2024 Nutrena Heel Horse of the Year, Presented by AQHA

By Lane Karney and Kendra Santos for The American Quarter Horse Journal

Put 2024 down as a threepeat for “Turbo” in the category of Nutrena Heel Horse of the Year, presented by AQHA. For the third-straight year, Patrick and Christi Smith’s Kadabra King was voted by two-time Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association world champion heeler Patrick’s peers as the best heel horse in professional rodeo. 

Turbo became just the fifth horse in heeling history, since the inception of the Horse of the Year awards in 1989, to be honored at least three times. He joins even more elite company by being just the fourth to do it three times consecutively. Only Rich Skelton’s great horse Boons Smooth Val, “Roany,” and Randon Adams’ Baileys Copper Doc, who was best known as “Diesel,” have been recognized more times, with four heeling awards apiece. 

Patrick has owned Turbo for a decade, and the horse that started out as a broncy 4-year-old has now entered the all-time greats conversation with no signs of slowing down for the 14-year-old dun gelding. He is by Abrakadabracre and out of Quixote Jessie by Holidoc and was bred by Wayne and Carolann Hodges of Weatherford, Texas.

“If you would’ve asked me 10 years ago if this horse would’ve been a three-time Horse of the Year, I wouldn’t have said he couldn’t be,” Patrick says. “I would have put my money the other way. But one day, a light switch came on, and he got tough and consistently did his job flawlessly. His personality even changed, and he evolved from one you had to be on early and every day to now you can grab and go, and he does his job every time.” Patrick rode Turbo to a new Wrangler National Finals Rodeo average team roping record, roping with Tanner Tomlinson in 2022. “We had hard-fought battles early on, and to become what he has is amazing. He has just been a huge blessing to me, my family and my career.”

Over the course of Patrick’s stellar career, he has certainly had great horses that included “Jaws” (upon whom Patrick won the 2003 NFR average at his first Finals with Matt Tyler and his first gold buckle in 2005 with Clay Tryan; Jaws was unregistered) and “Amigo” (registered as Sunday Night Bingo, who tied with Baileys Copper Doc for Heel Horse of the Year in 2007, and carried Patrick to his second world championship in 2010 behind Trevor Brazile). There’s still no part of Patrick that takes for granted what a horse like Turbo means in his line of work.

“I’ve had great horses in Jaws and Amigo, and now Turbo. There is so much talent out there that the only way to keep your career on higher notes than the struggling side of things is to have great horses. You don’t realize how much thinking the great horses take out of the equation. They just put you in a place to win and be completely dialed in on your job, instead of focusing on what to do to get your horse in the right spot. With Turbo, that’s the last thing on your mind,” says Patrick, who has heeled at 14 NFRs and finished 20th in the world in 2024. “Somebody said what separates the great horses isn’t what you can win on them, but what a horse keeps you from winning. The great ones don’t keep you from winning anything. On Turbo, all the thinking is eliminated except for you doing your job.”

Others who rode Turbo this year included regular-season leader Levi Lord, reigning and two-time PRCA world champion heeler Wesley Thorp, and Travis Graves, who will this year heel at his 15th NFR. The top 25 in the world standings vote on Horse of the Year honors.

“I want to thank the guys who voted for him. They ultimately make the decision of who wins the award, and Turbo is just a good enough horse that guys unanimously vote for him. Whether I owned him or not, I would say that he deserves it,” Patrick says.

Patrick and Wesley have taken turns throughout their careers riding each other’s horses. Wesley not only rode Turbo quite a bit this summer but also plans to show how highly he thinks of this horse by tapping the opportunity to ride him at this year’s NFR, in his quest to win back-to-back gold buckles in his event. 

“When Patrick and I buddied in 2020, we were getting ready to leave for the summer, and we ran a few steers on each other’s horses, so in case something happened with one of our own we’d all be on the same page. I ran three steers on Turbo that day, and was so impressed then. I’ve gotten to ride him quite a bit, and he’s one of those unicorn horses that’s great in any setup, on any day and in any situation you put him in,” says Wesley, who will heel at the NFR behind his partner, Tyler Wade, who owns and rides 2024 Nutrena Head Horse of the Year Espuela Bro. “I’m extremely excited to ride Turbo in Vegas. He just seems to fit me good, and his style in that arena is amazing. He keeps his shoulders up, he’s super fluid and can get around the steers. You can be as aggressive as you want on him, but he’s also forgiving and finishes the run so good. Turbo’s fun to watch and fun to ride.”

Coleby Payne’s Cut Off My Spots, aka “Coon,” was voted this year’s reserve Heel Horse of the Year. Logan Medlin’s TRR Freckles Holidoc, or “Cantina,” finished third in the voting. Coon is a 2009 bay gelding by Spots Hot and out of Miss Cuttin Wood by Doctor Wood, bred by Cinder Lake Ranch LLC of Gainesville, Texas. Cantina is a 2016 Ranching Heritage-bred bay gelding by Pepcid and out of SR Pretty Playboy by Playboy Lena Bar, bred by Tongue River Ranch of Paducah, Texas.