John Rockey had a busy week at The Cattlemens Derby and Classic. He qualified for four finals rounds – two aboard Dureyngo Kid, and two with Medal For Honor. It was 4-year-old Dureyngo Kid, “Jimmy,” who brought home the biggest paychecks, winning both the 4-Year-Old Amateur and the 4-Year-Old Unlimited Amateur divisions.
“I had really good draws with Jimmy,” Rockey said. “We picked good cows thanks to help from Russ Westfall. I couldn’t have asked for better runs.”
From the first go of the 4-Year-Old Amateur, Jimmy (Reys Dual Badger x Hissy Cat x High Brow Cat) didn’t disappoint. The duo was the fifth draw in the third set and marked a 216. In the 10-horse finals, they were the sixth draw and posted a 219, earning $3,000 for the Championship.
“There were so many runs that they all kind of blurred together. I think that if you drew well, the cows were good,” Rockey explained.
The team’s luck carried over to the 4-Year-Old Unlimited Amateur division. In the first go, Rockey was ninth in the second set and marked a 213. For the finals, the pair was the ninth draw in the 13-horse field and marked another 219. They added $3,200 to their first check.
“When you put him in front of a cow, he tries 110 percent,” Rockey said of Jimmy, who was bred by Jennifer and Jeffrey Foland. He is a half-brother to two $100,000+ earners, both by Dual Rey – Johnny Reyngo ($190,567) and Hisstereya ($131,067).
This was the first full show for the relatively new team. Rockey purchased Jimmy from Kelle Earnhart in September 2017 with plans to compete at the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Futurity. The duo made it through three go-rounds before Jimmy became too sick to finish the event.
“Because he didn’t feel good when we showed at the Futurity, I didn’t get a real good feel for him,” Rockey said. “We had good mojo going at this show, and I’m looking forward to a good year.”
Rockey described Jimmy as an old soul, a horse that acts more like a seasoned aged horse than a young prospect.
“He is a very methodical kind of horse,” he said. “He doesn’t make a lot of extra moves and is serious about his job.”
When Rockey wasn’t showing Jimmy, his focus was on The Cattlemens’ 2017 4-Year-Old Amateur Champion Medal For Honor (Metallic Cat x Charlies Angel Rey x Dual Rey) for the 5/6-Year-Old Unlimited Amateur and Amateur divisions. He said he didn’t have as good of draws for the 5/6 classes as he did the 4-year-old lineup.
In the 5/6-Year-Old Amateur there were 55 horses in the first go. The duo had a tough late draw in the third set where they marked a 217. In the 16-horse finals they were the third from the last draw and scored a 194.
The 5/6-Year-Old Unlimited Amateur class was just as competitive. In a field of 47 entrants, Rockey and Medal For Honor rode from the fourth draw of set four, where they marked a 217.5. In the 16-horse finals, they rode second to last and marked a 214, which placed them in a three-way tie for third. Overall, Rockey added another $4,000 from the 5/6-year-old amateur classes to his Cattlemens bankroll. He plans to continue showing both horses this year with the NCHA Super Stakes next on his list and will primarily focus on the larger events in the amateur divisions.
