It’s Round 9, so we thought we’d ask some of the best headers in history who was the best head horse ever in the Thomas & Mack—but because they all answered exactly the same, we figured we’d just remind you that the answer is Speed Williams’ Viper.
Registered as Keep On Flushing by Smoocheys Red Man and out of the Burnt Spur mare Lovely Night, Viper carried Speed Williams to eight gold buckles in a row.
“I have to say Viper was the best,” Williams said. “He’s got eight world titles. He was so broke. He could cow when we left the chute. He ran hard, and he never took my rope away. He could come back up the wall and finish outstanding.”
Seven-time World Champ Jake Barnes agreed.
“That horse was pretty short, height-wise,” Barnes said. “He left flat and Speed would dab it on ’em. He never would get quick. He pulled them off nice and easy, and he faced incredible. Speed rode Bob everywhere else, but Viper was it in the buildings.”
Travis Tryan rode the iconic Walt, who Barnes ranked as a close second to Viper. But even Tryan spoke for Viper’s Thomas & Mack supremacy.
“Speed’s Viper made it look easy for a long period of time,” Tryan said. “He pulled the steer good, kept their head and he finished outstanding.”
Even today, Kaleb Driggers thinks Viper would reign supreme in the Thomas & Mack.
“He had eight world championships,” Driggers said. The proof is in the pudding.”
Speed Williams’ Stats on Keep On Flushing (“Viper”):
Sire: Smoocheys Red Man
Dam: Lovely Night
Born: 1987
Color: Sorrel
Height: 15.1 hands
Weight: 1,250 lbs
Sex: Gelding
Conformation: He was a very good-looking horse. He had a big hind-end and he was built the way I would like one to be built. His girth was really big. It’s almost like a barrel. But it made him really strong in the middle and he could come back up the wall. He was really, really smooth-that was probably his best quality.
Personality: He was like a kid. He untied himself, let other horses out of their stalls. A barrel racer had him before me, and he got spoiled. He loved people and was very friendly. When he got out, he didn’t just stay out by himself, he wanted company so he let all the other horses out.
What made him special: I have to give him most of the credit for those world titles, he always pulled through at the Finals. In the buildings, he is one of the best horses ever. He adapted well to whether the steer leaves the chute running or leaves the chute slow. He really handled the steers good. He just made my and Rich’s job so easy at the Finals. There was a big difference in our level of success without him. He was not going to win a horse race, but you could be running wide-open one way and just side pass and go the other way. He was very broke.
