Trevor Brazile and American Greed have laid down the gauntlet for the rest of the rope horse futurity industry, winning both the heading and heeling at the Royal Crown Futurity in Rock Springs, Wyoming August 11, and picking up almost $30,000 along the way.
“Greed”—trained and owned by Lari Dee Guy but ridden the last few months by Brazile—is a 2015 gelding by Starlights Gypsy out of the Docs Oak mare Lenas Oakling. Aboard Greed, Guy won first and second at the 2021 Bob Feist Invitational All-Girl in Guthrie, Oklahoma, this March. He’s also the horse Brazile rode to the high call spot at the 2020 American Rope Horse Futurity World Championship in 2020, before some short-round bad luck dropped him out of the average.
“He was exceptional but that’s an exceptional horse,” Brazile said. “He’s been good for a long time. This setup really fit him. The steers were all there, they were really strong. He’s just real reactive, and when the stuff’s tough, that’s when he does really well. He showed that today for sure. In the heeling, he hasn’t been a. heel horse as long as he’s been a head horse. I was just getting him ready for the Royal Crown too, and boy did he step up today. Lari Dee breakaways on him, and there’s nothing he can’t do.”
Guy bought the horse—a full brother to her great horse Tombstone, whom she sold as an NFR mount to Jake Cooper a few years ago and aboard whom Jill Cooper-Tanner just won RFD-TV’s The American in the breakaway—as a 2-year-old, and she sent him to her friend Jeb Brown in Colorado to ride, followed by Wilson Schrock, who put another year on the horse for her.
“Then Hope (Thompson) and I just went to heading on him,” Guy said. “He takes everything real serious, real personal. He really wants to please ya. He’s such a kind-hearted little horse. He wants to be your friend.”
Right before the 2020 National Finals of Breakaway Roping, Guy felt like she wasn’t doing the horse justice given the amount of time she’d been spending roping calves, so she sent him back to Brazile. Since then, Brazile has placed on him at every futurity he’s taken him to.
“His try and his heart really make the difference,” Guy said from the Denver Airport in between rodeos in the breakaway. “He is so gritty. Trevor also makes him great. I would like to keep him but I want to see him do great things as well. If I can’t do great things with him then I’d like to get him in the hands of someone that will.”
Greed was far from the only mount aboard which Brazile had success in Rock Springs this week.
Brazile’s home-raised Metallic Cat 4-year-old, out of a full sister to his great calf horse Deputy, won second behind Greed and also won the 4-year-old incentive in the heading. Tuckin Away Buckles, Brazile and Baker’s 4-year-old buckskin by Show Me The Buckles, won the 4-year-old heeling incentive and the two rounds of the heeling Greed didn’t win.
While the Royal Crown Futurity was for offspring of Royal Crown enrolled stallions only, the event also hosted an Open futurity the day before. 2019 ARHFA World Champion Andy Holcomb won the heading in that, while NFR Header Rhen Richard won the heeling. But Brazile hit big that day too, winning third on his 5-year-old BoomBoomFirecracker and placing on another horse. Finals payouts have yet to be announced for the two-day competition. NFR heeler Shay Carroll helped Brazile on the heels, while Baker headed for him.
“I feel like when you’re riding young horses, if you have the same feel away from home that you do at home, that’s a big win, and that’s the way I would describe this,” Brazile said. “I didn’t feel anything different here than I do at home, so that makes me think we’re headed in the right direction.” TRJ
