Josh McElroy Wins NRCHA’s War Horse Challenge with 221.5 Fence Run

Josh McElroy and HA Dual Chic topped the fourth annual War Horse Challenge at the NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity with a 221.5 cow work on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Fort Worth, Texas.

The five-man showcase, presented by ICON Global, ran during the Open Finals of the Futurity and featured veterans who have come through the War Horses for Veterans program.

“All Business”

McElroy said when he was first paired with HA Dual Chic, known as “Dually,” he knew they’d get along well.

“Dually is a fantastic horse,” McElroy said. “I knew that he was my kind of horse. He’s not a big love-on-you type horse. He really just likes to work, and he is not going to get beat. He does not like to lose.”

HA Dual Chic is a familiar face in the War Horse Challenge. Donated to the War Horses for Veterans program by owner Wayne Hanson, he is one of the longest-serving horses in the string. In 2025, he finished fourth in the challenge with Heath Patrick.

The key to riding him, McElroy said, is staying quiet.

“With Dually in particular, it’s about staying pretty soft, because he will get a little bit high himself,” McElroy said. “So if you’re not focusing on being soft, then you can really get in his way and make him slower than he normally would’ve been.”

He spent the hours before his run visualizing exactly that.

“[I was] trying to remain soft, keep my hands low, keep my seat low, and just do my best to stay out of his way,” McElroy said.

Challenge Game Plan

The game plan for the cow work came together earlier in the day with his coach, Matt Koch. Dually has a habit of getting sticky at the start of a run when he’s alone in the arena, so the goal was to have a cow already coming by the time he turned around.

“He’ll back up, and end up on his back foot, and you kind of got to push,” McElroy said. “Matt and I had talked earlier in the day… that it was important that we get him out there and almost surprised him with the cow. It ended up working out just like we had talked.”

Once Dually stayed hooked the first time they boxed the cow, McElroy knew he had what he needed.

McElroy first rode with Matt during his War Horses for Veterans group in 2025. When weather and arena conditions shut down practice this year, the team headed to Matt’s place in Kansas, where they spent about four days working under his covered arena.

“Matt is a man of few words,” McElroy said. “So if he’s talking, you probably should listen, because he doesn’t say a lot.”

On Saturday night, the 221.5 held, though not without a scare. Patrick Miller and Unbelevabley Shiney finished just two points back with a 219.5.

“I thought Patrick was coming for me there on his run,” McElroy said. “He put together a phenomenal run.”

Bill Norman and Stylish Metallica, last year’s winning horse, placed third with a 211.

Adopted Into the Family

Founded in 2014 and based in Stilwell, Kansas, War Horses for Veterans uses performance horses to help combat veterans and first responders build community and fellowship after service. Participants come through in small groups, and the organization tries to match people with similar backgrounds.

“I had some guys who were in special operations like myself, and then some other guys who were infantry, and another medic like myself,” McElroy said.

But a member’s first group is only the beginning.

“That group is sort of your introduction into the family,” McElroy said. “As you complete that group, then you’re adopted into the family, and then you are welcome to come by War Horses at any time. Every time I’ve been there, there have been previous group participants who’ve stopped in. They were on their way from one place to another, or they were having a hard time and just needed to come hang out with somebody and talk through it.”

This year, the organization added long weekends at different locations throughout the year so alumni can ride, share stories, and keep the camaraderie going.

McElroy got the call to join the challenge in early December of 2025, and he accepted on the spot. Preparing for it took up most of 2026. On Saturday night, his group was right there with him, even from across the country.

“We’re kind of all in a text thread together,” McElroy said. “As we were standing in line in the arena, I could feel my phone going off [with] them sending their congratulations.”

Best if Lazy

McElroy grew up in the Texas Panhandle where his dad and godfather were both cowboys. He knew about reined cow horse growing up, but had never been part of the show world. He has lived in the Lexington, Kentucky, area for almost 10 years.

He joined the military in 2002 and served 21 years: 14 on active duty, then the rest in the Kentucky Guard. After his first year and a half, he spent most of his career in the special operations community, first as a medic with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. This unit flew the 2011 raid on Osama bin Laden’s compound. He deployed multiple times to Iraq and Afghanistan, then finished his active duty time with the Joint Special Operations Command in one of its special mission units.

As a medic, he had a simple way of looking at the job.

“Somebody’s usually having a bad day when I’ve got to work,” McElroy said. “That’s what I always told my guys: ‘You kind of want me to be lazy, because if I’ve got to work, one of you is having a real bad day.'”

When asked if there was anyone he wanted to thank, he didn’t hesitate. His wife, Kimberlee, packed up their children and made the trip to Fort Worth.

“She came down for a very short turn and burn, and I wouldn’t be able to do any of this stuff without her,” McElroy said. “She’s been my rock for almost 22 years now, so she definitely deserves more credit than she ever gets.”

2026 War Horses for Veterans Challenge Results