Clint Summers’ 21-year-old WSR Hesa Alive—Transmission—has been nearly flawless in his 2025 NFR campaign—with Summers and partner Jade Corkill the only team with all seven steers down clean at 31.3 seconds on seven head.
Summers and Corkill are averaging 4.47 seconds per run, on pace to blow Tanner Tomlinson and Patrick Smith’s 2022, 53.0-second-on-10-head aggregate record out of the water. They’ve won $91,812 a man thus far, and they have $253,054 and $253,379 won on the year.
Transmission is the head horse at the heart of it all. He’s the second highest earning horse in team roping history—and the highest earning head horse ever with $566,636, including an American win with Kaleb Driggers and the 2024 aggregate title. Kadabra King, the dun gelding that Smith won the aggregate aboard in 2022 and Wesley Thorp won the world on in 2024, is the only horse with more in official QData career earnings at $644,408.
Origin Stories
Transmission came from the iconic Western States Ranches, a brainchild of the late Wes Adams by Hesa Sonofa Dun out of Smokes Alive by Smokin 45. He’s a paternal sibling to NFR and Riata stallion WSR Hesa Dunofa Lena, who stands at the Lazy E.
The sire line didn’t reveal its depth until years later, but the Adams family had hints early on.
“We didn’t know how great that sire was until now,” Jason Adams, who campaigned Transmission early on, said. “There’s been 10 or 12 that were just amazing. The other day, Randon broke the barrier to win the World Series Finale riding a half brother to Rooster—it’s a heel horse, they were heading on him. They win the consolation. If he don’t break the barrier they win the whole thing. My brother Randon is the guy. He plays dumb with it a little bit. He has good ones hanging around, and he won’t let you know it.”
Randon agrees the stud’s influence was broader than they realized in the moment.
“That was my dad’s cousin’s stud,” Randon said. “My dad bred to him in ’03. He bred maybe 10 or 11 mares to him that year. We crossed him on some running horses, and some cow horses too. We didn’t know what we had. They were all good minded, they could all run. My cousin got some of them too. My dad bought the stud in ’05 or ’06, and we bought race horse mares and kept crossing them on some cow mares, too, and they’re all good minded from the start.”
Transmission’s generation was the payoff of those decisions. Randon still rides several of the half brothers. They’ve all carried the same signature traits: speed, try, and the ability to work for anyone.
And from the beginning, everyone who swung a leg over Transmission understood he wasn’t ordinary.
Jason Adams was one of the first. He doesn’t pretend he made the horse. He’s quick to credit his dad and his brother Randon for what Transmission became.
“I’m extremely grateful and privileged to see that horse reach his full potential,” Jason said. “And I couldn’t be happier that it’s Clint and his family and Jade that are enjoying that success. He was my father’s favorite horse. Randon trained him, and Randon was kind enough to let me jockey him for a while. To see what that horse has been able to do for our family, our program, it was a culmination to see what we envisioned for the Western States program.”
Transmission never felt like a gamble to them. They expected him to be great. What’s satisfying now is watching the world see the same thing they did in the beginning.
“He hasn’t exceeded expectations because we always believed he was that good,” Jason said. “But it’s inspiring to see him reach his full potential. When he left our house, he could spin both ways, spin a hole in the ground. He was a freak athlete and a great horse in every way.”
The gelding’s early years were a full-family project. Wes and Randon bred him. Clay Logan took him as a 4-year-old and used him at AQHA shows. Tyler Merrill put rides on him. Dakota Kirchenschlager did too.
“Then when we got him back, Jay got back to scoring on him, and he took the time to get him to the next level,” Randon said. “Heelers want to run every one, and you get a header who will have the patience to do it. It was a match made in Heaven.”
“I get a lot of credit for that horse, but it’s really not deserved,” Jason argued. “I won Salinas on him barefoot as a 5-year-old. That year, when we took him, we’d have qualified for the NFR in eight rodeos if they’d counted Houston. They flagged us out for a crossfire at Filer to win it, we were 4.1 or 4.2. You could see it all there. The body of work was there to see that this horse would be special.”
Transmission had that same adaptability, even when he was green. He was also a handful—twice, the only two times in Jason’s life, he bucked him off.
“He was so big and athletic, and I had big spurs on I shouldn’t have,” Jason admitted. “Then, Randon took him the next day to a pasture roping and used him as a war horse. That deserves a portion of the credit, to why he ended up so good and so versatile. They put a ton of versatility time in the saddle on that horse. That was a cowboy’s horse. A ranch horse. He’s a chameleon.”
After Jason, Transmission went to JB James, who hauled him in the Mountain States Circuit. James used him as his main head horse for several seasons, and by the time Clint Summers tried him, Transmission had aged like fine wine.
The Ultimate NFR Head Horse?
By the time Transmission reached Summers, he was polished in every way that mattered. Clint had tried him once years before but didn’t end up buying him then. When Summers tried him again in 2021, the horse fit him immediately. Summers bought him from James and never looked back. He’s the only horse Summers has ridden in his four NFR appearances on the head side, including the NFR average title, stopping the clock in 61.5 seconds on 10 and earning $199,000. Transmission looked as sharp as he ever had. And he’s back again.
King of the Cowboys Trevor Brazile was all-in on Summers adding Transmission to his string, because he’s seen the same traits.
“He’s one of the rare horses I’ve never seen have any cheat,” Brazile said. “He will let you do your job however you choose to do it. You don’t have to prepare him any other way than how you ride him. He obviously scores amazing, he hauls ass. For a big horse, you usually don’t get all those things and be able to face like a freak too. It’s a rare combination.”
Now 21, Transmission hasn’t weakened. If anything, he’s more polished in the Thomas & Mack than he’s ever been.
Randon hasn’t sold many out of that line and doesn’t plan to start now.
“I want Clint to go win a gold buckle,” Randon said.
“It adds to the story to see Clint having the success he’s having with his wife and his young family,” Jason added. “I’m just a fan. I couldn’t be happier, and I deserve no credit for this. I was just lucky enough to be a part of it. The Salinas buckle, my son wore it to the rodeo, and he’s taking it to school on Friday for show and tell. We’re just happy to be a part of this story.”
What they have is a once-in-a-generation head horse—one with the heart of a ranch gelding, the mind of a seasoned show horse, and the resume of a legend. And in 2025, with Summers and Jade Corkill making history around him, Transmission is proving that the most remarkable part of his story might be the chapter he’s still writing.
