Mollie Devereaux and JR Caldwell rounded out the 2025 Riata Championships with the #8.5 win for $145,700 after roping four head in 41.57 seconds Sept. 28.
Devereaux, riding a proxy horse, and Caldwell on Metallic To A Te by Metallic Gray were waiting at high call when the short round took an interesting turn. The Oklahoma lady, however, was staying in her own lane, focusing on their run.
“I kind of stayed out back for a little bit through all the announcing, I didn’t even listen to any of the payouts or times or anything,” Devereaux said. “Just kind of sat back there and said a little prayer, let go, let God and let it be. So it worked out. It’s what I normally do. Do the best you can with what you draw and move forward with that. So it was good. We drew a good steer. He did a good, too.”
Caldwell, on the other hand, was watching the short round unfold and knew a clean run would do the trick. They sealed the deal with a 10.67-second run.
Unofficial Riata Championship Results
“I was just kind of watching the roping, and I seen it falling apart and just knew that if we just go make a clean run, it would be a run,” Caldwell, of Valley View, Texas, said. “We’ll get some kind of check and at the end of the day, we’re just thankful we can make it to the short round and give God all the glory. If it works out for us, great. We had a great steer, she got out perfect, turned a great handle. I tracked him, seemed like it was short but it was probably a country mile, and roped him, leaned back and loved it.”
The Riata #8.5 Championship was a huge win for Devereaux and her 2010 proxy gelding RH Kings Gold. Devereaux is a woman of many talents with hands in multiple industries. A landman in the oil and gas industry, Devereaux also sells some real estate and raises bucking stock, all while roping and hauling her 7-year-old son is to junior rodeos. With a long history and deep ties to RH Kings Gold, the win was a relief.
“My sister-in-law, her parents actually raised that horse,” Devereaux said. “She ran barrels on him until I bought him as an 8-year-old. My brother started him a little on the heading—he was still kind of green when I got him. But he’s got so much run, he’s so fast. He’s been a blessing to have, too. I’ve said he has come close to some big checks and I’ve let him down a time or two, and I told my brother earlier this week that this horse deserves to win something big because he’s that good. I’m glad that I finally held my end up because he does every time. He’s so good.”
Devereaux and Caldwell’s partnership extends beyond jackpotting. Devereaux bought Caldwell’s 2020 gelding as a 2-year-old out of the Cudd Sale in Woodward, Oklahoma, and Caldwell purchased him from Devereaux two years ago.
“We actually had lost a few horses the year before, so we’re looking to restack and bought him and another one,” Devereaux explained. “He’s always been pretty good to be around, and we had a few that we were hauling and going. So, I thought, well we need to cut down on the feed bill. And JR bought him, and I guess the rest is history there.”
Caldwell rode Metallic To A Te at the 2024 Riata as a 4-year-old, and quickly realized he wasn’t ready. Caldwell went back to the drawing board, putting some more work and training into the gelding, making a world of difference. Since then, Caldwell has seen Metallic To A Te turn into a phenomenal horse and will actually have him in the Riata Showcase Horse Sale this December in Las Vegas.
“I roped all the time about 15 years ago, and I quit,” Caldwell said. “And two and a half years ago I came back, and at 50 years old I’ve had to work my ass off. You’re slower, and you got to work. I sent him to Jarvis Anderson for 90 days reining training, and it made a world of difference in him. He’s a lot better horse.”
Stepping away wasn’t an easy choice, per se, for the race horse trainer, but it was necessary. The comeback has also had its challengers, making the Riata win even sweeter.
“I train race horses for a living, and I got busy training race horses and living life and just didn’t have time,” Caldwell admitted. “And I’m a competitor; I like to win. I’d go rope and it was like people would want to do it for fun. I don’t want to do it for fun. I want to win and compete and be a competitor. So I just didn’t have time to be competitive, and then finally, I had a successful race horse training career and have been able to rope a little bit more. I’ll never miss another one.”
