Hunter Koch and Rockk Star turned the highest-scoring run of the Open Futurity Heeling finals into a $20,240 championship at the 2026 Old West World Championships in Amarillo, Texas, Oct. 17, winning the 6-&-Under title with a 917.23 on four head.
Koch and Rockk Star, better known as “LZ,” entered the short round high call with a 686.16 on three head before posting a 231.07 in the finals to win by 8.48 points. Paul Eaves and Smart Frisky Pepto finished second with a 908.75 for $16,192, while Dakota Kirchenschlager and Miss Peppys Rebel were third with a 908.48 for $12,144.
Rockk Star, by Peptoboonsmal out of Aristocratic Star, was bred by Star C Land and Cattle and is owned by X Performance Horses. LZ has spent much of his life moving between operators, developing into a horse that can handle the pressure of just about anywhere, from the big rodeos and jackpots to the futurities.
For Koch, the win was the payoff for a year’s worth of work, both on the horses and his own roping.
“I’m feeling just thankful and happy,” he said. “We work all year round for deals like this and for it to go our way. We know it doesn’t always go that way, and these guys are so good and these horses they train are amazing. To come out on top, it just makes you proud and happy and feel blessed.”
Koch and LZ opened the Futurity Heeling with a 228.21 in Round 1 before winning Round 2 with a 230.21 for $2,000. Their 227.74 in the third round gave them the high-call position heading into the finals.
Rather than letting the pressure of it all change his game plan, Koch focused on being ready when his shot presented itself.
“I didn’t rope the way I wanted this year rodeoing, and I’ve been working on some stuff since I’ve been home,” Koch said. “But just trying to be in the moment and not worry about nothing or think about anything.”
That preparation paid off when LZ put him in a spot to go fast on their last steer.
“I just was telling myself over and over, when you see the shot, take the shot,” Koch said. “I seen it coming up—LZ was in a great spot, and I just pulled the trigger, and it worked out.”
For J.D. McGuire of X Performance Horses, who has been there through every chapter of LZ’s story since he was 2, the win represented another milestone in a horse’s career that has involved plenty of different hands.
McGuire said Koch, Ty Daniel Haller and others all spent time with him before he made his early futurity appearances.
“We bought him from Solo when he was two and left him there,” McGuire said. “They were kind of two-handing him, snaffle-bit style.”
LZ eventually made his way into the X Performance Horses rotation, with McGuire riding him in the summers and Koch taking over during the winter.
That arrangement has become a key part of the program’s success.
“It’s been so good for our horses bouncing back and forth between JD and I, because I’m pretty fiery, and JD gives these horses so much confidence and they enjoy their job,” Koch said. “And then I can get on them and kind of do my thing.”
The different styles have helped make horses that are capable of adjusting to different ropers and situations without losing confidence in their job. According to McGuire, that has been particularly evident with LZ.
“The amount of people that won on him is a crazy amount of people,” McGuire said. “It just doesn’t matter who rides him. The horse is just a winner, and we’re lucky to have him for sure.”
LZ’s success hasn’t been limited to the futurity pen, either. Koch placed on him at the BFI when the horse was 5 and had success at the ProRodeos in Texas in the winter.
“I made the finals at San Antonio this year on him, the short round,” Koch said. “Made the semifinals on him at Fort Worth. I just feel real lucky to be a part of his journey.”
That ideal is intentional within the X Performance Horses program. Rather than making horses solely for one kind of environment, Koch and McGuire want horses that can be ridden by anyone at any time.
“These horses have to be able to, just like us, handle pressure and just same thing day in, day out and be confident in what they’re doing,” Koch said.
When the horses return to Koch, he can get them sharpened up for the next one while relying on the foundation built through their time with McGuire.
For a program that has produced successful futurity and rodeo horses, Rockk Star is another example of the kind of horse Koch and McGuire are working to develop.
The success of Rockk Star was part of an even bigger week for X Performance Horses, which finished as the No. 1 money-earning owner at the 2026 Old West World Championships with $91,343.
While the championship check and win were significant, McGuire was quick to give the credit to where credit is due.
“To dominate winning like that, and like I said, everybody’s won on him,” McGuire said. “I think it’s just all the credit to him.”