When the dust settled on the inaugural Solo Select Stallion Incentive Futurity on Aug. 1, 23-year-old Chance Thiessen and his 4-year-old gelding Tom Cats R Popular stood at the top, collecting $14,850 for the win.
The duo battled through three tough go-rounds to advance to the clean-slate finals, testing the mettle and consistency of the competition.
For Thiessen, of Tuttle, Oklahoma, the win was even sweeter: Uzi is the very first horse he’s brought along since he was a 2-year-old.
Sired by Solo Select’s Metallic Cattack and out of a Popular Resortfigure mare, the gelding is bred for the calf roping pen—but this victory also proved that patience, preparation, and a strong partnership can pay off in a big way.
We caught up with Thiessen to talk about his background, Uzi’s personality, and what it means to notch a futurity win with his personal project horse.
Q&A with Chance Thiessen
Q: Are you training horses full-time now?
Thiessen: Yes, I’ve started to. My dad’s trained horses his whole life, and I rodeoed for a few years, just riding with him when I was home. Now I’ve started helping him full-time and kind of trying to get off on my own.
Q: What about horse training stuck with you more than rodeoing?
Thiessen: You’ve got to have a lot of patience. Green horses can be good one day and see a booger the next—you never know. That makes the special ones, the ones with really good minds, even more special in my opinion.
Q: What’s Tom Cats R Popular like?
Thiessen: He’s kind of standoffish at first. He doesn’t want to be real friendly until you show him you’re his friend. He’s pretty much all business.
Q: How long have you had him?
Thiessen: I bought him as a 2-year-old in the fall. I was riding him as an outside horse for a guy and really liked the way he felt, so I bought him. I took it pretty slow—just tracked calves around the pen for a year and a half before I ever took him anywhere. He’s probably one of the most talented horses I’ve ever rode. He’s got a big motor, and once he’s completely solid, I think he’s going to be an amazing horse.
Q: What are his best qualities in the arena?
Thiessen: His running and stopping. He can run as fast as anything I’ve ever rode and stop just as hard—sometimes too hard. Since he’s my first young project, I feel like we’re learning together.
Q: How did you get him ready for this Futurity?
Thiessen: I actually turned him out for two or three months this summer. I think they need time to just be a horse. I pulled him back up two weeks ago, rode him every day, and roped on him three days last week. He was a little nervous since he hadn’t been anywhere in three months, but I thought he did really well for where he’s at.
Q: What does it say about him to handle that pressure as a 4-year-old?
Thiessen: It takes a really special mind. Futurities are tough—these horses have to be so perfect to score. For him to stay with me through four runs today and all he’s done so far is pretty special.
Q: Can you talk about his genetics?
Thiessen: Honestly, when I bought him, I didn’t know much about Metallic Cattack other than that Cody McCartney had shown him. But I knew the mare he was out of, a Popular Resortfigure, and those mares make great calf horses. Once I learned more about the stud and what he’d accomplished, it got exciting. I really think this horse is bred to be a calf horse.
Q: Walk me through that final run.
Thiessen: I just told myself to ride him the best I could and let whatever happen, happen. I made what I thought was a good run. Shane [Hanchey] was last out, so I figured if I ended up second behind him, that was still pretty good. But I ended up barely getting by him. It was by far my best run of the day, and it felt really good.
Q: What’s next for you and Uzi?
Thiessen: I’m staying here to team rope all weekend, then heading to the World Show and the Gold Buckle Futurity. After that I’ll team rope in Vegas, then start back up for the new year.