Crushin it: Ty Erickson's Finding Meno Earns Horse of the Year Honors

Qualifying three cowboys to the National Finals Rodeo in 2024, Finding Meno "Crush" was selected by Erickson's peers for the coveted title

Casey St Blanc

One of the greatest honors in professional rodeo, the Horse of the Year awards were announced last week. I had the absolute pleasure of chatting with Ty and Cierra Erickson about Finding Meno “Crush,” the Horse of the Year in the steer wrestling. 

Cierra, who was shopping for prospects in January of 2015, has always purchased green horses to make into barrel and rope horses. “I found Crush on Facebook. He was four. I didn’t know the owner, Mark Curtis, but we had a mutual friend. I really liked his conformation photos and how he was bred. I drove down, did a vet check, and brought him home,” Cierra explained. 

“We were headed to Texas, so I left him with my dad and he ranched on him for probably two years. After that, I was teaching at the college in Cheyenne, Wyoming and I took him down there. Honestly, he was a really tough horse. I tried to make him a barrel horse and he just wanted to run straight. I had headed some steers on him and he always wanted to be really good in the box.”

While Cierra may not have always seen eye to eye with Crush, she knew his potential. “One of our college rodeo athletes saw me ride that horse day in and day out and she asked what I was going to do with him. I said 'He is going to be a bulldogging horse. I bet you he’s at the NFR in four or five years, because I know Ty is slow and takes his time training.’ That would’ve been 2018 and Ty took him to the NFR in 2019 and won the world on him. I bet her rodeo tickets over it and we laugh about it now!”

Crush had found his calling. Cierra said, “We never looked back. He has stayed the same trip since the very beginning. Ty knew he was going to be a high caliber horse. By the time we got him to the NFR, I don’t think he had even been to 30 rodeos.”

Ty and Crush / Photo provided by Cierra Erickson

On receiving the honor for two different horses that have been so instrumental in his career, Ty said, “There are so many great horses, it’s just an amazing accomplishment and such an honor being a rider and a trainer to have one of your horses recognized. We put so much effort into it and to be able to make horses of that caliber is so much fun and so rewarding.”

Ty told us the little known story of how Crush got his name, “He’s by a sire named Finding Nemo. The turtle on that movie, his name is “Crush.” He’s just like “heyyy dude,” but when he decides to go downstream, he hauls butt. And that’s exactly Crush’s personality. He’s just kinda laid back until it’s time to do his job and then he hauls butt.”

Of course, even the best have their quirks.

“The summer before Ty took him, I had hauled him some to season him. He dug holes everywhere. Really big holes. He quickly learned what hobbles were. I don’t know how many thousands of miles he’s been in the trailer and he happily gets in the trailer, but he will paw a hole in one. Anytime you take Crush somewhere, you have to take the hobbles with you,” Cierra laughed. 

Cierra told us, “It’s been really fun to have a friendship with his breeder and he comes to the finals every year and watches him. His race trainer Monty Arrossa is one of the biggest trainers in quarter horse racing and he’s actually come to the NFR to see him as well. It’s been fun to get other people involved.”

“We are very thankful to get to share his story and enjoy the ride while we can,” Cierra said.