Throughout his years in the rodeo business, Harvey Northcott became one of the most respected stock contractors in Canada, running an operation of more than 150 horses and 70 bulls on 1,600 acres north of Caroline, Alberta. Before Harvey’s passing in 2010, the Northcotts merged their family business with that of another steward of rodeo stock, Ward Macza, a fellow Canadian known for his distinctive moustache, stoic demeanor, and stellar bucking horses — which he, like Harvey, cares for as if they’re members of the family. Today Northcott-Macza produces some happiest, healthiest, and, as a result, best-performing bucking bulls and horses in North America.
A breakout among the stars of Northcott-Macza’s elite outfit — who’s been getting a lot of attention as of late — is the fiery bareback horse they call Stevie Knicks.
“That Stevie Knicks is a cowboy’s dream,” Macza says proudly. “All the good guys, they can pretty well mark their score. I mean, they’ve been over 90 on her five or six times this year; they tied the arena record at the finals; she was Bareback Horse of the Calgary Stampede, Bareback Horse of Canada. She’s just one of them special ones that tries very hard and bucks for the whole eight.”
Jamie Howlett recently scored a 90.5 on Stevie Knicks in Fort Worth, and reigning World Champion Clayton Biglow went 93 points on her at the 2019 NFR. But her most notable accomplishment so far this season has been her record-breaking matchup with 3X world champion Tim O’Connell. At the 2020 Cinch Chute-Out in San Angelo in February, O-Connell rode Stevie Knicks for a score of 94 points, setting a new arena record and tying the world record.
It’s a ride the 3X World Champion had been waiting for, and one he says he’ll always remember.
“I’d been wanting to get on that horse for a while,” says O’Connell. “She’s very deceiving when you watch her. I’ve watched her so many times and thought, Man, that’s just a really good hopper, but when you get on her, she’s different. It was like an explosive piece of dynamite went off underneath me. It was fast; it was electric. And it was challenging at the same time because I’ve never seen anyone not spur over her neck, because she’s constantly putting her head between her legs, and turning her head this way and turning her head that way. It’s just back and forth. So, your spot for aiming which should be about a 4-inch target, turns into about an inch target, and it’s moving constantly. You have to be so on you’re a-game to match her for that. And then, like I said, she’s just so electric, blowing up underneath you — going left, going right, going back, going forward.
“It’s an amazing animal. I had no idea how incredible an animal that was until I got to nod my head finally.”
