David Harbers and Don Lamont turned luck and talent into a US Rider #5 Gold Shootout victory at the Cinch RSNC South Central Regional Super Sort in Waco, Texas, May 1–3 , sorting 23 head across three rounds in 166.63 seconds to earn $3,990.
It was the win that almost wasn’t. Harbers, from Simonton, Texas, had been seriously considering stepping away from ranch sorting, and as their final, Gold Shootout run unfolded, it wasn’t looking great.
According to Lamont, from Albany, Texas, the pair reached the halfway point with only three or four cattle sorted, putting the pressure on to make something happen without blowing the herd apart. Then, the cattle suddenly flooded toward the gate.
“All of a sudden, I went after a cow and they all came to the gate,” Lamont said.
Harbers, working the gate on his blue roan mare, “Charlie,” suddenly found himself trying to turn nearly the entire herd while Lamont worked back and forth inside.
Then the run flipped in their favor.
As the clock wound down, the remaining cattle began lining up, allowing Lamont to and Harbers to sort off the winning 10 head.
“It was like all of them lined up perfectly,” Lamont said. “It was a lot of luck, for sure.”
For Harbers, the win represents far more than a paycheck. After more than a decade in ranch sorting, the competitor admitted he had reached a point where the sport no longer felt fun. His son, who originally helped pull the family into the RSNC world, had moved on to veterinary school at Texas A&M, and the dry spell that followed slowly drained Harbers’ confidence.
“I was at the point I was ready to give up,” Harbers said.
Then came Charlie. Registered as Silver Dove Time, the 6-year-old mare is sired by One Fabulous Time and taps into a few foundational cutting horses on the bottom.
Named after Kelly McGillis’ character in the original Top Gun movie, Charlie reignited Harbers’ excitement almost immediately after he bought her several months ago. He hauled the mare to the Cinch RSNC San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo Super Sort for just her second time in the sorting pen, where Tommy Roberson quickly noticed her natural ability.
“Tommy looked at me and said, ‘Holy smokes, you need to send this horse off to a trainer, and I don’t care if it’s me,’” Harbers recalled. “I tossed him the reins and said, ‘Then you [train her and] take her to the Worlds.’”
Since then, Charlie has continued developing rapidly, including open-level success under Roberson. Harbers said the mare’s athleticism and willingness have transformed the way he views the sport again.
“She dropped down so far on one run that I could see her feet out in front of me,” Harbers said. “Talk about a smile on your face when you walk out of the pen.”
That renewed energy showed up in Waco. Harbers and Lamont discussed targeting the US Rider #5 Gold Shootout in Waco weeks earlier after meeting at Glen Rose. Lamont, a #3-rated sorter who only entered the sport about four years ago, knew Harbers’ #2 rating and strong horse made them a dangerous combination in the format.
While Harbers waited specifically for the Gold Shootout, Lamont rode nearly every class on the schedule, including runs with all three of his grandchildren — Addy Hall, Braelee Ellis and Jax Manuel. The family atmosphere is a major reason Lamont became hooked on the sport in the first place.
That competitive drive eventually pushed Lamont deeper into the horse side of the business as well. After starting on pasture horses, he gradually upgraded into better mounts that forced him to improve as a rider. His sorrel gelding, “Tuff,” registered as Smoothies Starlight and sired by Smooth As A Cat, became a turning point.
“He makes you use your feet and be light with your hands,” Lamont said. “When you do that, he’s like riding a magic carpet.”
With horsepower nailed and visions of the Cinch RSNC World Finals locked in, both men are feeling confident.
Harbers is so fired up he’s put a new futurity horse in training and keeps adding classes in Fort Worth with different partners.
Lamont is equally optimistic. Between healthier horses, stronger partnerships and more confidence in the saddle, he believes both competitors are building momentum.
“If I can keep my horses and myself healthy, I think we’re going to have a really good [World Finals],” Lamont concluded.