horse and rider and cow
QTs Cajun Cub (PT) & Jack Wright • Photo by Kristin Pitzer

QTs Cajun Cub Lands Second APHA World Championship

Three riders entered six horses in the American Paint Horse Association (APHA) Senior Working Cow Horse class on Sept. 24, and after the dust had settled, all three of Jack Wright’s entries had taken the top three spots. He rode QTs Cajun Cub (PT) to the World title, Gay Bar Drummer (PT) to Reserve and Rolex N Starlight (PT) to third place.

With so many to get shown, Wright said his game plan was “staying right side up! Just say a prayer, and hope everything goes well, and be safe.”

“I felt good about the way they worked,” he said. “The ground was a little bit tough for the stops so my rein part of it didn’t feel real good, but I was really happy with the way all of them were on the cows.”

Wright has been training “Cub” for about seven years. In 2012, they were the APHA Junior Heading World Champions, and in 2014 they were Reserve in the APHA World show All-Around Open Horse. The stallion has 400 points, three Superiors and five Registers of Merit (ROMs) through the APHA. At this year’s World show, he competed in the Ranch Reining, Tie-down, Senior Heading, Senior Heeling, Senior Steer Stopping and Performance Halter, in addition to the Senior Working Cow Horse.

“He’s pretty much an all-around horse,” Wright said. “Everybody loves him. He doesn’t even hardly act like a stud horse.”

Cub is a homebred belonging to Laura Lindstrand of Finally Farm Paints Inc. By QTs Crystal Bear, he is out of the Cajun Eclipse (PT) mare Cajun Breezing Miss (PT). His grandsire, Q T Poco Streke (PT), will be inducted into the APHA Hall of Fame in March 2019 as part of the 2018 class.

Now that Cub has earned so many accolades, the sun may be setting on the 11-year-old stallion’s career. Wright said he might show him at Denver’s National Western Stock Show in January, but after that, he believes the stallion will be retired. With a couple foals already on the ground, it’s clear Cub’s legacy has only just begun.

At the age of 18, Reserve Champion Gay Bar Drummer proved age is just a number. The 2014 APHA Senior Working Cow Horse World Champion stallion (Drum N Up Spots [PT] x Gay Bar Gold Dust [PT] x Shots Flying Spark [PT]) was bred by his owner, Joni Voloshin. He has produced six money-earners so far with earnings in roping, halter, barrel racing, reined cow horse and reining.

Third place finisher Rolex N Starlight is 7 years old. Also a stallion, he is by A Tru Rolex (PT) and out of Paper Dolly (PT) (by Grays Starlight). He has five babies registered through the APHA, all born this year.