Three days into the 2026 Gold Buckle Futurities Spring Showdown at Hardy-Murphy Coliseum, one horse has built a $12,000 cushion at the top of the leaderboard, the get-of-sire race is a two-horse contest, and Cody McCartney leads the rider standings by less than $2,000.
Two days of competition remain. Saturday’s maturity heeling and limited and non-pro heading are still to come, followed by Sunday’s futurity heading and limited and non-pro heeling. With heading and heeling drawing the deepest fields, several of these leaderboards will move before the buckles are handed out.
Here’s where things stand through Friday.
The Horse Race: Thiccthirty Sets the Pace
Thiccthirty, a Metallic Cattack gelding out of Nurse Connie owned by Blake A. Cavataio, has won $58,002 across two events — the futurity breakaway and the futurity tie-down. The futurity-aged gelding swept the average in both classes, won round-money in five of six rounds and took both Elite Breeders Incentive checks. No other horse is within $12,000.
Fly Mister, a SJR Diamond Mist gelding out of Highly Unlimited, vaulted into second on Friday with a near-perfect futurity heeling — winning the average, the intermediate average, both the Open and Intermediate Elite Stallions Incentives and the Elite Breeders Incentive for $45,290 in a single day.
| Rank | Horse | Sire x Dam | Total Earned |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thiccthirty | Metallic Cattack x Nurse Connie | $58,002 |
| 2 | Fly Mister | SJR Diamond Mist x Highly Unlimited | $45,290 |
| 3 | Tom Cats R Popular | Metallic Cattack x Lotta Popular Grace | $32,404 |
| 4 | Tps Classic Whiskey | Whoze Your Daddy x Four Chex Classic | $31,490 |
| 5 | Aldo The Apache | Kit Kat Sugar x Dmac Easter Bunny | $29,997 |
| 6 | Dont Quote Me | Taggline x BCR Popular Scotti | $27,249 |
| 7 | Kryptoniite | Metallic Cattack x Fun N Fancy Free | $27,247 |
| 8 | RR Gunners Affair | Gunners Special Nite x Cowgirl Affair | $26,200 |
Sires: Metallic Cattack on Top, SJR Diamond Mist Closing
Metallic Cattack has three horses in the top seven of the leaderboard — Thiccthirty, Tom Cats R Popular and Kryptoniite — and his combined progeny earnings of $117,653 nearly double the next sire on the list.
That cushion is not as comfortable as it looked Thursday. SJR Diamond Mist closed nearly $30,000 of ground in a single day, almost entirely on Fly Mister’s Friday performance.
| Rank | Sire | Earnings | Top-Earning Get |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Metallic Cattack | $117,653 | Thiccthirty, Tom Cats R Popular, Kryptoniite |
| 2 | SJR Diamond Mist | $60,122 | Fly Mister, SJR Calipso Mist |
| 3 | Gunners Special Nite | $44,830 | RR Gunners Affair, This Star Is Special |
| 4 | Smooth Talkin Style | $40,080 | Hez Talkin Smack, Rubys Stylish Cat, Mr Suavemente |
| 5 | Kit Kat Sugar | $32,547 | Aldo The Apache, Kitt Katt Kidd |
| 6 | Whoze Your Daddy | $31,490 | Tps Classic Whiskey |
| 7 | Stevie Rey Von | $31,447 | Evereything, Dually Von Rey, BI Plyitsteviegirl, SLR Stevie Chick |
| 8 | Taggline | $27,249 | Dont Quote Me |
| 9 | Winners Version | $25,025 | Marias Version, Sammis Version |
| 10 | High Brow Cat | $23,658 | Kitty Corona, We Fly High |
Breeders: San Juan Ranch Takes Over
San Juan Ranch had quietly placed two horses in the top earners by Thursday — Queen Of Sparkles and SJR Calipso Mist. Adding Fly Mister to the ledger pushed the operation past Solo Select Horses LLC for the breeder lead.
| Rank | Breeder | Earnings |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Juan Ranch | $79,492 |
| 2 | Solo Select Horses LLC | $58,002 |
| 3 | Randy French | $32,404 |
| 4 | Tim or Paula Schaack | $31,490 |
| 5 | Terry Riddle | $29,997 |
| 6 | Bailey or Tia Moore and Cody M | $27,249 |
| 7 | Ty M Smith | $27,247 |
| 8 | Lil Equine LLC | $26,200 |
| 9 | Chad Richard | $25,025 |
| 10 | Beechfork Ranch | $23,658 |
Owners: X Performance Horses Stacks the Stalls
X Performance Horses came into Friday outside the top 10 and exited the day in first. The operation owns three horses that all hit the futurity heeling money — Fly Mister, Rubys Stylish Cat and round-one winner Hes A Rowdy Rebel.
| Rank | Owner | Earnings |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | X Performance Horses | $61,530 |
| 2 | Blake A. Cavataio | $58,002 |
| 3 | Jerad Wittwer | $44,830 |
| 4 | Chance Bradley Thiessen | $32,404 |
| 5 | Fallon Avery | $31,490 |
| 6 | A&C Racing And Roping | $31,330 |
| 7 | Beau Amber Peterson | $29,997 |
| 8 | Bailey or Tia Moore | $27,249 |
| 9 | Earnhardt/Relentless/Solo | $27,247 |
| 10 | Treston Brazile | $25,378 |
Jerad Wittwer’s $44,830 came from two horses in two different events finishing in the average top two — RR Gunners Affair winning the maturity heading and This Star Is Special running second in the futurity heeling.
Riders: Cody McCartney Leads, Brazile and Cheyanne McCartney Stalk
Cody McCartney has won $54,959.50, anchored by Thiccthirty in the futurity tie-down and Icingonthedeal and Hez Talkin Smack in the maturity tie-down. Trevor Brazile sits second at $53,031 after winning the maturity heading average on RR Gunners Affair for $14,000 and finishing second in the futurity heeling average on This Star Is Special. Cheyanne McCartney is third at $52,330, riding Thiccthirty to the futurity breakaway average win and Evereything to second in the maturity breakaway.
The top three are separated by $2,629.50.
| Rank | Rider | Earnings |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cody McCartney | $54,959.50 |
| 2 | Trevor Brazile | $53,031.00 |
| 3 | Cheyanne McCartney | $52,330.00 |
| 4 | Beau Peterson | $42,092.00 |
| 5 | Colton McCarley | $39,240.00 |
| 6 | Marissa Boisjoli | $24,807.50 |
| 7 | Chance Thiessen | $24,342.00 |
| 8 | Andy Holcomb | $20,795.00 |
| 9 | Jackie Crawford | $20,500.00 |
| 10 | Myles Kenzy | $18,681.00 |
Rider totals reflect round wins, average and intermediate payouts in full plus the rider’s half of Elite Stallions and Elite Breeders Incentive checks. The other half of each incentive check goes to the stallion owner or breeder.
