Jonathan Torres has two legitimate heel horses in his trailer, but Scooter and Chief have two unique stories on how they made it onto the trailer for the 2026 season.  

Scooter, registered as Lynx Dancin Rooster, is a 2015-model bay gelding bred by Spur Ranch who goes back to some old-school blood on top and bottom.  

For most of Scooter’s life, he was in the hands of Utah’s Jared Fillmore. Fillmore had Scooter from the time he was a 2-year-old and made him into the horse Torres eventually began riding last summer. 

“Fillmore trained him,” Torres said. “I mean, he’s literally like his kid almost.” 

Torres took Scooter to the circuit finals before ultimately putting him under the bright lights of Las Vegas at the 2025 NFR. He hauled his longtime a-string Paycheck to Las Vegas, too, but kept finding himself getting back on Scooter. 

“I just felt like it was the right thing to do,” Torres said. “There’s a lot of good things about him as in that he’s strong, but he’s fast. For me, he just fits my style.” 

Torres leased Scooter through the NFR and into the 2026 season before he and wife, Rylea, worked out a deal to purchase him from Fillmore earlier this summer. 

Speed is one of Scooter’s greatest qualities—Torres calls him one of the fastest heel horses he has ever ridden, but speed alone isn’t what has made Scooter his choice at some of the biggest rodeos of the season.  

For the NFR heeler, the bigger value is having a horse that can handle the grind of it all and be ready to give him an opportunity as soon as he backs off the trailer. 

“He feels like that’s what a guy needs because we go so many miles and we travel so much,” Torres said. “If we’re feeling it sometimes, I know the horses are for sure.” 

Torres rides Scooter nearly everywhere, and he and Fillmore have talked about wanting the gelding in the Heel Horse of the Year conversation. Torres sees similarities between Scooter and Kadabra King, better known as “Turbo,” the kind of horse capable of staying at the highest level year after year. 

“I’m not saying he is Turbo, but I feel like he could be a Turbo,” Torres said. “I just think he’s got a lot of the right stuff to be a horse like that.” 

Scooter’s hauling partner is Chief, the paint that Torres has brought up to be his second-string over the last three years.  

Chief, registered with the American Paint Horse Association as Al Sugared Up, is a 2018 sorrel tobiano/overo gelding by Metallic Al, a son of Metallic Cat, and out of Eclipse O Lena.  

Torres bought Chief in 2023 from Cameron Fontenot after seeing videos of him. Tavis Walters had him in Oklahoma at the time, and Torres couldn’t get there to try him himself. 

He bought him anyway. 

“I couldn’t get there to try him and honestly bought him over the phone,” Torres said. “But Tavis said it was a good horse.” 

Chief showed potential early but making him into the horse Torres needed at the rodeos took a little time. 

As a 5-year-old, Brady Norman rode Chief at the Matthew Land Open Qualifier outside during the Ariat World Series Finale and won on him, but Torres felt the multiple arenas and runs back-to-back put a lot on the young horse all at once. 

Rather than keep pushing through, Torres backed up. 

He hauled Chief to jackpots and amateur rodeos and gave him lower-pressure opportunities to get solid before asking him to step back onto the bigger stage. 

Three years after buying him, Torres now has enough confidence in Chief to use him when some of the biggest money of the rodeo season is on the line. 

During Torres and Nelson Wyatt’s $19,433-per-man week Aug. 18-22, Chief carried Torres to a third-place check at Burley, Idaho, and a split for second worth $4,876 at the Moses Lake, Washington. 

The two horses couldn’t be more different, but the important distinction to Torres is what Scooter and Chief actually feel like when they work. 

“The bay has speed I’ve never had before,” Torres said. “The paint has a little more cow.” 

“I feel like he gets to the spot a little easier more,” he said of Chief. “I’m not saying he’s as fast, but he moves his feet really good.” 

The difference becomes even more pronounced through the corner. 

One of Scooter’s biggest strengths is his ability to clear his shoulders and give Torres a place to throw. When he commits, the move is more abrupt—he gets there fast, hits the ground hard and finishes. 

Chief does the turn differently—he can start rating quicker but is pedaling rather than shutting it all off, giving Torres a different window to throw his rope.  

Neither style makes one horse the good horse and the other a backup but rather gives Torres options. There are setups where Scooter’s qualities are needed in a big way. Then there are other situations that better suit Chief.  

“I feel like they’re both a little bit different styles, but to rodeo on, it’s good style.”