SENIOR WORKING COW HORSE

"HE’S GOTTA BE HAPPY ABOUT THIS." - AL DUNNING

BY MEGAN ALPERS, JOURNAL INTERN

Is there anything Matt Dillon Dun It can’t do?

With lifetime earnings in the National Reining Horse Association topping $113,000 and now a world championship in senior working cow horse at the World Show, it doesn’t look like it.

With a dry work run that brought cheers from the crowd and “That’s cool” from Q-Bug commentator Al Dunning, the 1997 palomino stallion went into the cow work portion with everyone on the edge of their seats.

Could Todd Crawford’s reining superstar prove himself as a cow horse?

Yes, and he did. The cow Crawford drew was not one anyone would have picked as a championship-clincher. It constantly challenged the horse and made Crawford work for every one of the 227 points. Those, added to the 224.5 they earned during the pattern brought Crawford ahead with a total of 451.5.   

Matt Dillon Dun It works an ornery cow in the senior working cow horse finals. The horse has only been showing in cow horse classes since June with Todd Crawford.

Crawford said it was all a matter of timing.

“Everything worked, you know,” he said. “I thought maybe I might get a new cow because it was pretty tough there for a couple seconds, but I’m glad they let me hang in there with it because my horse was pretty much dead on and got it worked. He was really good in the reining, too.”

Matt Dillon Dun It’s transition into the working cow horse arena isn’t a new idea. Crawford originally began training the horse to work cattle, but decided to follow the reining path, just like the horse’s famous sire, Hollywood Dun It, when reining derbies became available. Thousands of dollars in NRHA money later, they’re right back where they started.

“He’s just a phenomenal athlete,” Crawford said. “He’s got a lot of stop, and he’s real quick. He’s got enough cow to be a cow horse, too. It’s real unusual for a horse to be able to do what he’s done in the amount of time that he’s done it. I wish I knew what the secret was.”

Crawford hopes to enter the National Reined Cow Horse Association’s World’s Greatest Horseman with Matt Dillon Dun It in the future.

WINNER STATS Horse name: Matt Dillon Dun It Pedigree: Hollywood Dun It x Rosalie Dillon by Kenmar's Bar Chex Owner: 3 Peaks Ranch, Bend, Oregon Exhibitor/Trainer: Todd Crawford, Blanchard, Oklahoma Breeder: Tim McQuay, Tioga, Texas Total Class Entries: 55 Purse: $39,785 World Champion Prizes: Gold trophy, Montana Silversmiths buckle, Cripple Creek jacket, Tex Tan AQHA spurs, Justin ostrich Tekno Crepe boots, Professional's Choice products, Nutrena feed, neck ribbon