The DEFINITIVE List of 2021 NFR Qualifying Heel Horses and Their Bloodlines
This year's NFR-qualifying heel horses are dripping with cow-sense and bred to do their jobs.

Cowy. Quick footed. HARD stopping. 

The horses that got their riders to the 2021 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo on the heel side have all three of these things in common. But what else do they have in common? For many, the blood of Peppy San Badger, Freckles Playboy and Doc Bar runs thick. Here are some general observations about these pedigrees. 

  • Playgun makes multiple appearances this year in the NFR heel horse pedigree field. Junior Nogueira’s Apache R Hali sports Playgun on her maternal side, while Jade Corkill’s Sixes Posse is an own son of the famous stallion. Wesley Thorp split his season aboard Pistol Playin Roy, a grandson of Playgun, while Douglas Rich is riding a grandson of Playgun on the paternal side in his gelding, Seven Sun. 
  • Corkill’s JLC Royal American remains the most bred-to-run on the list, with First Down Dash, Beduino and Three Bars on his papers—complemented by a little maternal sprinkling of Shining Spark.
  • The two mares on the list this year are Nogueira’s Apache R Hali and Harrison’s Lula Dual, though both made limited appearances in 2021. 
  • Lula Dual and Dual Chip are the only siblings in this year’s pack, both paternal offspring of the late stallion Dual Spark. 
  • DT Diamonds R King, ridden some this year by Trey Yates, is out of Dean Tuftin’s famous broodmare Kings Snazzy Sugar—the same mare out of which Billie Jack Saebens Horse of the Year DT Sugar Chex Whiz came. 

1. Junior Nogueira’s Kiehnes Frosty Pepto

Apache R Hali

A Mini Brownie

2. Travis Graves’ Dual Chip

Golden Boy Boon

3. Paden Bray’s EM Magic Bar Eleven

4. Jade Corkill’s JLC Royal American

Sixes Posse

5. Wesley Thorp’s Little Hickory Boon

Pistol Playin Roy

6. Jake Long’s The Star Pepto

7. Trey Yates’ Romancing The Chics

In the Nic of Shine

DT Diamonds R King

8. Chase Tryan’s Col Triangle Gold

9. Ross Ashford’s Darrel

GRADE

10. Logan Medlin’s Nita Win Playboy

TRR I Prefer Win To Win

11. Buddy Hawkins’ X

GRADE

12. Jeremy Buhler’s Knight Robber Son

13. Douglas Rich’s Seven Sun

14. Brady Minor’s Leos Highbrow

15. Joseph Harrison’s CRR Hurricane Fajita

Lula Dual

SHARE THIS STORY
CATEGORIES
TAGS
Related Articles
WSG-link-preview-with-lines-and-logo-7-2
Mount Money
The Head Horses of the 2024 American Rodeo (And Yes, We Have Their Pedigrees, Too)
March_24_2023_NFR_R05_TR_Tyler Wade_Wesley Thorp_HRae_002
Standing on Business
Forged From the Fire of Humble Beginnings
Corbin Culley and Tyler Pearson winning the #14.5 roping at the 2022 USTRC Cinch NFTR
At Home with
World Champ Bulldogger Tyler Pearson Is Getting Back to His Roping Roots
Tyler Wade team roping
a look back
Five of Our Favorite Moments from the 2023 NFR
Stevie Rey Von x DT Sugar Chex Whiz
Power Couple
Nothing Like It: Stevie Rey Von x DT Sugar Chex Whiz Embryo Sells Christmas Eve 2023 in Select Online Sale