The quality of horses and horsemen at the National Reined Cow Horse Association World’s Greatest Horseman competition makes it great watching for performance horse lovers. The addition of steer stopping sets it apart from standard cow horse competitions. The steer stopping often challenges competitors because of the infrequency with which they get to practice and compete. With a run usually taking 6 or 7 seconds, the fast action can trip up even the most seasoned horsemen.
When Shawn Hays found a break in his horse Moonshineandtwoadvil’s show schedule, he sent him to rope horse trainer Dustin Rogers for some fine-tuning before World’s Greatest.
“Dustin is not just a jackpot roper; he actually is a horseman,” Hays says. “I knew he knew what we needed the horse to feel like as a cow horse, keeping them broke, keeping them soft.”
Rogers’ reputation as a good horseman and his experience in both disciplines made Hays feel confident “Keebler” would be in good hands.
“I knew Dustin wasn’t going to run too many steers on Keebler and was going to keep him honest to keep him pure in the box,” Hays recalls. “He tuned on me, too. I was trying to make it all one motion instead of breaking it down into roping, pulling my slack, dallying and stopping.”
Hays’ decision to send Keebler to Rogers paid off in a big way — the duo tied for first in the preliminary steer stopping round and fourth in the finals.
“Oh, and we ended up winning the World’s Greatest Horseman title,” Hays adds. “I guess it worked pretty good.”
Read the full article in the February 2025 issue of Western Horseman.
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