Coming off of his first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo qualification last year, Coleby Payne looks to be headed to his second-straight Super Bowl of Rodeo in 2025. If he stays the strong course he’s started this season, he’ll be there with two different human partners on the heading side. But one special horse has had everything to do with his recent-times rodeo success.
The 16-year-old bay’s registered name is Cut Off My Spots. Coleby, who’s 26, calls him Coon, and he’s the horse he earned that first back number on heeling behind Clay Smith.
“I rode a good young horse that I’ve since sold at maybe a dozen smaller circuit rodeos last year, but rode Coon pretty much everywhere else,” said Payne, who calls Stephenville, Texas home. “I also rode Coon at the Finals, and he was really good in the Thomas & Mack. He never got in my way, or took a throw away from me. As always, he was super forgiving and let me take another swing if I felt out of whack, so we could stay in the average.”
After about a $65,000 winter with Smith this year, Payne switched gears and started roping with Jr Dees at Guymon in May. Their partnership is still pretty new. But Coleby and Coon go way back.
“I bought him from Rhen Richard as a 3-year-old, then sold him to Dustin Davis when he was 6,” Payne said. “I bought him back from Rich Skelton in March of 2022, when he was 13. Coon was a nice young horse when I sold him. But I had no business trying to make a heel horse on my own back then. I was young, too. I had some older horses that were damn good horses, and Double D needed one. So I sold him.
“It didn’t take long when I got out here rodeoing to realize I needed speed and all the extra stuff to get where I wanted to go. I needed more than an average horse. I needed a game changer. It took a little time before the light switch came on. I didn’t just buy Coon and set the world on fire. I finished in the top 20 when I got him, and that was the first year I came close to making the NFR (Coleby roped with Lightning Aguilera in 2022, and started roping with Smith in 2023).”
Coon’s greatest trait according to Coleby is his track-star speed.
“He has good footspeed,” Payne said. “The harder setups where you’re on the chase—like Salinas and Cheyenne—are Coon’s specialty. But he’s good everywhere, and he’s also super forgiving. You could crossfire 100 times, and he’s never, ever going to get tight.”
Payne describes his own style as “consistent.”
“There are times I wish I was a little bit more aggressive, but the way I rope I shouldn’t make any mistakes,” he said. “Coon’s a good match for me, because I’m not afraid to ride him anywhere. I know every move he’s going to make, because I’ve ridden him so much. All my big wins that meant something to me came on this horse, so I have a lot of confidence in that. He’s great everywhere. And I’ve let guys ride him over the years, and everybody who’s gotten on him has done good on him. He’s pretty simple.
“Coon’s an overachiever and has tons of energy. You don’t lead him. He leads you. And he’s kind of a pest. If you’re giving him a bath, he’s going to try to take the hose away from you. He’ll follow you around if he thinks he’s going to get a treat. Coon’s a handful when the lights come on at a rodeo until you get him in the box. Getting him from the tent to behind the boxes at the NFR is a chore. He looks like a parade horse. But it’s game time when we get in the box.”
Coon finished second only to Patrick Smith’s threepeating Turbo (Kadabra King) in the 2024 Nutrena Heel Horse of the Year presented by American Quarter Horse Association voting. The four-legged one-two punchers are now trailer mates.
“I bought Turbo from Patrick on March 1st this year, and now I feel like I have the best of both worlds,” Coleby said. “Coon might not be the flashiest, but he’s never going to cost you money and he’s going to give you a chance every single time. Turbo just looks badass how he does it. He drags his ass, and looks fancy.”
Coleby and Turbo, who’s 15 now, also have some history.
“Patrick and I have been good friends since I was a little kid,” Payne said. “I bought a horse from him when I was 12. My good horse colicked in 2020, and Patrick offered me the choice of riding Turbo or Rooster. I liked Turbo back then, and told Patrick if he ever thought about selling him, I’d love to have first shot. For me to have him now feels meant to be.
“I like a fast, shorter-strided horse, and Coon has all of the above. Turbo has a little above average speed. He’s not the fastest horse I’ve ever ridden, but he has his own way of getting to the right spot every time.”
He’s also taking some of the weight off of Coon’s back.
“Right now, I’d say I’m riding Coon and Turbo 50-50,” Coleby said. “When things are happening fast, I’m riding Turbo. He gets the call at most of the one-headers. At the big outdoor arenas, like Cheyenne, Salinas, Prescott, Pecos and Sheridan, I’m riding Coon. It was pretty equal this summer.
“I’d looked at some nice young horses before I bought Turbo, but for a little bit more money I could buy the finished product and have no doubt. In everything I do, I’m going to be all-in or I’m not going to do it. I want to set myself up to win every single time, and these horses have everything to do with my success. Both of these horses will be ridden at the NFR this year. I just don’t know which one I’ll ride yet, so I haven’t made any commitments.”
