When Colter Todd and his wife Carly picked out a yearling palomino filly from the Solo Select Online Sale four years ago, they weren’t shopping for a pro-level rodeo horse.
They were looking for something their kids could grow with—something that had potential. Fast forward to today, and that mare, registered as Barbiiedoll, is turning all kinds of heads as Todd has made every run this season on the “green” 2020 mare, leading the world standings and winning the first round at the California Rodeo Salinas and leading the Ogden Pioneer Days in Utah. She’s the mare that Todd got the $71,750 win at RodeoHouston 2025 aboard, and she’s only getting started.
A Bloodline with Bite
Out of San Juan Ranches‘ CD Diamond and SJR Oaks Natalie, Barbiiedoll carries the genetics of proven cow horses. Her pedigree reads like a who’s who of the performance horse world: CD Olena, Shining Spark, Dual Rey, Dual Pep—names that mean something in both reined cow horse and roping arenas.
“I think she’s kind of bred like Apolo,” Todd said of the sorrel gelding formerly ridden by Paul Eaves and Cole Davison to multiple NFR qualifications. “Carly’s pretty savvy on bloodlines. I don’t follow that stuff much, but she does.”
From “Kid Horse” to Rodeo Machine
Originally purchased with the Todd boys in mind—“so they’d have something to train and work on by the time they were in high school”—Barbiiedoll ended up with Colter because of something simple but rare: feel.
“She felt better than anything I’d ever started,” he said. “Not even trained, just rode young. She felt amazing. And when I watched video of her, I was like, ‘She actually looks more real than anything I’ve ever had.’”
What does “real” mean?
“She just wants to eat the steer,” Todd explained. “She’d stop better when she was greener—even more butt-draggy, more show horse-y. I didn’t have to set her up. She just did it.”
Learning Curve on the Road
Still just 5 years old, Barbiiedoll’s raw talent has kept her in Todd’s string while she matures under pressure.
“I’m still riding her kind of like a green one,” he said. “She reacts more than she predicts. She’s not getting to the same spot every time like the great ones do. But she’s getting closer.”
Todd gave Evelyn a chance to kick off her career at the Turquoise Circuit Finals behind Begay last November, sweeping the average and the year-end at the mare’s first rodeo.
“She did dang sure good,” he said. “I would say that situation was friendly. Begay did a good job of making it friendly. But she did good.”
From there, Todd took the mare to the Hondo Rodeo, in the Arizona Diamondback’s Phoenix stadium in front a packed concert crowd.
“That first steer was a little much—but then I felt like I adjusted and let her see the steer earlier where she could get comfortable,” Todd said. “But then on the second one, she was back to what she knew and settled in good—or I thought she worked good anyway.”
That learning curve didn’t stop the duo from shining when it counted. At RodeoHouston, one of the most pressure-packed setups in rodeo, she held her own to get the win across the extended tournament-style format and skyrocket the team to the top of the standings.
Now they’re leading the average at Ogden Pioneer Days with an 8.2 on two, showing she’s stringing runs together when it counts.
Outside the Arena
At home, Barbiiedoll—affectionately called “Evelyn” after a character in A League of Their Own—is a cow horse at heart. She thrives sorting cattle and lights up chasing something outside on the Todd’s Willcox, Arizona ranch.
“She just likes to get to the steer. Doesn’t matter how. She likes doing cool stuff,” Todd said.
Todd’s not the kind of guy to get sentimental over his horsepower, but still, Evelyn’s been the only horse he’s needed all season. No mount-outs, no backups.
The Road Ahead
She’s not “there” yet, Todd says. But the raw material is all there. Forgiving. Athletic. Smart. Talented.
“She’s not just a tool, but I wouldn’t say she’s family either,” he said with a shrug. “She’s just a really, really good one.”
