The top-earning horse of the 2026 Old West Futurity is a homebred.
DT Hickorys Evita is a small mare—about 14.2 hands—and DT Horses’ Dean Tuftin, who raised her out of one of his best mares, gave her the extra time a smaller filly needed before she ever went down the arena.
“He told me the first day I saw her, ‘Yeah, she’s a little small, but you know what? She deserves a chance,’” said Jeremy Buhler, who rode her to the 6-&-under heeling championship and $80,000 at Heber City, Utah. With go-round money, Evita finished the week at $88,000—the highest total of any horse at the futurity.
She is by Hickory Holly Time out of Slynking Sugar Whiz, owned and bred by DT Horses, LLC, and she won with a 907.77.
Buhler showed her first at Scottsdale after riding her only a handful of times—“that’s Dean’s horse,” he said—and at Heber she got stronger run to run.
“She’s a good little gritty mare,” Buhler said. “She just pins her ears and goes to the cow. She literally got better every run. She’d pin her ears and try her guts up.”
He credited the program more than the mare’s scope.
“It’s honestly no shortcuts,” Buhler said. “There’s no drugs, there’s no shortcuts, there’s no mashing to make them do it. It’s literally putting the time in and giving them exactly what they need to stay bought in. Then you can come here and just go rope.”
The box, he said, was the one place the mare had to grow—and the fix was on him, not her.
“That was probably one of my bigger personal wins of the day,” Buhler said. “Every horse I had was good in the box.”
For a smaller mare, taking the jerk could be a question. Buhler said it isn’t, because of how she’s built and how she’s ridden.
“That comes 100% to confidence,” Buhler said. “I’ve ridden horses that are 1,150, 1,200 pounds and they get pulled around on the end of it. But when they’re confident and their weight’s in the right spot on their hind end, and you’re dallying at the right time, if they want to jerk the steer, they will.”
DT Hickory Evita’s championship was also the headline of a banner week for her sire. Hickory Holly Time was the top-earning stallion of the futurity at $119,215 on six head, almost all of it on the heel side, and Evita’s $88,000 led that charge.
She also wasn’t the only DT Horses heel prospect making noise for Buhler, either.
Buhler pointed to stablemate DT Hickory Stinger—already a $60,000-plus earner—as the next one up.
“He’s waiting for his day,” Buhler said. “His day’s coming.”
Futurity Heeling — Full Results
2026 Old West Futurity (6-&-Under), Heber City, Utah. Average (aggregate) standings by division, plus go-rounds. Divisions are nested; a horse may appear in more than one. Full-week total = average money + go-round money.
Open (average)
| Pl | Horse | Sire × Dam | Rider | Owner | Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DT Hickorys Evita | Hickory Holly Time × Slynking Sugar Whiz | Jeremy Buhler | DT Horses, LLC | $80,000 |
| 2 | Rockk Star | Peptoboonsmal × Aristocratic Star | Paul Eaves | X Performance Horses | $21,513 |
| 3 | Rw Shining Dreams 1 | Big Shine In Cowtown × Fols Dream Of Cash | Jeremy Buhler | Jeremy Buhler | $17,211 |
| 4 | Rubys Stylish Cat | Smooth Talkin Style × Rubys Metal Cat | Paul Eaves | X Performance Horses | $15,059 |
| 5 | Knd Metallic Samuel | Metallic Payday × Senoritas Awkan | Kollin VonAhn | Kollin VonAhn | $11,832 |
| 6 | DT Holly Time Ruby | Hickory Holly Time × Playin With Rubies | Dakota Kirchenschlager | DT Horses, LLC | $9,681 |
| 7 | Smart Frisky Pepto | Psalm 91 × Sassynfrisky | Paul Eaves | Colton & Preslea Mccarley | $8,605 |
| 8 | Rr Gold Starr | Gunners Special Nite × Belle Starr Dun It | Trevor Brazile | Relentless Remuda LLC | $7,530 |
| 9 | Mydiamonds R Special | Whizkey N Diamonds × Gunnersspecialsister | Junior Nogueira | Junior Nogueira | $6,454 |
| 10 | Wont Stopp Believin | Dont Stopp Believin × Cats R Good Nus | Shay Carroll | Tanner Darst | $5,378 |
| 11 | Df Legends Pridenjoy | Stevie Rey Von × Gunna Be A Legend | Andy Holcomb | Kullen & Danielle Burk | $4,303 |
Intermediate (average)
| Pl | Horse | Sire × Dam | Rider | Owner | Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Smokedcha | Cr Gotcha Covered × Smokin Tap | Cade Rice | Thad W York | $17,292 |
| 2 | Df Legends Pridenjoy | Stevie Rey Von × Gunna Be A Legend | Andy Holcomb | Kullen & Danielle Burk | $13,833 |
| 3 | Pale Liberty | Pale Face Dunnit × Lil Miss Pepto | Andy Holcomb | Jamie Walters | $10,375 |
| 4 | Not Today Karen | Metallic Malice × Quick And Sweet | Jason Warner | Jason Warner | $8,300 |
| 5 | Betshesawoodenheart | Bet Hesa Cat × Gay Wooden Heart | Casey Hicks | Jared Gary | $6,917 |
| 6 | Chicsfrozenluvaffair | Sg Frozen Enterprize × Chics Love Affair | Cole Davison | Kaleb / Nicole Driggers | $5,533 |
| 7 | Little Chexy Cat | Catscratchfever × Wjc Poco Chexy Girl | Blaine Ketscher | Jackson Griggs | $4,150 |
| 8 | Oops Im Fine | One Fine Vintage × Little Oop | Andy Holcomb | Kevin Wilkinson | $2,767 |
Limited (average)
| Pl | Horse | Sire × Dam | Rider | Owner | Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Betshesawoodenheart | Bet Hesa Cat × Gay Wooden Heart | Casey Hicks | Jared Gary | $12,687 |
| 2 | Lil Metallic Hootowl | Metallic Cattack × Kt Martina Olena | Logan Vander Hamm | Wilson Cattle LLC | $9,515 |
| 3 | Metallic Hot Mess | Metallic Cat × Flat Baroque | Jayde Slade | John Reed | $6,343 |
| 4 | No Messing Around | Hickory Holly Time × Hott Mess | Tyler Manion | Chad &/Or Krista Upham | $3,172 |
Go-rounds
- Round 1: DT Hickorys Evita (Jeremy Buhler) $4,000 · DT Hickorys Stinger (Jeremy Buhler) $2,000
- Round 2: DT Hickorys Evita (Jeremy Buhler) $4,000 · Hat Six Meow (Cade Rice) $2,000