DCC Fools Gold spent the first part of his career working outside before coming to Tate Kirchenschlager from his customers Dasco Cattle Co., and that work-for-a-living ability shown through when the 4-year-old gelding won the Royal Crown’s tough, 42-horse 2023 Rock Springs 4-&-Under Heading Futurity Aug. 17.
Full Royal Crown Roping Results
DCC Fools Gold and Kirchenschlager won $7,963 for the average score of 672.40 on four, with the stallion owner and breeders Dasco Cattle Co. getting another $1,956. They won another $1,500 for second in Round 2, and at high back the horse posted the highest score of the short round with a 169.43 to add an exclamation point to their win.
“He don’t ever beat ya,” Kirchenschlager said of the gelding by Metallic Echo out of DCC Smooth Sugar by CJ Goldrush. “He never gets ahead of himself. He has a lot of talent, but he’s a pleaser. He’s always ready to listen to you at any time. He is an over-achiever. He can do things fast, athletic and quick. He’s really good in the box, and he looks good doing it. He does everything step-by-step.”
Kirchenschlager had the help of NFR heeler Cole Davison on the back side.
“Cole is always such good help,” Kirchenschlager said. “He rides great horses—horses he can ride anywhere from the jackpots to the futurities to the rodeos—and he makes it easy to just do my job and not worry about what he’s got happening.”
Ranch to Rope Horse
Kirchenschlager got DCC Fools Gold last winter from the Dasco Cattle Co. ranch in New Mexico.
“The whole goal the whole time was to show him,” Kirchenschlager said. “They have a ranch out there, and they’re starting to get into raising them. Later down the road in the future, you’ll see them have horses for sale and he’s really starting to build a horse program out there.”
The horse had the right buttons in place thanks to his time outside. So when he came to Stephenville, Texas, to Kirchenschlager’s practice pen, heading was a natural fit.
“He was pretty broke when I got him,” Kirchenschlager said. “Whoever ranched on him and rode him outside, they did a good job. I just started tracking steers on him. Now I’ve shown him three times. I showed him at Jay Wadham’s futurity in Oklahoma City, and he won the 4-year-old deal. But this is his first Royal Crown.”
Kirchenschlager’s only been riding him three or four days a week with the insane Texas heat this summer, focusing mostly on breakawaying and steer stopping.
“That horse has always been able to go fast,” Kirchenschlager said. “Runners are not a problem for him. So I’ll breakaway and run slow steers, and then a couple days before the show I’ll rope some faster steers on him at home.” TRJ
