SENIOR CUTTING

'DOES HE FEEL LIKE A CHAMPION?'

 BY ABIGAIL WHITAKER, JOURNAL CORRESPONDENT

“I asked Denver when I went back to get him, ‘Does he feel like a champion?’ He said ‘Yah.’ I said, ‘OK,’ and it worked out,” Randy Butler said after winning the senior cutting world championship.

Randy, from Gainesville, Texas, and Sixy Lena, by Lenas Jewel Bars and out of Sixy Quixote by Doc Quixote, drew up second to last in the senior cutting finals. He knew the cattle were tough, but he also knew he had a tremendous horse that ended up marking a 220 to win.

“I knew if I could get two cows that would stay away from him out there that he’s got enough talent and he can mark some big scores,” Randy explained. “You can’t ask for one that tries any harder. His mind is on the game all of the time.”

Sixy Lena and Randy Butler were the second to the last in the draw and ended up marking a 220 to win senior cutting.

American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame inductee Matlock Rose started Sixy Lena and showed the horse for the first couple years of Sixy Lena’s career. Ronnie Rice took over to finish out the aged events, and then he was taken to Randy.

“He was a stud and his mind wasn’t on his game,” Randy said of “Sixy.”  “The owner sent him to me and I tried to show him a couple of times and it just didn’t work. I knew the talent was there. He was 9 years old and I told them to geld him, and he has made the best show horse.”

Owners Darlene and Ron Mead of Divine Rock Ranch in Aledo, Texas, bought Sixy this summer for their 14-year-old son, Denver, to show. Randy let Denver show the gelding at a show in Gainesville, where the pair clicked, and Ron made the call to buy him. The Meads watched from the stands as Randy and their new gelding picked up the world title, and are excited about their future with him.

“We are looking forward to a lot of years of showing Sixy. Denver is going to be riding him in the youth next year and we look forward to them getting qualified for the (Ford) Youth World,” Darlene said.  “We just feel really blessed to be here; we’re excited!”