the stage for this event that Thomas Tull and Teton Ridge have created. Now these people will buy tickets and come to the American, or be able to watch from home and want to think about trying it for themselves. Thomas Tull really wants to make it bigger and better for the Western Performance World. Honestly, he wants to build it up so it can make a difference in our lives as trainers and athletes as well as to bring in new faces and new people to help the industry as well as all of the Associations.

Super, super, exciting. Because for me I strive on and get a lot of adrenaline and excitement showing in front of a crowd such as what is at The Run For A Million or The World's Greatest Horseman. So to have the opportunity to show in front of the whole World, because of how this has been put together at the Globe Life Field is something that is really, really exciting for me! Not only for the money that he is putting into it, but also for the experience of just being there and being part of it. The production of it and how it is going to be put on, is something I want to be a part of. It is important to me to have a shot at doing this.