Some horses just work—and for Kincade Henry, Mario is that horse.

The road to owning Mario—registered as Duals Crescent Boon—started long before Henry ever swung a leg over him. The first time he saw the bay roan gelding, he was a teenager watching a video Tanner Green posted from a rodeo in Okeechobee, Florida.

“I told Tanner right then, ‘If you ever want to sell that horse, let me know,’” Henry said.

That moment sparked a multi-year pursuit. After Mario changed hands and eventually landed with Wyatt Imus, Henry saw another opportunity—and called again.

“I was on the bubble of making the Finals in 2021 and didn’t really have a horse to ride,” Henry said. “I rode Mario a couple places—Sydney, Iowa and Abilene after flying back from Pendleton. And I placed on him. Wyatt mentioned selling him, and I said I’d vet check him when I got home.”

After discovering some issues during that vet check, Henry had no plans of buying Mario.

“I told my dad before the call to Wyatt I wasn’t going to buy him,” Henry laughed. “Then I called back after and said, ‘Well, I own him now.’ I don’t even know what changed my mind during that call with Wyatt, but I’m glad I ended up with him.”

Mario’s first outing as Henry’s mount? A 7.7-second run at the Waco ProRodeo for second place money. From there, it was nothing but momentum—Hanchey’s roping, the Cinch Roping Fiesta, and every stop in between.

“I’ve never clicked with a horse like this before,” Henry said. “People were asking what I was doing to make him work so good, and I hadn’t changed anything. I was just roping. It was like it was meant to be.”

While the quick setups are Marios bread and butter, Henry has counted on him for big money everywhere from the Thomas & Mack to Cheyenne and Houston. And while the 2024 NFR didn’t go how he’d hoped—Mario was right-hipping calves and breaking wide—it didn’t take long to prove the gelding still had it.

“I took him to Odessa after the Finals and was 7.7 again,” Henry laughed. “So yeah, I guess he ain’t done just yet.”

There’s not much maintenance that comes with Mario. Henry said the key is keeping him straight, since he likes to quarter off. But at home?

“He never does anything wrong at the house,” Henry said. “I’ve never ran a bunch on him at the practice pen, but you could run however many you want and he’s going to stop dead straight. He won’t duck and he will run backwards pulling. I don’t know if he just doesn’t like being tuned on or what.”

When the money’s up and the pressure’s high, Henry doesn’t second-guess his mount choice.

“If I draw the right calf, it’s up to me whether I win or not,” Henry said. “That’s the confidence he gives me. I can count on one hand how many times he’s cost me and it’s not very many. I’ve never had a horse like that before. If it’s for big money, I want Mario.”

In 2022, Henry rode Mario to his first college national championship—and Mario earned the College Rodeo Horse of the Year title. But the accolades that followed didn’t always come easy.

“I didn’t get the AQHA Horse of the Year nomination in 2022 because of paperwork,” Henry said. “Then in 2023, he was hurt most of the year and I brought him out during Caldwell week. I was sitting around 25th in the world and ended up making the NFR because of him.”

Henry had every intention of nominating him in 2024, but the PRCA email landed in his spam folder. He missed the deadline by one day.

“I think I cried, honestly,” Henry said. “Not because I thought he’d win—I mean, Lollipop is amazing—but because it was my fault he didn’t even get the chance. My horse, he’s like a brother to me. I just wanted that opportunity for him.”

The plan for 2025? Let Mario rest through the summer.

“I’ve said that the last couple years and I’ve had to call my dad to bring him to me, but this year I really mean it,” Henry said with a laugh. “He’s earned that break.”

Still, Henry knows there may never be another horse like Mario—and he’s holding on to every run.

“I know how hard it is to find a good one, and I’ve made plenty of mistakes buying the wrong ones,” Henry said. “So every time I’m on him, I just want to make it count. I want to win something on him. Because I know I won’t have him forever, and there probably won’t ever be another one like him.”