Lon Lemon said his winning run on Dox Hockin Hustler in the heading August 31 wasn’t so much about the run as it was about luck.
“It was a pretty average run for this horse,” Lon said. “He’s a really nice horse and makes real consistent runs so I guess I would say there wasn’t anything special about the run. It happened to be the best today but it was maybe not his best run all together. When you run first, you have to be kind of lucky.”
It seems luck is on Lon’s side. The Omaha, Nebraska, small animal veterinarian has won five world championships. His first two came at the AQHA World Championship Shows in 1983 and 1985. In 1997, he rode “Will’s” mother, Freckles Floozie, to his third amateur world championship. Last year, he rode the 8-year-old gray gelding’s half brother to the world championship in heeling at the Bayer Select World Championship Show.
“All in the family,” he said. “I raised him and trained him pretty much myself.”
Lon rode Will in the heeling finals shortly after claiming their gold trophy in the heading. They’ll be back Sunday for the working cow horse finals.
“He’s a real physical horse, things are easy for him,” Lon said. “The athletic ability is his biggest asset. He can really run and really stop and handle cattle really well. He’s pretty special that way.”
Coming back for the finals in three events is no small feat.
“We’ll be a little bit of an all-around contender,” Lon said. “Don’t know how well we’ll do yet, but we’ll be here Sunday to find out.”
