Multiple Champion and $4.3 Million Barrel Horse Sire Laid to Rest at Age 22

Some stallions are great in the arena and some stallions shine as sires, but this great palomino made his mark on both

Firewaterontherocks / Firewaterontherocks Facebook

A very special stallion known as "Happy" made his mark on the barrel racing industry, with multiple National Finals Rodeo qualifying offspring, arena record holders, and champions throughout the aged events and professional rodeos. FirewaterOnTheRocks was a son of the late, great Fire Water Flit and out of Rock N Roll Rona by Ronas Ryon. He was laid to rest over the weekend.

The stunning palomino was born in 2002 from a cross that was very special to his owner, Robyn Herring. Rock N Roll Rona was an off the track mare that Herring purchased to train for barrel racing and ultimately became her first futurity horse. The mare was a natural on the barrels and Herring felt if she crossed her on the right stallion, it would be a step in the right direction of breeding horses specifically to run barrels.

Fire Water Flit was already well-known as a producer in the barrel pen. Herring chose to breed Rock N Roll Rona to Fire Water Flit and FirewaterOnTheRocks proved her theory true - he had the perfect combination of traits to make an exceptional barrel horse.

Herring always had a goal of being able to run and enjoy Happy in the long run. After doing his training and exhibitioning herself, she chose Latricia Duke to jockey the stallion for his futurity season. From his first event at the BFA Juvenile, he was a money winner. He continued to get better and better throughout the year, winning rounds and futurities across the country.

At the time, Herring had been struggling a bit with Happy's ability to focus on his job. She left the decision up to Duke as to whether or not he was going to be able to compete intact or if he needed gelded. Ultimately, Duke was the perfect match for Happy and found his focus. Luckily, Happy earned the right to keep his manhood and grew into a very well-mannered stallion.

Despite his notable success in the futurities, Happy really found his stride rodeoing with Herring. They won some of the biggest and toughest professional rodeos in the nation throughout his career. Herring and Happy finished 26th in the World Standings in 2011 and 17th in 2012, just barely missing a National Finals Rodeo qualification. Happy had lengthy breaks during both of those years, due to illness or injury, and still proved that he was one of the best.

Happy was a success in the arena and so are his foals. With over $4.3 million in earnings, Happy's offspring have won that without the majority of incentive programs. Firewatermakesmehappy "Junior" is an NFR qualifier and won multiple futurities with Kassie Mowry. The duo ran one of the fastest times ever ran in the Thomas and Mack at the NFR in 2017.

SR Industry Titan has been a force with multiple riders, but played a huge role in Brittany Pozzi Tonozzi's 2023 and 2024 seasons. Lena On The Rocks has won rounds at the NFR and set arena records with Jimmie Smith. Samantha Lyne and LK Watch Me Rock and Taycie Matthews and Fame Fire Rocks have also qualified for the NFR.

In 2024, DM High Roller qualified for the NFR - with Latricia Duke, to bring the story full circle. I recall Duke fondly telling me about "Vanilla Wafer" and telling me that he, his dam (Kylie), and Firewaterontherocks were some of her favorite horses of all time. That is saying something, if you know how many horses Duke has ridden. Kylie (registered as Happy To Run Em) was a Happy daughter with that special something that sets a great horse apart.

Happy seemed to pass that "something special" on to many of his foals and we extend our most sincere condolences to Herring and all connections on the loss of the beloved stallion.