Oklahoma’s Steve Orth and the 5-year-old gelding Dual Oak E won the heel side at the American Rope Horse Futurity Association’s Sun Circuit March 6 in Scottsdale, Arizona, worth $10,320 for their composite score of 920.42. 

Dual Oak E and Orth also won the first round with a score of 230.54, worth $1,300, all with the help of trainer Casey Hicks on the head side. 

The son of Olena Oak out of Jason Rey Of Light was started by California trainer Casey Branquinho in the cow horse, but he got more size to him than the average cow horse. He went to Texas trainer Blake Toliver, and then current owner Sara Hudson brought him to Orth to show last November. 

“He’s got a lot of cow, he’s easy, and he has a lot of ass drag to him,” Orth said of the gelding whom he showed for the first time in Scottsdale. “He’s just a really nice horse.”

The horse was a late entry to the futurity because he’d been for sale, but the buyers backed out days before was time for Orth to leave for Arizona. Now, he won’t be leaving the Orth Ranch rig. 

“I had taken him to a World Series in Guthrie a few weeks ago, and a lot of people noticed him,” Orth said. “He was going to sell, but now after this, I’m going to show him. He’s qualified in the heeling at the World Show, and when I get home from here I’m going to start heading on him. I want to head and heel at the World Show on him, and I’ll rope on him at the futurities.”

The gelding was an NRCHA money earner as a 3-year-old, and his sire, Olena Oak, is the NRCHA’s all-time leading money earner with $386,000-plus won, as well as two World’s Greatest Horseman titles with Ron Emmons. 

“I watched Olena Oak show, and they look a lot alike,” Orth said. “That was a dang sure nice stud. When you won as much as he did in the cow horse, that’s like winning a million in the cutting.” TRJ