Rhen Richard and his family’s A&C Racing is pumped about their 4-year-old junior stallion CR Woody Be A Dual, particularly after he won the coveted Royal Crown 4-&-Under Heeling Futurity in Rock Springs, Wyoming, August 9, 2022.
Richard and CR Woody Be A Dual were a 488.12 on four steers, winning $8,700 for A&C Racing and $1,392 for the owners of Royal Crown Stallion Woody Be Tuff and the same for breeders at the Center Ranch.
“I haven’t been home all summer, but that horse naturally has probably more ability than any horse I’ve ever rode,” Richard, 34, of Roosevelt, Utah, said. “He’s real smooth and powerful but you don’t feel it. He just kind of glides. We talked about him not finding the ground great here, but there aren’t many here that can just slide in this ground because it’s got quite a bit of clay in it. I was really happy with him. In the short round, I felt him gather before, and that’s what you want—not short you out, but be collected and ready to stop. The last one finally I got in a good enough spot going down the arena to where he was set up to do good.”
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CR Woody Be A Dual’s Training Process
Richard had the help of his brother Kaden on the head side, too, who’s helped him on all of his heeling wins this year. But when it comes to help at home, four-time NFR qualifier Richard hasn’t needed much while he’s been off having the best ProRodeo season of his career with $91,420 won with World Champ Jeremy Buhler.
“I’ve got a couple guys at home, but my horses really haven’t been touched all summer,” Richard said. “Besides the 4-year-olds, everything else is far enough along that I don’t really care for anybody else to ride them. But I’ve got my little brother there who helps, and we’ve got a kid that’s starting everything and he’s rode this stud for a week now. But I hadn’t heeled five steers on that horse since Waco (in May). I kind of stung him a little bit in Waco and he was a tick sore. So when I got home, we had a month or so but I didn’t ride him. That horse probably hasn’t heeled 200 steers, so for a greener horse, I’m pretty happy with him.”
A son of Woody Be Tuff out of ARC Catty Dual by Dual Pep, CR Woody Be A Dual got his start on the Smarty first before tracking live cattle.
“I do a lot on the dummy—especially before I go to the steers,” Richard said. “That horse has roped the dummy a lot. Unless you have really slow steers, it’s hard to get a true feel. My horses get a lot of time on the Smarty to where they’re confident and know their job before I go to the steers. It seems like, you go to a futurity like this where the steers are strong, and you’re asking them for a lot, you can go back and just touch on the fundamentals and them horses go back to you. If you skip those steps, it’s obviously a lot tougher.”
Throwing CR Woody Be A Dual to the Royal Crown Heeling Fire
With the hard-running steers, longer start and full-contact runs, Richard felt like CR Woody Be A Dual was ready for the Royal Crown test in early Aguust.
“That horse is pretty mature mentally,” Richard explained. “So as far as protecting him, I don’t. When I’m home, I make sure that horse stays up and around them and carries me through the turn. I don’t want him as a 4-year-old telling me when to throw. Really, I’m just trying to build strong fundamentals in him right now. I feel like we haven’t made any shortcuts in his training, and I feel like it showed today. He’s greener than probably what he showed, but he’s listening and I can help him through it, and that’s what I’m after in a 4-year-old.”
Bridle Swap
Richard started the roping in a chain port on CR Woody Be A Dual but swapped to a Myler for the last two rounds.
“I’m not a chain port kind of guy,” Richard admitted. “But if I were to fault that horse a little bit, he’s a little straight. So I started out with that, and I knew he wasn’t going to like it. But I knew if I rode it on him a couple runs and switched to a solid mouthpiece, he’d be round. I rode a Myler on him at the end and it felt great. It softened him up. I use about three or four different bits. I use a Myler a lot, I just got a JB Guillory that I love, and really I use a couple different Mylers. They’re not a ton of bit. I feel like if you’re using the right part of your horse, you don’t need a ton of bit.”
Future Plans
The Richard family’s A&C Racing has owned some iconic stallions, including the likes of the great Winners Version, who’s now owned by Ariat World Series of Team Roping sponsors Highpoint Performance Horses. They also own Reys Smokin Dually, the sire to the 6-year-old mare Richard won Salinas aboard. CR Woody Be A Dual is next on their list of great stallions.
“Our goal with this horse is to keep him as a stud and try to recreate him and cross him on some of the running mares for head horses,” Richard said. “He’s conformation-wise what we want in a horse. So we’re super excited about him.”
