Josh McElroy Wins 2026 War Horse Challenge at Snaffle Bit Futurity 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 between the reining and cow work portion of the Open Finals of the Futurity, featuring veterans who have come through the War Horses for Veterans program. Riders boxed a cow, took them down the fence and circled up with the guidance of an NRCHA Professional in the arena with them.

For the win, McElroy earned a Martin trophy saddle.

HA Dual Chic is 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.”

McElroy 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.

Matt Koch’s Cow Work Game Plan

McElroy and his coach, $2 Million NRCHA professional Matt Koch, put the game plan together earlier in the day. Dually gets 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.”

When Dually stayed hooked in the boxing, McElroy knew he had what he needed.

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 211.0.

Adopted Into the War Horses 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 program in early December 2025, and he accepted on the spot. Preparing for the competition took most of 2026.

McElroy first rode with Koch during his War Horses for Veterans group in 2025. When weather and arena conditions shut down practice this year, the team headed to Koch’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.”

When McElroy rode in 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.”

Lazy Special Ops Medic for the Win

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.

McElroy joined the Army in 2002 and served 21 years—14 on active duty, seven in the Kentucky Army National 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, the unit that 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, McElroy 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, McElroy didn't hesitate to shout out his wife, Kimberlee, who had 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 Horse Challenge Results