After taking home $100,000 for the 2025 ARHFA Old West Futurity Heeling title with Jeremy Buhler June 20, SLR Swinging Hickory is the rope horse futurity industry’s winningest mare on the heel side.
Prior to the Old West Rope Horse Futurity in Heber City, Utah, the 6-year-old mare by Hickory Holly Time out of Swingin Tule had $72,760 in lifetime QData earnings. Since joining the 2016 PRCA world champion’s program, SLR Swinging Hickory has seen big wins, including the 2024 Fall Gold Buckle Futurities 6-&-Under title. After her $100,000 payday, the mare is looking at over $172,000 in lifetime earnings. And while $100,000 is life-changing money for both Buhler and SLR Swinging Hickory, it’s more about the culmination of hours of dedication.
“It’s so much more to it,” Buhler said. “The money’s unbelievable. I mean, whenever I was rodeoing, you’d work your tail off all year long and then go to the NFR and hope to have a $100,000 NFR and call the year a success. So to get it in a day here, it’s amazing. But the difference to this for me is whenever I was rodeoing, it was over a long course of years, really working at it and building up. And then I really dedicated myself the last few years and worked really hard, but the thing with the futurity deal is your horse can be perfect at home and you show up and they green up. And whatever happens, there’s so many emotions that it’s pretty special.”
One of today’s premier rope horse trainers, Buhler was four deep in the Futurity Heeling short round: SLR Swinging Hickory at third callback, DT Hickorys Angus—who won Round 2—at fourth, DT Get Yer Mask On at fifth and SJR Diamond Ombre at 15th. Trying to win on four different horses, let alone rope on three back-to-back, takes a sound mind and short-term memory from Buhler.
“Well, it’s everything, and then it’s the emotions, right?” Buhler said. “So, I was helping JD (Yates, who won the Intermediate Futurity Heading) earlier this morning, and we had some success and then I missed one, screwed one up for him to win a bit more. So that was tough to get through that. And then my fifth callback I roped a leg on, and she probably deserved to win something too, but I was back-to-back-to-back. So it was just trying to breathe through it and just once one’s done, it’s over.”
With a 232.06 in the short round, SLR Swining Hickory topped the field with a 923.95. DT Hickorys Angus, who he won the Royal Crown 6-&-Under Heeling on in Buckeye this February, was right there with them, taking second in the average with a 923.67. What makes SLR Swinging Hickory, owned by Stump Lake Ranch & Cattle, deserving of the Old West title, as well as the winningest heel mare in the rope horse futurity industry? Her grit.
“She’s a gritty, tough thing,” Buhler said. “She’s a lot of horse. She tries every single time—you will not catch this mare not trying. And she’s been that way since Day 1. So to me, this is the dream. My buddy Todd, he said, ‘This mare’s really in the rough right here, but I feel something; there’s something special there. See if you feel it too.’ And I rode her around a little bit and I said, ‘Yeah, I think I feel it too.’ That was a couple of years ago, so it’s been a long journey. But I’m pretty happy with her.”
