GUYMON, Okla. – Cody DeMers is the last in a line of elite bareback riders who have tested their mettle on Carr Pro Rodeo’s MGM Deuces Night.
DeMers, a four-time qualifier to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo from Kimberly, Idaho, matched moves with the great young horse during the final round at the Ram National Circuit Finals Rodeo on April 1. The two danced across the dirt in Oklahoma City for 85 points, helping DeMers to a runner-up finish in ProRodeo’s national championship.
“I’m embarrassed I didn’t win first on that horse like everybody else in the world does,” he said.
That seems to be a common theme for cowboys who test their skills on the 7-year-old mare. They’d love the chance when she bucks next at the Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo, set for 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 4; 2 and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, May 5; and 2 p.m. Sunday, May 6. She has been to the NFR each of the past two seasons and has been bucked four times in Las Vegas. He led cowboys to three round victories and a second-place finish.
Ryan Gray scored 90 points on MGM Deuces Night to win the fifth go-round this past December; reigning world champion Kaycee Feild scored 87 to win the 10th round. In 2010, 2004 champ Kelly Timberman scored 88.5 to win the 10th round. That’s saying a lot about a horse purchased a few years ago by Pete Carr, owner of Carr Pro Rodeo.
“I could’ve rode that horse better,” DeMers said of his ride in Oklahoma City. “Pete’s awful high on that horse, and he has every reason to be. I’d pack that horse with me in the minivan to every rodeo I go to if I could.”
He’s not the only cowboy; a lot of the other top names in the game would do the same thing. MGM Deuces Night was raised by bareback rider Wes Stevenson, a seven-time NFR qualifier from Lubbock, Texas.
“I knew she’d have a really good shot to come to the finals,” Stevenson said. “I knew she was that good, so part of the reason I sold her to Pete is that I knew she’d have a good shot to go to the finals. I bought her from Jim Zinser as a brood mare, but she bucked so good, I didn’t want to waste her sitting at my house. I wanted her to have a chance.
“She has a lot of heart. I was the first one to get on her with a rigging, and from the first time we ever bucked her, I knew that little filly has a lot of heart. She’s a very electric horse.”
Those that have been on the phenomenal mare know that better than most. In a year’s span, Feild won a lot of money on the back of MGM Deuces Night. Last spring, he shared the final-round victory at the RNCFR with a 90-point ride; in December, it was the final round of the NFR; in March, he set a RodeoHouston arena record with a 93-point ride in the $50,000 round. Combined, Feild won $72,685 on the mare in less than a year’s time.
“That’s just a unique horse, and she gets real high in the air,” said Feild, a four-time NFR qualifier whose father, Lewis, is a five-time world champion. “That horse tries really hard to buck really good. She gets high in the air and gives you a lot of time to set your feet and crank your toes out. You’ve got to have quick feet and set them high in the neck. With that horse, it seems easy to set them high in the neck.
“She’s that way every time I’ve been on her. She’s a pretty cool horse.”
Yes, she is. Even though he’s never strapped his rigging to her back, Heath Ford has seen her in action plenty of times. The bareback riding representative, he handles the political side of the game and works with all the bareback riders in selecting the best horses. He’s also a three-time NFR qualifier, so he knows that side of the business, too.
“She’s a horse that really gets in the air and gives you a lot of time to show off,” Ford said. “It’s kind of like a quarterback and a receiver; you need a quarterback who can put the pass where the receiver can run after the catch and really show his stuff.
“She can do everything to set you up to be successful and show off your talents. She gives you the opportunity to do what you do at a higher level.”