2025 Nutrena Pickup Horse Horse of the Year

The Nutrena Pickup Horse of the Year, presented by AQHA, award is new to the party. While professional rodeo’s horse of the year awards program has been booming since 1989, this is just the third year of the cowboy sport’s previously unsung-hero pickup horses being recognized.

This year’s pickup horse of the year, Baby Hes Hot, also took the inaugural honors in 2023. His trailer mate and fellow 2025 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo pickup horse, Guys High On Fame, won it last year. NFR pickup man Tyler Kraft, who has served as Calgary Stampede ranch and stock operations manager for 16 years, is the cowboy both horses – “Baby” and “Tuffy” – have in common.

“These high-caliber horses are what separate the good pickup men from the great ones,” Tyler says humbly. “It’s no different from any other rodeo event, really. The difference is in the horseflesh. And if you’re not on a good horse, you’re not much, I don’t care who you are.”

Tyler bought dark-buckskin Baby, who’s 12 now, as a 30th birthday present for his wife, Vanessa. She has run barrels on him, and he’s a pretty handy head horse, too.

Baby was bred by Doug Wilkinson of Arrowwood, Alberta, and is by Hes Hot N Chexy out of Vanzis Baby Boots by Haidaslena War Doc.

Tyler has made all his own pickup horses. “I like a quicker-footed horse that reads the play,” he says. “I’ve started a ton of pickup horses from scratch, and what makes it so much fun to pick up on Baby is his ability to get to the right spot. I swear I could drop the reins, and he’d run to where he needs to be. He reads the play really well. You can pedal that bike to where you need to go on a horse that doesn’t crave it as much as Baby, but a horse like him is on cruise control. Riding Baby is like driving a race car.”

Baby got kicked out in the pasture after the 2023 NFR, as he had to sit out a good part of 2024 to heal up a hairline fracture in his left hock. Tuffy did a stellar job of stepping up. Now Baby’s back, and Tuffy and the rest of Tyler’s remuda continue to shine. Pickup men take six horses to the NFR, and they all have to be first-stringer strong.

Pickup horses tend toward the XL side.

“The stereotypical pickup horse is a big, 16-hand horse,” Tyler says. “I don’t like them too big or too small. I’m basically looking for about a 15.1-hand, head-horse-sized horse. Baby’s just shy of 15.2 hands tall, and weighs about 1,250.

“Baby and Tuffy are super nice all-around horses. My kids junior rodeo on all my horses. The great ones all love their job, for sure. Personality-wise, Baby’s pretty watchy. He’s not a mean horse, but he is reactive. Baby’s run and rate make him great. He can just absolutely go like there’s no tomorrow and still stay in-between the reins and bridled up. Horses with speed can go to hell in a handbasket pretty easy, but Baby never does.”

Tyler says Baby and Tuffy are both great in their own right but, “They’re polar opposites. Baby’s the last one you catch, and Tuffy’s the first one at the gate. Baby’s not a showboat, and Tuffy thinks he’s everybody’s favorite. Tuffy’s more of a showoff, whereas Baby’s very standoffish.”

The Baby-Tuffy one-two punch in top-flight horsepower is not coincidental to Tyler getting the nod to work the Super Bowl of Rodeo the past three years. The big six pickup horses making the trek down from Calgary this year will work in a rotation, including nights off in the 10-day run of the rodeo. But straight up, Tyler says Baby’s the best pickup horse he has ever ridden. And that’s a tall compliment coming from a cowboy of his caliber.

“Baby’s very tough and very smart,” he says. “You show him one time what you want him to do, and it’s like he says, ‘Got it.’”

Tyler’s pride of ownership for his horses is obvious and understandable.

“For my horses to win this award three times now is a definite honor,” Tyler says. “I enjoy my horses and take a lot of pride in them – the whole herd of them. I’m always trying to make a better set of horses.”

Sundayredwood Breeze, aka “Badger,” who’s owned by Clegg Livestock Co. Inc. and ridden by Matt Twitchell, is the reserve 2025 pickup horse of the year. Clegg’s Jack On Moon, aka “Spyder,” who is also ridden by Matt, finished third in this year’s voting.