Barrel Racing and Rodeo World Mourns the Loss of 4-Time NFR Qualifier

She was a record setter, 4-time National Finals Rodeo Qualifier and twice the Reserve World Champion.

TR Dashing Badger / Courtesy of TR Illuminator Cash Facebook

During the late 2000's to early 2010's, everyone knew Jill Moody and her stellar mount TR Dashing Badger. The grey mare was phenomenal to watch.

The duo made the trip to Las Vegas in December of 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2011 to compete at the National Finals Rodeo. During those four trips, the mare and her South Dakota jockey earned the esteemed NFR Average title twice.

They won multiple go rounds and set a then arena record for the fastest time on ten runs that had been held previously for 25 years. With all of the success and stellar runs, "Dolly" the grey 2000 mare by Mr Illuminator and out of TR Double Cash was the Reserve World Champion two times over.

On July 4, a social media post shared with the world that the talented mare had passed.

If you ever had the chance to be in the presence of the mare, you knew whe was special. She knew she was special. Things in Dolly's world went Dolly's way and that's just how she liked and expected it to be honest. That took a very special person to be her partner in the arena.

Dolly's owner, Harry Thomas knew that Jill Moody was Dolly's "person." From the time the mare was young, Jill stayed by her side. She took her all the way from a futurity horse to the NFR. There was a connection between the two that was undeniable. Jill loved Dolly with all of her quirks and demands, and Dolly certainly loved Jill, as evidenced by the success in the arena.

Jill's sister, Jana Griemsman said on social media, "She (Dolly) had a personality you had to know and love, like all champions...She was special. So special, and Jill knew. Dolly took all of us places we only dreamed about. She was life, and she was amazing!"

That just about says it all. Over the course of the mare's storied career she won more than $850,000 in a time where there weren't high dollar incentives and slot races. She earned every penny.

As the author of this story, I feel very fortunate as during the time Jill and Dolly were a winning pair, I got to be in both of their presence on a regular basis. In fact, Dolly even stayed at my house when Jill needed a lay over between rodeos. They say you know when you are in the midst of greatness, and you knew when she backed off the trailer that she was more than 'just a horse'.

When she came running through the gate, her ears were pointed forward looking for the first barrel and then she would tip her nose and wrap herself around them in a gritty, all try effort. There was no 'making' the mare do it. It was evident that she loved her job and she loved her jockey.

During one Fourth of July Cowboy Christmas run, Dolly and her jockey amassed nearly $30,000 over the 10 day period, again in a time where that was nearly unheard of. Cowboy Christmas was one of Dolly's favorite times to shine according to the Thomas family post and fittingly, Dolly chose when she was leaving this earth - just in time to have the best seat in the house for the Fourth of July run.

The social media page summed it up best, "I don't have the words to sum up what Dolly did for all of us. She was truly a life changing horse. Thank you for all that you gave us Dolly, fly high!"

A tip of the hat from all of us to Dolly, the Thomas family and certainly Jill Schimkat Moody who shared such an incredible athlete with all of us.