JR Marshall and Steviesprideandpearl clinched the 2025 Royal Crown Limited Heading title, garnering $7,590 Feb. 8.
Marshall and the 2020 stallion by Stevie Rey Von out of One Time Pearl by One Time Pepto took home the $6,030 average win with a 586.14 on four. Marshall’s connection to the stallion, which he partners on with Jay Anthony, runs deep, having ridden his dam One Time Pearl long before he hit the ground. Marshall has owned Steviesprideandpearl since he was 6 months old, and together they’ve learned a thing or two about survival over the last five years.
“There’s a lot of times I don’t have anyone to rope with,” Marshall said. “Katie’s (his wife) busy with the kids at school and stuff like that, and so I’ve lead steered on him, done what I could and hauled out when I could. And I’ve just used him to make a living a lot. He’s worked the sale barn and tagged calves, and Jay knew I didn’t have very many horses. When I moved in training, I was going to help a guy with some cattle. I didn’t have any work. I had two customer horses or three. And so I tagged calves on him, and that’s when I realized he was fast.”
Marshall and Steviesprideandpearl kicked off the Royal Crown with a 142.89 in Round 1, followed by a 146.83 in Round 2. They continued to get better throughout the day, winning third in Round 3 with a 148.05 and second in the short round with a 148.10 to seal the deal on the aggregate title. Marshall and Steviesprideandpearl picked up $1,092 for sire Stevie Rey Von’s owners at the Fults Ranch and $468 for breeder Michael Pressley.
Marshall had ARHFA World Champion Andy Holcomb heeling for him, making the win even more special. When Marshall was still living in California before moving back to Oklahoma, he spent as much time as possible at Holcomb’s place in Aromas, learning everything he could from him. Marshall credits Holcomb for getting him for his hand in this success.
“He’s always been positive no matter what, and he’s taught me a lot about how to talk to your customers and stuff,” Marshall explained. “To be real straight up from the beginning so that no one’s disappointed. He’s done that for me, and there’s times that he’s been too busy and hasn’t been able to help me (at a show), and I’ve never had luck unless he helped. He’s never missed one at a show for me; that’s Andy.”
Prior to entering the rope horse industry, Marshall rode race horses and jumpers before eventually getting into the cow horse industry. It was then that he realized how much he enjoyed roping and that he wanted to be home with his family more, so he pursued the rope horse industry. They years spent in other disciplines, however, have greatly impacted his journey into this realm.
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“I didn’t start roping until I was in my 30s or late 20s–and I’m 40,” Marshall said. “And so it’s made all the difference in my deal. I’ve got a lot better horses because of the background. I sold some cow horses that weren’t really good enough as cow horses, so we roped on them and I was able to rope on them because I had them as cow horses.”
