Kyle Lucas’ first trip to the National Finals Rodeo comes aboard Froghollow Play Judge, “Bunny,” a 7-year-old mare bred and raised by the Bagnell family of Polson, Montana—the same program that produced Lisa Lockhart’s legendary gelding An Oakie With Cash, “Louie.”

Bunny’s bloodlines closely mirror those of Louie, who earned more than $1.6 million in career winnings with Lockhart, with both horses bred and raised at B Bar Heart Performance Horses, owned by Tim and Kelly Bagnell. Bunny is by Biebers Play, a son of Biebers Oakie, and out of Froghollow Judge Judy, a mare by Judge Cash, while Louie is by Biebers Oakie and out of Lady Kaweah Cash, also by Judge Cash.

“If you looked at her pedigree, she’d be very similar to Louie,” Tim Bagnell said. “They’re both out of Judge Cash blood and by sons of Biebers Oakie, so you’ve got cow on top and speed on the bottom. We’ve bred a lot of them very similar. We own the stud, we own the mares, and we have full sisters producing colts here. Bunny came out of that whole deal.”

A Program That’s Been Down the Alley Before

Before Bunny or Louie ever entered the picture, the B Bar Heart brand had already made its way inside the Thomas & Mack.

“Before Louie, there was Chisum,” Bagnell said. “We sent him to Lisa early on, and he was one of the horses that really helped get things going for her.”

Registered as Fast An Gold, Chisum—by El Roco and out of Romannia Glass (by Raise Your Glass 68)—played a key role in advancing Lockhart’s career, marking the first of several B Bar Heart horses to find success at the highest level.

“We’ve watched our horses go down that alley for years,” Bagnell said. “First it was Chisum, then it was Louie, and now it’s Bunny. You want them in the right hands, and you want them to do good.”

A Program Built on Cow and Speed

Tim Bagnell didn’t stumble into breeding elite performance horses, he grew up in it.

“I probably got really serious about the breeding part of it about 35 years ago,” Bagnell said. “We’ve always crossed cow-bred studs on speed mares and speed mares on cow-bred studs, and it seems to work.”

That approach has produced horses capable of excelling across multiple disciplines, with the Bagnells focusing primarily on barrel racing and calf roping in recent years.

“That’s kind of what we do now,” Bagnell said. “They’re probably bred to do about whatever you want, but for us, it’s barrel racing and calf roping.”

Development has always been as intentional as the breeding for the Bagnells.

“We sell some as broke two-year-olds,” Bagnell said. “Others we’ll keep, send to Bill Fischer, and we’ll either do reined cow horse on them or sell them after their three-year-old year.”

Fischer, who worked with the Bagnell operation for years before relocating to the Steiner Ranch in Texas, remains a cornerstone of the program.

“Bill used to be at our place for 20 years,” Bagnell said. “Now he’s down in Texas, so we send them to him and let him get them going.”

For Bagnell, belief in the horses starts long before they ever leave Montana.

“If you don’t like the horses you’re raising—and you’re the owner—then nobody else is going to,” Bagnell said.

A Phone Call, a Trailer, and a Lot of Trust

That trust and belief in his horses is what ultimately placed Bunny with Lucas late in the summer.

“I didn’t really have a horse at the time,” Lucas said. “I was probably 14th or 15th in the world, right on the bubble, needing to win a bunch of money.”

Lucas called Bagnell in August, expecting an older, seasoned horse. Instead, what he sent was sent a 7-year-old mare.

“I knew she was nice, but when I stepped on her, I was surprised how good she was,” Lucas said. “I think I ran maybe five calves on her and Tim said, ‘Load her up.’”

Everything came together quickly for Lucas, and with full trust from the Bagnell family.

“They sent me with everything,” Lucas said. “That means a lot, because people don’t just let you take a horse like that.”

Their first outing came in Missoula—in the mud—followed by key late season checks , a crucial payday at San Bernardino, and a win at the Canadian Finals Rodeo, which also marked Bunny’s first experience inside a coliseum.

“That was her introduction to indoor rodeos,” Bagnell said. “We hauled her from Texas all the way to Edmonton, and I thought she held it together pretty well.”

A Young Mare on the Biggest Stage

Now at the NFR, Bunny is the youngest calf horse in the field, but she hasn’t looked out of place.

“She’s only seven,” Bagnell said. “I don’t know if she is the youngest one there, but I think she might be the prettiest.”

Lucas is just as impressed by Bunny’s mindset as he is her ability.

“She’s never been bothered by noise,” Lucas said. “I took her to Omaha and there was a clown act shooting pistols and a shotgun, and her head never came up.”

“She’s kind and good-minded,” Bagnell added. “A lot of those horses on these bloodlines are.”

Bred With Options

Before entering the calf roping world, Bunny was started in reined cow horse, trained by Bill Fischer.

“We did reined cow horse on her,” Bagnell said. “She was Montana’s Open Reined Cow Horse of the Year her three-year-old year.”

Her versatility hasn’t gone unnoticed.

“She can really run,” Lucas said. “That’s her it factor. When you trust that speed, it lets you be confident on the barrier and not worry about getting outrun.”

“Barrel racers have been after me about her,” Bagnell said. “But I’ve got to get her back from Kyle first.”

For now, the focus remains on Lucas’ first National Finals Rodeo and what Bunny has already shown she’s capable of.