World Champion Tie-Down Roper Shane Hanchey has been fortunate in the horsepower department before but the last few years have been trying. During the 2023 season, he and his new bay, Buggsy, clicked so well that Buggsy claimed the Tie-Down Horse of the Year title before an injury sidelined the equine athlete right before the National Finals Rodeo.
This year, Hanchey has taken two young horses on the road, River and Jules, as he begins his climb of the World Standings.
“A special horse. I’ve had [River] since the end of his three-year-old year. Walter Johnson owns him and he’s a winner, man. That’s the best way to describe him. Like I said earlier, a lot of people compare him to Reata, who is the great horse that I rode a lot of years and it’s probably not fair to Reata or to River but they do make the comparisons,” Hanchey said.
Jules is a six-year-old mare that Hanchey bought in early May. It is a mare that Hanchey has watched for two years and he says the gray mare is easy and does her job every time.
Hanchey knows what makes a great horse and it sounds like he might have two that are well on their way to being just that.
