Particulars: 2005 sorrel Quarter Horse stallion by Dash Ta Fame, out of WPRA and WNFR World Champion Dynas Plain Special, by Special Feelins.
Barn name: He’s always just been known as Dash Ta Heaven, because nobody could ever come up with a nickname to fit his personality.
Owned by: Jud Little of Ardmore, Oklahoma.
Ridden by: Jolene Montgomery, Ashley Nelson, and Benette Barrington.
Big wins: Dash Ta Heaven amassed $106,868 in earnings in both pole bending and barrel racing in his 4- and 5-year-old years. Jolene piloted him to the 2010 All American Quarter Horse Congress Barrel Racing Sweepstakes Reserve Championship, the 2010 Old Fort Days Futurity Championship, and the 2009 WPRA World Finals Futurity Championship. He also claimed the 2009 AQHA Junior Pole Bending world title.
Full of himself: “He’s proud of himself, but he’s definitely not mean,” says Ashley. Jolene adds, “He’s like a mischievous little kid; he loves people, and he’s fun to be around, but he is ornery, ornery, ornery!”
Extra effort: When Jolene started him as a 2-year-old, she knew he was athletic but wasn’t sure she’d be able to get through to the colt with a mind of his own. “I’d ask him to pivot, and he’d jump up in the air like a deer and do a 180. A lot of people would have given up on him, and even I wasn’t sure, but Jud told me to stick to it. I give Jud a lot of credit for that.”
Game face: “He’s all business in the arena,” Jud says of his prized 6-year-old. “He’s the spitting image of his mother, who won the (WPRA) world title for Janae (Ward) Massey in 2003, and his running style is just like hers.”
Rodeo-ready: An NFR-qualifier in 2010, Benette used Dash Ta Heaven to help get her to the big show last December. After breeding season this year, he’ll go on the rodeo road with Benette to top PRCA tour stops.
