In 2022, AQHA icon Carol Rose was watching the Calgary Stampede on television. Her keen eye for horses was focused on the four-legged athletes in the tie-down roping.

When commentator and longtime friend Jeff Medders mentioned that one of the horses was a descendant of Shining Spark, Rose’s interest peaked. That horse, Daddys Shiner Cat, is by Shiners Black Cat and out of Paddy Lena’s Twist. Shiners Black Cat is an own son of Shining Spark. The buckskin gelding that captured Rose’s attention helped Caleb Schmidt earn the Calgary Championship that year was none other than “Peso,” owned by Logan Bird from Nanton, Alberta.

When Rose learned more about Peso, she reached out to Bird and was hoping to make out a connection. That connection has Rose watching the Cowboy Channel at her home near Gainesville, Texas, looking for Peso and texting Bird after the rodeo. Prior to this year’s Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo, they connected and made plans for the Rose to meet Peso in person. That turned into a magical moment for everyone involved.

“I’m just so honored,” Rose said. “I just love horses, and it means the world to me to meet Peso.”

The sparkle in her eyes was reminiscent of the look she had whenever she saw Shining Spark, “Shiner,” who was a big part of Rose’s family. Shiner was born and raised at her ranch where he lived for nearly 33 years. The super star stallion and his dam, Diamonds Sparkle, are both in the NRHA Hall of Fame. His progeny have been successful in nearly every discipline and have surpassed $10 million in earnings. Peso is continuing that legacy.

Just six months before he took Schmidt to the Calgary win, Peso was at his first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) with Shane Hanchey riding him. He has made the trip to Las Vegas numerous times and along with Hanchey, Westyn Hughes, Tuf Cooper, Brushton Minton, and Ty and Joel Harris have all ridden Peso at the NFR. And at the 2025 event, he did something unheard of in the tie-down roping.

Cooper decided to get on Peso during round nine of the 2024 NFR. The Harris brothers had been riding him, Joel from the beginning and Ty since round 2, which he won with a 6.9. Peso made 21 runs in the Thomas and Mack arena and never wavered. In fact, he made history when he got all three of them to the pay window after Cooper got on him. That decision saw he and Ty part of a three-way tie for second – fourth with 7.5-second runs. Joel won it with a 7.2 and the three earned a combined $74,257 in that round.

It’s not unusual to see multiple steer wrestlers riding the same horse. Having three men on Peso at the NFR was unheard of and as far as anyone knows, it’s the only time the same horse has helped his riders get the top three places. That tie also included Quade Hiatt.

“I’ve had great horses, but you can’t let everybody rope on them,” Bird said. “If they reach or do something it can have that horse getting too tight. Peso runs in there every time, he stops every time, and he wants to be straight every time. I think that’s the difference and I think he is one of the best five horses on earth. The great ones are consistent.”

Peso’s consistency had Ty Harris and Kyle Lucas winning at Fort Worth. Lucas finished second at the rodeo, Harris was fourth and Bird won a round in his bracket. Shad Mayfield won the rodeo and earned $28,433. Cowboys riding Peso earned $31,228. And, two days after Fort Worth was over, he was at the San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo where the same three men rode him in bracket 3. His riders earned first place checks in the three rounds of the bracket and Lucas and Harris are advancing to the Semi-Finals there. Bird also earned money giving them a total of $14,301 in the preliminary competition at San Antonio.

If anyone should get credit for Peso’s winning ways in any environment with a variety of ropers on him, it’s Bird according to Cooper.

“Logan rides and ropes so good,” Cooper said. “He knows what a good horse is and he put that all together in Peso.”

And while the legendary Carol Rose may be the president of the Peso fan club, the buckskin’s notoriety is growing. While at San Antonio, a teenage girl recognized Peso and stopped them so she could get her picture taken with him.

“I never in a million years would have imagined that a calf horse would get that kind of recognition, to the point that people recognize him walking down the road.” Bird said.

Peso’s color, repetition of runs, and having more tv time has made him recognizable. His ability to get a roper to the pay window has him winning the popularity contest and giving Logan opportunities he never imagined, like having Carol Rose make an hour drive to Fort Worth just to meet his horse.

“I knew that Carol wanted to get to know him,” Bird said. “It was cool. Carol is a legend in the horse world and it’s really special that she wanted to make the trip to Fort Worth just to meet Peso.”

And meeting Peso was everything that Rose thought it would be.

“That made me so happy,” she said. “To put my hands on that horse and love on him meant the world to me. To think that I had a part in his upbringing and then getting to meet him was wonderful. Logan was so gracious, and I just love Peso.”