“He’s a bit of a front-end-y horse and that ground just kept moving from him. A lot of horses struggled. We came back the third round and I knew it was do-or-die. I had to win that round or we

were going home.” They turned in one of the fastest runs of the rodeo to that point, a 14.28, to win the round and $2,500. With the top four contestants from each BP Super Series advancing to the Semifinals based on money won, Hunter just squeaked in as the fourth-richest in her set. She came up through the Wild Card round in 2013, and she knew she wanted to do well in her semifinal in order to avoid traveling that route again. “That was way hard,” she said, recalling last year’s Wild Card Round. “You had 12 girls and they were all really hungry and they only took two back. That’s a very tough situation.” She drew toward the top of the ground in the semifinal, but she was little concerned when Fallon Taylor, who ran before her, had ground trouble. “Fuzz just went in there and handled it,” she said. “He ran that exact same time (a 14.28), but it was a different run. I was totally and completely relieved not to have to come back to that Wild Card.” Fuzz had two days to rest for the Championship Finals on Saturday, but she still took him up to the arena each morning to walk him in the alleyway or walk through the pattern. “We even got up early on Saturday to get in the arena,” she said. “You had to be in it before 5 a.m., so we got up at 4. All I did was walk him through the alley way. I didn’t even walk the pattern. With that short of pattern with the way its set up, my start in the alleyway was my ticket to the whole run. I fixed a few things that Fred picked up on that I was doing wrong in the alleyway. “When I made that first run in the Top 10, he ran a .45. This is

when having Fred with me is so amazing. He said, ‘I think if you do this in the alleyway, you’ll have a better run.’ I take what he says to heart because it makes a difference. I did what he said and he got his first barrel better.” It was a minor adjustment worth $50,000. In the Championship Shootout, Lisa Lockhart and An Oakie With Cash (“Louie”) had a near flawless run, first out on the ground, but still had a sticky spot on the third. Cervi and MP Meter My Hay (“Stingray”) had three big slips that cost precious time and Christy Loflin and Sheza Blazin Move (“Movin”), who ran last on the ground, bounced in the ruts. Hunter had some breath-defying moments of her own when Fuzz rocked the second barrel going into and coming out of the turn. In her emotional post-run interview, Hunter thanked her horse for making her look good, her husband for all his help and support and Rodeo Houston. Even two days later, she was ever gracious. “It’s a great honor to get to go run at Rodeo Houston,” she said. “It’s something that I’ve wanted to do my entire to life. They have 28,000 volunteers and I didn’t meet an ornery one. They even cooked me prime rib at the rodeo campground one night. Catherine Schultz is kind of over the whole thing and I never saw her without a smile on her face. The volunteers took such good care of us. Even the cops made sure you could get your trailer in there and get around traffic. It’s the craziest place. They’re so excited to have you there.” Her rock is her husband of nearly 40 years, Fred. “He’s my sponsor, my coach, my driver,” she said. “If I didn’t have Fred helping me I wouldn’t even be doing this. I’d just be working. It’s so overwhelming.” And then there is Fuzz, who the Hunters bought from his breeders Harry and Vivian Blackwell of Naylor, Mo. The Hunters were sent the unruly stud colt by Dr Nick Bar out of Sting It, by Power Train, after he got culled from their futurity program. Although he made it challenging at times, Fuzz is now a part of the Hunter family. “I hadn’t even made out of Rodeo Houston and I had a phone call to buy Fuzz,” she related. “I’ve had phone calls like that before. I’ve been offered money that would set Fred and I up in retirement really well, but Fuzz isn’t leaving my place. I told Hallie, my 7-year old granddaughter, the she could run him. She’s always wanted to run him. Of course, they’ll both have to be older than they are now so they’ll be safe, but I can’t think of anything more fun that watching those two come down the alley.”Afterwards, he’ll be a pasture ornament joining a herd that includes three 30-plus-year-olds. “I still have the first horse I ran and he’ll be 35 this year,” she noted. “There are horses that gave you their due diligence and gave you there heart and they don’t need to leavehorses are ready. I want to go there prepared!