Larry and Bobbie Rice’s Flag Ranch will have four representatives of their illustrious breeding program in the ARHFA heading short round when it kicks off at 7 p.m., ridden by the likes of Miles Baker, Kaleb Driggers and Colby Lovell.
At sixth call, Baker will show Lunchbox, owned by Ryan and Kristen Morrow. The 2019 gelding out of Young Laneys Paint by Smart Painted Lena has won $82,650 according to QData, including a third-place win at the Riata Championships in the Open in 2024. He’s a 701.25 on three.
“Larry Rice was ahead of his time, crossing the race horses on the cow horses,” Baker said. “He was taking good cow horses on good race horses and crossing them so he’d have really good ranch horses, and they ended up turning out to be good rope horses. Now we’re all trying to breed the same horse he had a vision for 10 years ago. We’re seeing the outcome of it now. There’s so many he bred and raised because we’ve had to go buy them from him because we wasn’t raising them ourselves yet.”
At eighth call, Driggers is on Blowin In Time, a mare he owns with partner Jake Cooper in Kingpin Genetics. She’s a 4-year-old mare by One Fabulous Time, who stands at the Lazy E, out of Blowing Withthe Wind by Fury Of The Wind. The mare has no performance earnings to date. She’s a 698.46 on three.
“The one we have is just a good cross,” Driggers said. “She’s got sting to her—in a good way. She can run so I’m not scared to be off the barrier a little bit. She’s got really good footwork. The most important part to me is that she has the speed but doesn’t get long through the turn. She collects up and uses her feet right.”
Relentless PYC, the champion 4-year-old of the Old West Futurity, will be 11th call with Baker with a score of 697.86. She’s won $106,521 per QData in her short career already, all with Baker. By First Prize Diver out of Chars Gun by Playgun. She’s owned by the Relentless Remuda, Solo Select and Bob Tonkin.
Lovell will ride Pepinstep at 13th call with a 697.2, a 2018 son of One Time Pepto out of Better Sue by Bet On Me. The stallion won the Riata’s #14.5 in 2023, and he’s already got $100,593 won with very limited hauling for owners at the Theorem Ranch.
“Mr. Larry studies the game,” Lovell said. “There’s an art to breeding horses and he’s got it penciled in.”
The Flag Ranch also bred Chics Magic Corona, the gelding Rhen Richard won the 2022 ARHFA World Championship aboard.
