The Riata Championships kicked off with its $200,000-added Riata Open, with Cash Duty riding Metallic Katrina and Dylin Alhstrom riding DD Denvers Badger to the title, worth $72,600 for their time of 38.22 on five head.

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They also placed third in the overall fast-time from the qualifying rounds with a 6.37, worth $2,500.

Metallic Katrina—by Metallic Gray out of Aristocrat Goldseeker by Herman Goldseeker—is a 2019 gray mare that 21-year-old Weimer, Texas header Duty hadn’t run a steer on before getting to Guthrie and roping at first-out in the Riata.

“I’ve got to see the horse go practicing a few times, but I’ve never gotten to ride her until today,” Duty, This is the first time team one. It’s a little scary, but that just goes to show how easy and how good she is. I’ve never gotten to be on her back.”

The mare—consigned to this December’s Riata Stallion Showcase Horse Sale Dec. 8 at the South Point Equestrian Center in Las Vegas—is owned by TL Horse Holding LLC and was bred by Cudd Ranch.

“Trent Hartley owns her and they had a guy break, but Jace did all the roping on her pretty well,” Ahlstrom, who set up the deal for Duty to ride the mare, said. “And she’s just one of those mares that just wants to be good all the time. She’s a good horse.”

Utah’s Ahlstrom, 26, was new to his mount, too, but the horse wasn’t a freshman at the Lazy E despite being just 5. DD Denvers Badger by DD Docs Irish Badger out of Denver Red Buck daughter Miss Frosty Red Buck came from the late, great NFR switchender and belongs to former Resistol Rookie of the Year Caleb Hendrix.

“Quinn Kesler trained him, rode him last year and then a good friend of mine, Caleb Hendrix, bought him,” Ahlstrom said. “And the horse I was supposed to ride and kind of fell through a week ago and I was with Caleb in the truck, and he said, ‘Just take him. He’s good enough.’ And so he’s so easy. Just simple. Quinn and Caleb’s done a great job with him. He’s so good. The Double Dollar horses are so easy, everybody can get along with them. I mean from the Open to down, they placed on same horse here last year. He’s just simple. “

Those two horses stayed solid over the grueling five head on strong cattle and a longer start at the E, including a Round 3 run that tested the horses’ minds with some trick-dallying by Duty.

“Our third one was pretty hairy,” Ahlstrom admitted. “It was a little rough, but it was a ‘just survive’ moment.”

Regardless, they drew a good steer in Round 4 that let them edge out the rest of the field to enter the short round high-back with 8 seconds and change to move to the lead ahead of returning champs Jake Smith and Douglas Rich.

“I like to just have to catch the cow, because my thought about it is if somebody told me I could come out here and run one steer for as much money as there is, who wouldn’t want to come run one steer and just have to catch?” Duty said. “I would love to do that every day. I like to throw fast.”

When they came tight in 7.62, a summer of tough-luck rodeoing washed away with the Riata payday.

Pro Futurity Total Payoff: $350,000

Incentive Head Horse

Incentive Heel Horse