“What Mistys First Success have such an impression on me is that she’s a winning 1D barrel horse, and not only that, but she was a great head horse, heel horse, she was even used as a goat horse. She won at everything she did, at all levels,” said Nichols. “Sue Miller rides her now. Sue trained her on the barrels. Nicky Nichols rode and trained her for roping. She lives at Sue’s house until we pick her up to breed her each season.” Nichols and Barron flush embryos from Mistys First Success, breeding to their stallion Frenchmans Fabulous as well as to select outside stallions. made
her and they take great care of her when she’s there too.” “It took me a bit to get my timing with her,” said Wimberley. “Odessa was the first rodeo I took her to last year and she did well, then Jackson and Tucson. She won a lot and it just went from there. Misty likes things her way, but I’d say we kind of came to an understanding where I learned the situations where she likes to run and got the timing right.” When Wimberley and her team of horses arrived in Vegas, Misty was to be the back up to VQ Sucker Punch (“Rocko”), another of Weaver’s horses. By the 10th
Mistys Dash Of Fame. Photo courtesy Kenny Nichols
However, living in Pennsylvania and running a full-time furnace manufacturing business in addition to raising and riding barrel horses makes the thought of rodeoing out west a bit daunting. Wimberley, who lives about five miles from Brazos Valley Equine, was shuttling Misty back and forth between the clinic and her home so Weaver could avoid boarding Misty for months at a time at the vet clinic during breeding season. “She hadn’t been run a whole lot to that point but I started to get her legged up,” said
“It’s similar to what we do now with J-Lo,” said Nichols. “She stays with Ivy until about the end of March or first part of April when we pick her up for breeding. Then about the first of June when it’s time to rodeo for the summer months Ivy picks her up again. One thing people may not realize is that Billie Jack ropes on J-Lo too, Ivy and Billie Jack are good horsemen and just good people.” Weaver also attributes interacting with great people as a big part of Misty’s NFR success. Weaver stays with Wimberley’s mother Christi near Stephenville when barrel racing events bring her to Texas.
round Wimberley, who had been plagued by slips and hit barrels, was determined to grit it out. “Misty is an awesome mare,” said Wimberley. “She’s one of those that every day she’s going to give you everything she’s got. Those kind are few and far between.” Misty is also already doing her part as a producer as well. Her second foal is the 5-year-old RR Too Slick Eye Mist sired by Slick By Design that has recently successfully ventured into rodeo competition with Emma Abbott. Weaver also bred, owns and stands
RR Mistakelly, a son of Mistys Dash Of Fame by Darkelly, who has $295,072 (Equi-Stat) in earnings to his credit. “We have three so far on the ground by Mistakelly,” said Weaver, whose mares are foaled out by Kathy Hamm in Oklahoma before Weaver transports them to Pennsylvania as yearlings to begin working with them herself. Weaver is excited for the future and credits Misty for planting the seed to start growing her breeding program. “WhenMisty won Fort Smith (Old Fort Days Futurity, 2012) that was the biggest barrel racing check for one of my horses to win,” said Weaver. “Jolene Montgomery futuritied her and she did awesome. It was because of Misty and that check that I decided I could
“They’re just great people,” said Weaver. “I’m very happy that Cheyenne and Misty have done so well together. The whole experience at the NFR was just incredible and so exciting. We joked that there were actually four sisters running at the NFR because you had Misty and J-Lo and then Nellie’s [Miller] Sister (Rafter W Minnie Reba) and Hailey’s [Lockwood] Sister (DM Sissy Hayday).” Weaver says she can’t really say how exactly the partnership between Misty and Wimberley became “a thing”—it was more a natural progression that’s worked wonderfully for all involved. “Cheyenne started riding Misty about a year ago,” said
Cheyenne Wimberley rode Robin Weaver’s KN Fabs Mist Of Fame to second place in the 10th round for $20,731. Wimberley finished her 2019 season ranked No. 12 in the WPRA world standings. Photo by Kenneth Springer
buy an embryo out of her mother and that’s the embryo that produced RR Mistakelly. “I called him Mr Retirement,” laughed Weaver.
Weaver. “I ran her at the Congress that fall and made it back to the finals of the Sweepstakes, which was a big achievement for me. They kept telling me ‘You need to go.’”
Wimberley. “Misty is a very opinionated kind of horse,” said Weaver. “She has her own ideas about things, but Cheyenne’s just done so well with
MARCH 2020 WPRA NEWS 27
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