Alan Jones waited until the bidding was over to tell his wife what Trevor Brazile had told him.

Brazile had come to Alan and Meleesa Jones of Cracklin J Ranch with a claim they had trouble believing: He had a mare better than “Bella,” the barn name for Crosby Ray Von, the mare the Joneses bought for $1.7 million at the Old West Rope Horse Futurity Sale in Heber City, Utah, in June 2025.

On Oct. 16, the Joneses bought that mare. Dirty Deed, a 2023 daughter of Dirty Fling, sold for $1.3 million at the Old West Rope Horse Sale in Amarillo, Texas. Consigned by David Zito and Relentless Remuda, she went to a partnership of Cracklin J and Zito Equine.

Her price was nearly seven times the sale average. Twenty-two of the 62 horses that went through the ring sold, for $4,207,000 and an average of $191,227, according to Old West. Owners retained the other 40, on final bids averaging $134,775—making every horse eligible for the Old West Futurities’ million-dollar sale incentive.

“Trevor came up to Meleesa and I and told us that he had a horse that was better than Bella,” Alan said. “And we said, well, we don’t understand that, because Bella’s on the scoreboards almost every time she goes out, you know? But he told us that she was actually a better prospect than Bella was. So we called Ty (Smith) about it and talked to him, and he told us the same thing. And with the track record that we have with them, we know that they wouldn’t oversell something, and they definitely wouldn’t exaggerate anything about that. I mean, their reputation’s on the line with all that, you know? And we’re already partnering with the Zitos on Fendiii. So we [decided to] go in and buy her, or try to buy her.”

Alan kept Brazile’s pitch to himself until the mare was theirs.

“I didn’t tell her what he said about it until we did it,” he said.

Meleesa didn’t mind.

“Oh, I didn’t care,” she said. “I know he’s gonna do what’s best for us.”

Three mares, one thread

Alan runs a manufacturing business that makes heat exchange products, and he doesn’t rope. The couple’s Cracklin J Ranch covers about 11,000 acres near Borger, Texas. When they bought Crosby Ray Von in 2025, Alan told The Team Roping Journal, “Our main motivation was to get into the horse business.”

Sixteen months later, they own all or part of three high-dollar mares, and all three trace to Valiant Hero.

Crosby Ray Von: A 2022 mare by Stevie Rey Von out of a Valiant Hero mare, bred by Fults Ranch Ltd. and ridden by Brazile. In Amarillo she finished second in the Pre-Futurity Heading with 905.57 points on four head, worth $15,318, and placed second in the Graduate Sale Horses division for another $25,000. She also qualified sixth for the Futurity Heading short round. Bella qualified for the Graduate Sale Horses division as a graduate of the 2025 sale. Her Amarillo total was $40,318.

Fendiii: A 2022 mare by Valiant Hero out of a PYC Paint Your Wagon mare, owned with Zito Equine and ridden by Miles Baker. She led the Futurity Heading through three rounds with 683.11 points and went into the finals as the high call, then finished fourth with 904.39 on four head, worth $9,400. She was fifth in the Pre-Futurity Heading with 899.73, worth $7,659, and won $3,000 in round checks across the two classes. Her Amarillo total was $20,059.

Dirty Deed: A 2023 bay roan mare by Dirty Fling out of Painted Lady, by PYC Paint Your Wagon. Her second dam, SS Southern Lady, is by Valiant Hero.

Together, Bella and Fendiii won $60,377 in Amarillo, according to unofficial results.

A year on the road

The Joneses have made nearly every stop to watch their mares this year. The only one they skipped was Scottsdale.

“Oh, yeah, it’s been a blast,” Alan said. “It really is.”

“We look at it like it’s vacation,” he said. “We really do. And we’re getting to know some people, and that makes it a whole lot more fun. Everybody in that industry is just great, and we like being around right-minded people.”

That includes their partners on Fendiii and Dirty Deed, the Zito family—who, coincidentally, own the sire to Dirty Deed, Dirty Fling.

“They’re really, really, really good people,” Alan said of the Zitos.

Bella missed time this year with an injury.

“Now that Bella is healed, we’re looking forward to having a really good year next year and finishing this year up,” he said. “We feel like we’re in the best group, as team members, to make this work: Miles and Trevor, and Ty and Melanie Smith. That’s what differentiated it for us.”

What’s next

The Joneses tried to breed Bella this year, while she was laid up.

“While Bella was in treatment, we attempted to breed her a couple of times, and it didn’t work,” Alan said. “She was getting a little bit uneasy, so we quit and decided to wait until next year.”

Alan said the Zitos have talked about breeding Fendiii to Dirty Fling, Dirty Deed’s sire, which the Zitos own.

The Joneses have two foals by The Darkk Side due in 2027.

“Oh, I love it,” she said. “I love being around all the animals. It’s so much fun. If I could have all the horses, I would.”