They say we’re lucky to experience a “once-in-a-lifetime horse,” and that “a great horse will change your life.” Chad Masters, who’s won well over $3 million between ropings and rodeos, gets that. And though he’s ridden so many good ones, Cody was “the one.” Cody headed to Heaven at 28 this spring. But not before being Chad’s game-changer, then living out his days as a beloved member of the Masters family. 

“We’ve all had the horse that gives us his life over and over again to provide a life for us that we never imagined would happen,” said Chad, who lives in Texas by way of Tennessee, and made 15 NFRs between 2003 and 2022. “My dad (Bobby) bought Cody as a yearling at the Pitzers (Pitzer Ranch Horse Sale) when I was in high school, and told me I could have him when he was my best horse. By the time he was 7, he was my best horse.

“Now I’m 45, and Cody was 28. He sure won me a lot, and now that I have a wife and four kids, he went back to the man who blessed me with him. Thank you, Lord, for such a great horse.”

Cody’s registered name was Ima Two Eyed Con. His dad’s name was Two Eyed Con, and his grandsire was Two Eyed Cody. Thus Cody’s nickname. 

Building a Championship Partnership

This horse—who graduated his way through the Chad Masters Training Program from the first ride as a 2-year-old on—was a heavyweight in Chad’s career highlights reel. Masters won his first of three NFR average titles riding Cody and heading for Allen Bach in 2006, and his first of two gold buckles in 2007 aboard his bay bullet. Together, Chad and Cody were a force, and all their cowboy contemporaries loved to watch them work. 

What Made Cody Different

“Every champion has a signature horse,” Clay Cooper said. “Cody was Chad’s signature horse that catapulted his career. Having rodeoed with Chad for a couple years, I know how much that horse meant to him, and how much confidence he had in him. Cody’s the one he talked about the most. 

“Chad won so much on Cody, and it wasn’t just a one-sided equation. He won on him at the big ropings and the big rodeos. Cody could do it all, and he let Chad do what he wanted to do. Cody was the kind of horse it takes for a header to hit that highest level—he could score and run, and was just a big, strong, athletic, good-looking son of a gun. Cody was the complete package.”

Luke Brown and Charly Crawford have lived a lot of life with Chad, and had front-row seats to The Chad and Cody Show. 

“Chad won everything on that horse, including the USTRC Finals a couple times (three, to be exact), the Wildfire a couple times and the world,” Luke said. “Cody was definitely Chad’s once-in-a-lifetime horse, and he was an amazing creature.

“Cody was freakishly fast, and was really, really strong off the corner and pulling the steer. He was super easy to rope on, and as honest as any horse has ever been. He was good-minded and easy to be around, and when you rode him, you always had a chance. The first year I made the NFR (2008), I had to fly to the short round at Greeley and got to ride Cody. I’d never ridden him before. I won the short round and second in the average on him with Monty Joe (Petska). 

“I didn’t ride Cody much, but watched him make a ton of runs. Chad and I have been a part of a lot of horses together, but Cody was a cool dude. I’ve never seen another one like him, that’s for sure.”

Lessons from a Great Horse

“I truly loved that animal,” Charly chimed in. “Cody was such a kind horse. Chad and I are good buddies, and I used to live with him. There was a time he told me to take Cody and rope on him for a month. I took him and roped on him at home and at some jackpots and rodeos, then I gave him back.

“Chad said he was having a hard time ignoring the things that don’t matter. When you train one, a horse will do things that drive you nuts. From the outside, I didn’t even notice those little things. I loved petting on him all the time. Cody was so easy, and I learned so much just getting to ride him. It was so good for me to learn what Chad put into his horses. Cody was a great one, and I got to feel that. 

“The one thing Cody would do was run off. I’d let my horses graze at the rodeos where there was grass. Cody would take off. I learned to just tie the lead rope a little longer with him. Because none of that mattered. Cody was good at Salinas, Cheyenne, Ellensburg, the BFI and the NFR. He was just one of those rare freaks that was good everywhere. I loved that horse, and learned so much from him. Cody was just a winner.” 

A Legacy That Lives On

Chad even cracked Cody back out at 22 in 2020—after years of semiretirement—when he needed him to help close the deal on that year’s NFR. The entire Western world was always watching when Chad nodded his head on Cody.

“He was an unbelievable head horse,” Clay Tryan said of Cody. “He was so fast, and was great to rodeo and jackpot on. We were in our prime together, and Chad and Cody were a force. They fit each other perfectly, and were great everywhere. 

“Chad had a long career, and had a lot of good horses. You don’t have that long and successful a career without knowing what you’re doing. Guys like him who ride good and train good get the most out of every horse. Chad maxes one out just by the way he does it. He deserved a horse like Cody, and together they were great.”

“There are great horses, and then there are horses like Cody,” said Trevor Brazile of the one who had his own pasture and the run of the Masters place. “The hardest part about the greatest ones is there’s never enough time. Cody was even more exceptional because he was great for so long. That’s like compounding interest on your career. 

“Cody always helped Chad win. All the great ones just want to be on your team. They make your job easier, not harder. Cody was always on Chad’s team.”  

—TRJ—