EAGLE, Colo. – Great athletes and amazing competition are major factors in why professional rodeo continues to grow.

The hottest athlete going down the rodeo trail is a 9-year-old bucking phenomenon named Dirty Jacket, the runner-up Reserve World Champion Bareback Horse in 2012 from Carr Pro Rodeo. The powerful, bay gelding has been magnificent each time he’s bucked, guiding cowboys to the top spot in seven of the eight rodeos in which he has performed.

The latest gem came this past weekend at the Eagle County (Colo.) Fair and Rodeo, where he and George Gillespie IV matched moves for 87 points in the beautiful mountain setting.

“He’s the perfect bucking horse, because he loves what he does and he’s excited when it’s time to buck,” said Pete Carr, owner of Carr Pro Rodeo and Pete Carr’s Classic Pro Rodeo. “He ready when he gets to the chute, and he stands there until the gate opens; then he has a big leap in the air and bucks hard every time.

“When the whistle blows, he lines out with the pickup man and allows the guys to get off without any problem. He’s the kind of horse all the bareback riders want to draw, because they know that as long as they don’t stub their toe, they’re going to win.”

The ride with Gillespie marked the second straight time the two have matched up; Gillespie also won the Navajo Nation Fourth of July PRCA Rodeo in Window Rock, Ariz., with an 89 point ride. He tied for the Eagle championship with Richie Champion, who rode the Pete Carr’s Classic horse Scarlet’s Web, a half-sister to Dirty Jacket that’s been to the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo numerous times.

“He had a different trip with me this time than the one he had in Window Rock,” Gillespie said of Dirty Jacket, which was voted the 2012 Texas Circuit Bareback Horse of the Year. “He’s just such a great horse that you know you can win as long as you do your job. That’s what you want to get on.”