Kenna Francis won $66,000 at the Premier Women’s Rodeo on a head horse named JM Doc O Jeffro—a horse that Clay Tryan rode at his last NFR.

Tyler Tryan has won well over $300,000 in the last six months on a yellow horse named Cowboys Famous Guy.

And both horses? They were part of a trade via none other than heading’s premier horse-swapper: Kaleb Driggers.

The trade

Clay Tryan had Hulk—JM Doc O Jeffro on his papers—and Driggers had Cowboys Famous Guy. When Tryan slowed his rodeo schedule, he and Driggers swapped. Hulk went to Driggers, who—sold him to Colorado’s Justin Smith, who sent him on to Chris Francis. Cowboys Famous Guy went to Tryan, who put him under his son Tyler.

“It’s one of those trades that just happened,” Clay Tryan said. “And everybody’s happy with what happened.”

The horse-swapper

Driggers’ reputation for moving horses isn’t accidental.

“Growing up my dad always had a couple colts around that he would train for us to ride and I guess that just kind of took root with me,” Driggers said. “In my teens I always kept outside horses every summer to ride so I could afford to go to the rodeos and jackpots. And then that carried over into after I graduated and started rodeoing but I found out that I would rather own the horses than train for someone else. So that kind of lead into what I do today. It is fun for me and I rope everyday so it kind of goes hand in hand. I enjoy getting horses and making them prettier and tuning them up and seeing what level of roper that it fits best.”

The Tryan-Francis trade isn’t the only one in his ledger. Driggers also sold Andrew Ward the brown gelding known as Biscuit—a horse Ward has built his ProRodeo career on as well as dozens of others at the top of the game.

“It brings me joy to see someone be so successful on a horse that I had, and Tyler Tryan has taken that to new heights this year,” Driggers said.

Hulk’s path to Kenna Francis

JM Doc O Jeffro is a 2012 brown gelding by Doc O Montana and out of JM Miss Ketchup, by Badger Starlight. He was bred by Jay Murnion in Montana, with Doc O’Lena breeding on top and Peppy San Badger on the bottom—a cutting and cow horse pedigree that has now produced a six-figure head horse.

Tryan bought him from Shawn Bessette in late 2022, just before the NFR, after his brother Brady tipped him off. Tryan was scrambling—his horses were hurt and one had died—so he flew to Montana, rode Hulk at the Wrangler Finals and bought him.

“He just felt real easy to ride,” Tryan said. “He kind of did everything pretty good and he’d rodeoed on him I think a little bit so it wasn’t like I was needing a horse to ride at the NFR because all my horses were hurt or one died and I literally did not have one horse to ride.”

After the NFR, Tryan started backing off rodeos. Tyler rode Hulk a little. Then the trade with Driggers happened. Driggers, in turn, sold Hulk to Justin Smith of Colorado — a mutual friend of his and Chris Francis’ — and Smith sent the gelding on to the Francis barn.

Driggers credited Smith for the pairing.

“Chris and Kenna are like family to me. They have always been so good to me, but to say I had a part in their pairing with Hulk would be unfair,” Driggers said. “I did have him at one time when I traded the yellow to the Tryans, but a mutual friend of Chris and I’s, Justin Smith, bought Hulk from me. Chris was needing a horse to use and Justin was gracious enough to allow them the opportunity to own that horse. He has went from the circuit rodeos to the NFR and now the PWR champion team roper with the handiest of them all, Mrs. Kenna.”

Chris rode Hulk for about a year before telling his wife, Kenna, he was going to sell.

“And I said, well I would really like to ride that one before you just decide to sell that one,” Kenna said. “So I rode that horse and I told him, I said, oh, we can’t sell this horse because this is probably my favorite horse that I’ve had in a really long time.”

Even with a barrier penalty on her second steer in Cowtown, Francis and Whitney DeSalvo rode Hulk to a $66,000 win at the Premier Women’s Rodeo.

“He never, ever does anything that is hard,” Francis said. “He always stays out to the front. He never takes my rope away. He scores every time, never, never makes a mistake.”

A horse that fits women

Hulk has a track record of fitting female ropers, dating back to Bessette’s girlfriend riding him in Montana.

“I know Shawn’s girlfriend rode him because after I bought him, she asked if she could even ride him up there at a couple ropings she was planning on riding him at,” Tryan said. “He was just a unique horse. I think anybody could ride him. I could ride him at the NFR and then a little kid I think could rope on him. I mean, he was just good in the box and did everything pretty dang good.”

Francis said the gelding’s style fit the slow-cattle setup at the Premier Women’s Rodeo.

“I felt like I was never, ever going to lose my rope at any time because sometimes in that building it’s hard because especially for us because the steers are slow and a lot of horses will drop straight back and it’s hard to keep your rope,” Francis said. “But at the same time, you don’t want them running too hard because the steers are pretty slow and you don’t want to set them up because we have done that multiple times in that building.”

To prepare, she had Chris bring up the practice steers belonging to their daughter, Karstyn—about 10 head Karstyn calls her “friends”—and roped on them ahead of the event.

Cowboys Famous Guy

Cowboys Famous Guy is a 2016 palomino gelding by Guys Casanova Cowboy and out of Tryin To Be Famous. He was bred by Wildwood Ranches. His sire is by Frenchmans Guy out of a Dash Ta Fame mare, and his dam is by Holland Ease—speed on every side of the pedigree.

He came from Logan Cullen, the Canadian heeler who won a stack of futurities on him and refused to sell when offers came in. But eventually, Driggers got the horse bought. Then, Tryan made the trade for the horse with his son in mind.

“I always liked the yellow how fast he was,” Tryan said. “I thought he was just unbelievably fast, maybe the fastest horse there is and it just seemed like no one really got along with him great for whatever reason. I could be wrong on that. And then I just took a chance. And then yeah, I bought him for Tyler because he was 17 at the time about to turn 18 and the yellow turned out to be perfect for Tyler. I think Tyler’s good at really riding him.”

The yellow is not a horse for everyone.

“He’s not a kid’s horse. I mean, I rode him in Oakdale at the rodeo and I practiced on him a few times,” Tryan said. “He’s a little hard to be around. He’s not really that calm in the box, but he can fly. He’s tall, so he maybe doesn’t look like it and Tyler still reaches on him. But if you just ask him to run to the steer, it feels like he’s the fastest horse I’ve ever rode.”

On Cowboys Famous Guy, Tyler Tryan won the 2024 Resistol Rookie of the Year title, finishing 19th in the PRCA world standings with $102,352. In 2026, he has won the Lone Star Shootout with Jake Long for $35,000 and a trailer, placed second at the Cervi with Levi Lord for $14,600, won the Live Like Ace Foundation Open for $25,000, won the Jr. BFI for $35,000, won the BFI with Lord at 42.21 on six head for $160,000—leading wire to wire — and has since added a win at the Broc Cresta Memorial with Trey Yates for $13,000 a man.

Asked what makes the combination work, Clay Tryan pointed to a specific skill.

“I think he does one thing unique that I don’t think anybody’s ever done,” Tryan said. “He can reach on a horse and can run. And when you can do that and you catch, it’s hard to beat.”

Right horse, right rider

The deal worked because the horses fit different operators. Cowboys Famous Guy is fast and demanding. Hulk is steady and forgiving.

“The yellow is no fun to ride unless you better be on your game,” Tryan said.

“Tyler and Kenna are winning the most,” Tryan added. “Honestly, if you swapped them horses, they wouldn’t have did it.”