Rodeo Daily

Texas Best Rope Horse Futurity Holds First Event of 2024 in Decatur

The newly opened 4M Equine Ranch hosted the first event of 2024 for the Texas Best Rope Horse Futurities, with $25,000 added over just two days of roping. 

Kaitlyn Woodman

Branded Mane Photography

The Texas Best Rope Horse Futurities are fairly new to the industry, just starting in 2023. Clay and Erin Burnham of Burnham Performance Horses& Productions, LLC., based out of Wise County, Texas, have been producing events across the area for around seven years. Within the last year, they decided to step into the futurity industry. 

With two events in 2023, Texas Best upped its schedule by adding another show at the brand new state-of-the-art facility that 4M Equine Ranch recently unveiled to the public. Although the ranch is predominantly focused on the barrel horse industry, it has included amenities to accommodate a wide variety of performance horses and equine events. 

With around 75 horses entered in the show, it offered multiple different classes and incentives based on the horse and rider classifications. 

Texas Best Rope Horse Futurity Classes and Incentives:

  • Open Derby Heading- Open to all breeds of horses 6 years old and younger. Open to all riders.
  • Intermediate Derby Heading- Open to all breeds of horses 6 years old and younger. The rider must be a #7&Under header to compete.
  • Open Futurity Heading- Open to all breeds of horses 4 years old and younger and to all riders. 
  • Intermediate Futurity Heading- Open to all breeds of horses 4 years old and younger. The rider must be a #7&Under header to compete. 
  • Non-Pro Heading- Any aged horse can enter. The rider must be a #5E header or lower to compete. 
  • Non-Pro Heading Novice Sidepot- Any aged horse can enter. The rider must be a #4E header or lower to compete. 
  • Open Derby Heeling- Open to all breeds of horses 6 years old and younger. Open to all riders.
  • Intermediate Derby Heeling-  Open to all breeds of horses 6 years old and younger. The rider must be a #8E&Under heeler to compete.
  • Open Futurity Heeling- Open to all breeds of horses 4 years old and younger. Open to all riders. 
  • Intermediate Futurity Heeling- Open to all breeds of horses 4 years old and younger. The rider must be a #8E&Under header to compete. 
  • Non-Pro Heeling- Any aged horse can enter. The rider must be a #6E heeler or lower to compete. 
  • Non-Pro Heeling Novice Sidepot- Any aged horse can enter. The rider must be a #5E heeler or lower to compete. 

Texas Best Rope Horse Futurity Average Results:

Open Derby Heading

  1. Tate Kirchenschlager riding Oaks Classy Colonel, 323 on 4, $2,745.00
  2. Dakota Kirchenschlager riding Time to Blue Smoke, 294.83 on 4, $1,830.00

Intermediate Derby Heading

  1. Justin Zermeno riding GQH Your Six McCash, 263.08 on 4, $2,000.00
  2. Justin Zermeno riding JT India, 208.04 on 3, $1,275.00

Open Futurity Heading 

  1. Bobby Mote riding DeeDashing Guy, 239.62 on 3, $3,100.00
  2. Clyde Bolejack riding Miss Soda Doll, $238.92 on 3, $2,075.00

Intermediate Futurity Heading

  1. Bobby Mote riding DeeDashing Guy, 239.62 on 3, $2,145.00
  2. Clyde Bolejack riding Miss Soda Doll, $238.92 on 3, $1,430.00

Non-Pro Heading

  1. Kelton Dunham riding Can You Play Hal, 243.48 on 3, $1,520.00
  2. Kelton Dunham riding Handle This Smooth, 229.41 on 3, $1,020.00

Non-Pro Novice Heading 

  1. Hailey Lawley riding Lockes Genuine Dunit, 210.12 on 3, $800.00

Open Derby Heeling

  1. Joseph Harrison riding Doc Joe Frost, 329.69 on 4, $7,460.00
  2. Joseph Harrison riding DT Hickory Flicker, 324.38 on 4, $4,475.00
  3. Ryan Motes riding Zacky Taffy, 321.92 on 4, $2,990.00

Intermediate Derby Heeling

  1. Clyde Bolejack riding HC Medicine Woman, 299.81 on 4, $2,500.00
  2. Haze Bruce riding Dirty Sucio, 279.44 on 4, $1,670.00

Open Futurity Heeling

  1. Dakota Kirchenschlager riding Sugarr Rey Kat, 240.3 on 3, $2,925.00
  2. Clyde Bolejack riding DMC Cathouse Diamond, 231.24 on 3, $1,950.00

Intermediate Futurity Heeling 

  1. Clyde Bolejack riding DMC Cathouse Diamond, 231.24 on 3, $2,055.00
  2. Clyde Bolejack riding One SophisticatedGuy, 229.56 on 3, $1,370.00

Non-Pro Heeling

  1. Treston Brazile riding Woody Be Spotted, 236.72 on 3, $1,340.00

Non-Pro Novice Heeling

  1. Treston Brazile riding Woody Be Spotted, 236.72 on 3, $800.00

For complete results, visit Texas Best Rope Horse Futurities.

Published
Kaitlyn Woodman
KAITLYN WOODMAN

Kaitlyn grew up in a small east Texas town called Marshall, Texas, and now resides in the “Cutting Horse Capital of the World” Weatherford. The rodeo lifestyle was instilled into Kaitlyn at a young age as her entire family has a rodeo background. She spent most of her life at Martha and RE Josey’s ranch just down the road from her house.  Kaitlyn was lucky enough to have been surrounded by incredible role models in and out of the arena that got her to where she is today both as a competitor and a person. As a barrel racer, Kaitlyn has competed at just about every level the sport offers. The barrel racing industry is something that she is deeply passionate about, whether it be the futurity and derby scene, the rodeo world, or even the breeding side, she finds herself excited to learn new things and grow the industry as much as she possibly can. Kaitlyn graduated from Sul Ross State University in December of 2023 with a Bachelors of Science in Agriculture degree and knew that upon graduation she wanted to get a start in the western sports media industry. Before graduating from Sul Ross, Kaitlyn was able to start a career as an Equine Insurance Agent and takes pride in protecting her customer’s most valuable assets. Kaitlyn is excited to share her passion for the Western Sports and Agriculture industries through her writing, and she strives to reach audiences far beyond our community to advocate for the betterment of our lifestyle!

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