Billie Jack Saebens won the Solo Select Futurity heading for the second straight year Thursday night, then kept going. By the time the heeling finals ended at Circle T Arena in Hamilton, Texas, the Nowata, Oklahoma, cowboy had won $188,205 on three horses.

He won the heading on DF Stolen Documents with a 306.82 for $61,403 including a second-go check. He placed second in the heeling on Metallics Ace and collected the $60,000 Sire Pot check on top of it, $100,405 for one horse. He was fourth on DF N Fena for $26,397.

The Heading

DF Stolen Documents came into the clean-slate final fourth on three head with 897.11. Saebens marked 306.82 on the sorrel stallion, the high score of the heading short round, to beat Trevor Brazile and Relentless Again by 1.76 points.

A year ago, Saebens won the first Solo Select heading on Una Furiosa for $102,500. This year’s champion wasn’t Sire Pot eligible, so the check was the $60,403 Main Pot first.

Dixon Flowers Quarter Horses bred and owns DF Stolen Documents, and Saebens is the program’s head trainer. He bought the colt’s dam, the Hickorys Indian Pep mare Seven S April Fool, out of a sale for Dixon Flowers as a 2-year-old and won on her himself. The sire, Cfour Stoikelly, is a son of Darkelly.

Saebens called the stallion a knucklehead, and meant it kindly.

“He’s super, like, a piece of knucklehead, in a good way. He’s always a line stepper,” Saebens said. “He’s always stepping on the line, but he takes the training pretty good and really stepped up today.”

“He’s not that hot or anything, but he’s always chewing on something or knocking your hat off, or, you know, like, if you’re riding him and you’re stopping, he’s gonna try to walk off,” he said. “That’s literally part of the training process. Dude, just stand still, you know what I mean?”

Saebens has had success on other running-bred horses, including Una Furiosa. He said they share tendencies, but this one is busier minded than the quieter, more laid-back horses he’s had before.

“I honestly planned after Amarillo just letting him have the winter, and I even considered the whole year, but I don’t know about that now,” Saebens said.

The Heeling

Metallics Ace was the cut into the heeling short round. His 888.74 on three head was 15th, 0.65 point ahead of Spooks Shiney Angel. In the final he marked 307.27, second only to Dakota Kirchenschlager and Gun Shyy.

Second in the Main Pot paid $40,405. As the highest-placing Sire Pot horse in the final, Metallics Ace also won the $60,000 Sire Pot first. His $100,405 was more than the heading or heeling champion earned.

The palomino stallion is by enrolled Solo Select stallion Metallics MVP out of the Shining Spark mare Shining Smart Remedy. Sprig Haven Farms bred him, and Craig or Melissa Berger own him. Saebens has had him since he was 2, after a young trainer in North Dakota started him.

“He’s a really talented horse,” Saebens said. “He’s super physical. He’s got the look.”

He has also been different to train. Saebens said his usual answer, riding a hot horse more, backfired on this one.

“I had to adjust my training a little bit, because typically when they get hot, I ride them more, you know what I mean?” he said. “What I learned, that actually, I think, made it worse on him, so I just kind of backed off and let him come to his own. He wants to be good.”

The horse had only $2,000 in LTE in QData before Oct. 1’s Solo Futurity.

Saebens and DF N Fena led the heeling after two rounds with 606.70, opening with 303.80 and 302.90. A 293.44 in the third round dropped her to fifth on three head, and a 305.54 in the final placed her fourth. The black mare by Bet Hesa Cat, out of the Shiners Lena Chex mare DT American Honey, is another Dixon Flowers-bred horse. Southwest Performance Horses LLC owns her. DF N Fena has placed in the aggregate of every futurity she’s entered, putting her earnings just shy of $100,000 at the three-quarter point of the season.

Saebens’ Week

DF Stolen Documents, Heading Round 1, 2nd: $1,000
DF Stolen Documents, Heading Open, 1st: $60,403
DF N Fena, Heeling Round 1, 2nd: $1,000
Metallics Ace, Heeling Open, 2nd: $40,405
Metallics Ace, Heeling Sire Pot, 1st: $60,000
DF N Fena, Heeling Open, 4th: $25,397
Total: $188,205

The Money-Earners

DF STOLEN DOCUMENTS: $61,403
CFOUR STOIKELLY x SEVEN S APRIL FOOL x HICKORYS INDIAN PEP
2022 sorrel stallion
Breeder: Dixon Flowers Quarter Horses
Owner: Dixon Flowers Quarter Horses
Heading · Rounds 300.93 / 296.63 / 299.55 · Final 306.82 · Round 1 2nd $1,000 + Open 1st $60,403

METALLICS ACE: $100,405
METALLICS MVP x SHINING SMART REMEDY x SHINING SPARK
2022 palomino stallion
Breeder: Sprig Haven Farms
Owner: Craig or Melissa Berger
Heeling · Rounds 300.78 / 294.05 / 293.91 · Final 307.27 · Open 2nd $40,405 + Sire Pot 1st $60,000

DF N FENA: $26,397
BET HESA CAT x DT AMERICAN HONEY x SHINERS LENA CHEX
2022 black mare
Breeder: Dixon Flowers Quarter Horses
Owner: Southwest Performance Horses LLC
Heeling · Rounds 303.80 / 302.90 / 293.44 · Final 305.54 · Round 1 2nd $1,000 + Open 4th $25,397