Category: 5 Star Champion

Story by Lindsay Humphrey

Usually hovering in the top 30 in the WPRA standings, Michelle Darling decided it was time to take her dream of making the NFR seriously in 2022. By mid-summer, she catapulted into the top 15 in the world. Essentially, Michelle grew up in a sale barn while her dad bought their next great project horse. “My dad would get problem horses and we’d fix them and then sell them,” she said. “Before getting to high school, I was never mounted on anything that great. I think that’s why I can ride a wide array of horses now.” After graduating from the OKYRAs, Michelle found herself drawn to horses with Frenchmans Guy in their lineage. “Those horses have always been good to me. I grew up training them and I just get along with them really well.”
It wasn’t uncommon for Michelle to have a string of 2- and 3-year-old colts to ride for outside clients. That’s how she paid her fees for junior rodeo and into high school. She then went on to compete well in open rodeos while pursuing her associate’s degree in science. “After having my son – Talon now 18 – I went back to riding horses and working part time at the hospital. I didn’t buy my permit until I was about 23.” It shouldn’t be shocking that another Frenchmans Guy helped Michelle fill it. It didn’t take long for training to become Michelle’s full-time gig. A natural-born extrovert, Michelle had dreams outside the arena that competed for her attention in recent years. “Just before I headed out west this summer, I graduated as a licensed practical nurse [LPN]. It was a busy year leading up to the summer run, but I decided that Martini and I aren’t getting any younger.”
Even though Michelle is enjoying her time out on the rodeo trail, she misses home. She’s lucky that she brought a piece of it with her for the summer. “My daughter [Demi, 7] is my traveling partner. I have to give a big shoutout to my husband [Cody] who’s holding down the fort back at home. Without his support, I wouldn’t be out here.” Cody has Talon and 9-year-old Case at home living the bachelor life while the girls turn and burn on the road and in the arena. And since life doesn’t stop for a rodeo entry, they’re keeping all the horses at home happy and healthy. “It really takes an army to do this. I’m lucky that I have a few people who can keep riding colts for me while I’m gone.”
Even though Michelle’s tried her hand at just about all the events from the back of a horse, barrel racing was her niche from the beginning. “I tied goats, ran poles and roped a bit, but barrel racing is what I’ve always been good at. When I started winning and then figured out how to fix problem horses, I liked it even more.” Your name in lights for first place is sweet as honey but watching someone win on a horse she trained is the best compliment you can give Michelle. “I want people to be able to come behind me and win on those horses that I trained. Part of being a trainer is recognizing when someone else can ride a certain horse better than I can and handing the reins over to them.”
Someday soon, those reins will be made by 5 Star Equine. “They’re coming out with a tack line and I’m excited about that. Even though I get product from them as a sponsored athlete, I still spend money with them because they have such a great product.” Michelle’s professional relationship with 5 Star began just four years ago, but she’s ridden the product for even longer. “I love their pads because they hold their shape and they don’t wear out. They also offer different thicknesses so you can get just the right fit for your horse and saddle.” Since using 5 Star pads Michelle can’t recall having any issues with sore backs. One of her favorite pads is over 6 years old and is still gets thrown on the colts daily. Some might think the sport boots are intimidating because of the extra straps, but that’s exactly what Michelle likes about them best. “The boots are little a different, but once you figure them out, they’re super easy. I think the extra straps support the leg a lot better. I just really love their products and their customer service is second-to-none. They drop ship whatever I need no matter where I’m at on the road.”

In a word, the 2022 rodeo season has been all about driving for Jimmie Smith from McDade, Texas. Sky-high gas prices aren’t keeping her at home after 2021 almost sidelined her completely. “Last June, I was in a super bad semi-truck accident,” the professional barrel racer said. “That really shook things up. It took my good rope horse and barrel horse out of the trailer for the summer. But through the wreck, I met some really great people and that’s how I got paired up with Viper who kept me in the standings.” Jimmie and Viper landed in the 17th hole last season. Now she’s approaching the year with a new mentality that’s truly paying off.
“Each year it seems like there are different goals. This year I’m just doing what’s best for me and my horses; minding our own business and taking care of ourselves.” Jimmie admits that she’s put a lot of pressure on herself and her mounts in the past three rodeo seasons. “I wanted to make the finals every year and keep up with everyone else by going to all the rodeos; especially over Cowboy Christmas.” Rather than going to every rodeo on the map, Jimmie is picking wisely. She’s hyper focused on competing in the rodeos that her horses will perform well at. “I’m trying to rodeo smarter. I’m choosing rodeos that I enjoy, which I usually have more confidence at anyways. I’ve stopped chasing rodeos and money.” Focusing on her horses is putting the joy back into rodeo as the pressure eases off. It’s a great strategy for Jimmie’s mental game as she’s looking to breach the top 15 this year just as she did for the first time in 2018.
“I’ve rodeoed my whole life and then did college rodeo. I was more of a goat tier and breakaway roper originally. I made the college finals in both of those.” Even though Jimmie’s been a lifelong barrel racer, prior to 2016 it had been a while since she had a top mount to turn the clover leaf pattern. It was in the fall of 2016 that Jimmie found Lena On The Rocks. “I had been looking for a horse that would be the next best thing to raising babies since all my own were still too young to go yet.” Lena was 6 when she got paired up with Jimmie. Their first major event together was the Lucky Dog American Semi Final Qualifier in December. After qualifying for the American, Jimmie realized Lena was something special.
“I was really focusing on my college rodeos, so I was saving Lena to make the college finals. I graduated from Texas A&M in May 2018, we went to the college finals and we entered all the rodeos that summer.” It was Jimmie’s rookie season and she managed to clinch the year-end title thanks to her partnership with Lena. That was the same year Jimmie landed her very first sponsorship contract with 5 Star Equine. “I really appreciate and love the atmosphere that 5 Star provides and all their products are American made. They’re super great to work with as a team.” When Jimmie qualified for the American semi final in 2016, she won herself a pink 5 Star saddle pad. It was her first experience with the brand and now she can’t imagine riding anything else.
“I love my pink 5 Star pads. They keep my horses super happy, and I don’t have any issues with soreness in their back.” Jimmie rarely saddles her horses with anything but a pink 5 Star pad anymore. She enjoys matching her pad with her horses’ boots and her own shirt. She also uses their mohair breast collars to pull the entire 5 Star, usually pink, ensemble together. “I just really like that they keep my horses happy. I don’t have issues in their back, they’re never really sore when it comes to my pads and saddles fitting, they just fit accordingly. And my horses are able to perform to their best.”

Molli Montgomery was miserable when, as a kid, she and her family visited Disney World.
That’s because she couldn’t stand to be away from her horses at home.
The Purdon, Texas cowgirl grew up loving horses and has made them her life’s work. As a kid, she’d spend all her spare time in the pasture with the horses or with the best babysitter she could have, a pony named Charlie.
“My mom would saddle him up and put me on him, and I would ride him for five hours a day,” she recalled. “I’ve always loved riding and the horses.”
Molli, her husband, brother and sister-in-law and other family members run Montgomery Barrel Horses and have anywhere from 80 to 90 horses at various stages of training. Some are customer horses, some are their personal horses.
They specialize in four-and five-year-old futurity barrel horses. Molli has trained and run winning horses like FeelintheFirewater, A Dash to Glamour, Strawflyin the Gold, Heavenly Firewater, and TR HeavensIlluminated.
She is a 5 Star Equine team member and loves their products, including the saddle pads, using mostly the 7/8 barrel racer with the gullet hole.
“I really like that one, because I feel it fits really well. It molds to a horse’s back,” she said. “We don’t have any problems with the saddle pad slipping or sore backs. It’s natural, all wool, and I feel it keeps my horses safe.”
She also uses the performance boots. They are made of “real stretchy” material, “which I feel gives your horse’s leg a lot of support, and they have double straps, to support the suspensories.” The boots fit nicely, to keep the dirt out. “Mine never have dirt in them, ever.”
Molli appreciates the customization that 5 Star Equine allows their customers to do, all online.
“I love going through the website and trying different colors,” she said. “I love how you can cus-tomize it yourself and see it before you buy it. You don’t have to wait, you can see your product right there.”
She believes in repetition when training her horses, “the consistency of that monotonous type of training, every day, riding,” she said.
Taking a horse to a futurity trainer is a huge advantage to the horse, and the owner, she believes.
“You’re always going to come home with a better horse than what you sent off, if you send to a good futurity trainer,” she said. “That horse will stand for the farrier, will be soft in the body and the face and well patterned. Whether they go on to be a standout futurity colt or not, they will have a solid foundation for their future.”
Molli compares futurity training to school, “pre-K, K and first grade for horses.”
Sending a colt off to futurity training is a way to discover the rare “unicorns,” she believes.
“If you can’t afford to spend $200,000 or $300,000 on a horse, which is what it takes to win on these days, and you’re wanting to create a great horse for yourself, put that horse in training.
“We have horses that can barely have a halter on, and within eighteen months, they’re running the barrels. Even if that horse doesn’t go on to be one of the greats, you can sell them for more than what they would have been worth. You pay for the horse, the training, and now you have a horse that you couldn’t have afforded to buy.”
Molli prides herself on horses with a solid foundation. “That translates to years of longevity in the performance of a horse.
“It takes a solid foundation for those horses to stand on, and win for years. That’s what I feel like is the secret to futurity trainers’ programs. We’re very dedicated to riding and laying a solid foundation for these colts.”
She’s proud to be one of many successful futurity trainers.
“I’m one of many talented futurity trainers, and there are lots of great trainers that do amazing jobs. People don’t realize what we do for the industry and for horses, to further their future.”

The tail on Tandy Meyer’s horse went viral after Rodeo Houston.
Not in a bad way, but in a good way.
The Sallisaw, Oklahoma cowgirl’s barrel horse has a very long, beautiful, gray and white tail, and as she ran out of the arena after her run in Houston, Impulse Photography caught a shot of the tail streaming behind the horse.
Tandy has been running barrels since she was a kid, growing up the daughter of Gary Jacobs and Nita Jacobs.
She and her partner Doug Chaney have a 28-stall barn, all of them full of colts and young horses, and they ride and train.
Tandy is a 5 Star Equine Products customer who loves what their products do for her horses.
She got hooked on 5 Star saddle pads through the famous-tailed horse, Beep.
With Beep, she’d have to keep tightening the cinch and scooting the saddle up because the pad didn’t fit well. But at an event in Topeka, a friend had a 5 Star saddle pad and let her borrow it.
“When I put the saddle on,” Tandy said, “it was almost like you could hear it suck down on his back. I was sold. The saddle didn’t move.”
She loves the pads because they’re easy to clean, and durable. With Beep, she uses the normal style of pad, but she also likes the cutback ones for high withered horses, “because the saddle sits up so much better and they seem more comfortable.”
Tandy uses the 5 Star boots, too. “They’re durable and lightweight, and not a lot of dirt gets in.” She notices that when she takes them off, even if her horses have run in deep, heavy ground, their legs are clean.
Beep, whose registered name is Streakin Dusty Light, has taken her and Doug’s program in a different direction.
Because of him, Tandy bought her WPRA permit, filled it, got her card, and went to the WPRA Finals in Waco for the first time last year, at age 53.
“He’s just been a blessing,” she said. “He’s opened up other doors for us.”
He came to them as a two-year-old and they began training him for his owner. But after seeing his potential, they purchased him.
Beep started and trained easy, but he was spooky. “He wasn’t the best futurity horse,” Tandy said. “He let his surroundings bother him.”
Tandy took him to amateur rodeos, where he calmed down.
“The rodeos didn’t bother him. Once I took him to a couple of rodeos, he got settled in and was competitive everywhere.”
Beep isn’t scared, just spooks easily, although he’s gotten much better, Tandy said. “Around the farm, if he gets spooked, it’s because something is there that wasn’t there the day before.”
His beautiful tail came to be known by the rodeo world in Houston with the photo. “It’s so long, I trim it two or three inches every two weeks, and it still lays on the ground,” she said. The top half is gray and the bottom half is white, and usually Tandy braids it. For her first run, it was braided. The next night, the braid was fully loosened. The picture “is unbelievable,” she said. “He’s running in full stride, and his tail is flowing out behind him. It’s beautiful.” Clients of hers bought the picture, had it put on a canvas and it hangs over her couch.
It takes a team to keep things running at their farm. Her partner Doug Chaney, her daughter Mia Meyers, and their helper Kinsley Sweptson all work together. “We have a good team.”
Last year, Tandy finished fourth in the barrel racing average at the WPRA World Finals and third at the Senior World, both times aboard Beep. This year, he was second at the Barrel Bash in Guthrie, Okla., one of only two horses who made fifteen second runs.

The Routier family is a 5 Star Equine family through and through.
Riley and Jessica Routier and their five children: son Braden and daughters Payton, twins Rayna and Rose, and Charlie, use and love 5 Star products.
Every horse on the Routier ranch, located in the far northwest corner of South Dakota, near Buffalo, wears a 5 Star pad. They love them. “I still have the very first 5 Star pad I owned,” Jessica said, “and they’re still just as good as the day we got them. They don’t wear out, and they fit a horse good.”
She uses the one-inch pad on her barrel horses. The ranch horses wear the rancher pad, and the ponies wear the seven-eighth inch pad because they’re “a little bit round.”
Once or twice a year, it’s saddle pad cleaning time for the Routiers. The family uses the cleaning spray and sponges that are sold alongside the pads, then hose them off, “and they’re good to go for another six months.”
Jessica also uses the mohair cinches and loves the variety of colors they come in.
The Routiers are partial to the boots, too. Fiery Miss West, “Missy”, her primary barrel horse, doesn’t wear boots at all but the other horses do. “I like how they fit. I think they give the horses a lot of support.”
Five Star products are easily customizable with different colors and patterns, but that has caused a bit of competition amongst the two older Routier kids. The family has three sets of boots: blue, purple and red, but Braden and Payton always want the blue set. “We have a big fight going on the barn right now,” Jessica said. “Everybody thinks the blue boots are the best.”
Jessica has qualified for the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo four times, each time on Missy. She finished the 2018 season as reserve world champion and has won the Badlands Circuit Finals year-end title four times (2017, 19-21).
Now the next generation of Routiers is rodeoing.
Son Braden, a sophomore in high school, competes in the tie-down roping, team roping and steer wrestling in both high school rodeo and Little Britches.
Payton, who is an eighth grader, trick rides and breakaway ropes, although the trick riding might go on the back burner for a while, her mother said. “I think she was getting lonely spending weekends with her mom (trick riding at rodeos) when her friends were at other rodeos, roping and running barrels.”
The three little girls are always in the mix. Rayna and Rose are six years old, and Charlie is five. They like to run around the barrels, do poles and they’ve dabbled in the trick roping. They track calves out of the roping box and rope the calf sled behind the four wheeler.
Rodeo is special to Jessica.
“I don’t even know what my life would be like without rodeo, and without having found that one once-in-a-lifetime horse (Missy). It’s built my whole life and who I am. I have an amazing rodeo horse and I’ll rodeo on her as long as she’s healthy and willing.”
She’s helping her kids rodeo, too.
“My goal is to find that once-in-a-lifetime horse for my kids, the horse that shapes their lives.”
She loves the life she and Riley have built, with their family.
“I’m just so thankful to have raised them in a rodeo community and on a ranch. I don’t think there’s a better place to raise kids.”

One of the best parts of life for Josie Conner is spending time with her mom and dad, Jade and Wendi Conner.
The eighteen-year-old cowgirl, a breakaway roper, is homeschooled so she can travel to rodeos and jackpots.
She uses 5 Star Equine products and loves them. She loves the saddle pads, how they fit, and how the pressure is distributed evenly across her horses’ backs. When she takes them off, there are no dry spots, which tells her they fit evenly. “The hairs are never wrinkled when I take the pad off, which means the saddle hasn’t rolled; it’s stayed in one place.”

She also uses 5 Star’s Patriot Sports support boot in part because they have the perfect amount of thickness. “They give great support while also being lightweight,” Josie said. “They are customizable to the horse’s legs, and I can get them as tight or as loose as I want. They last longer than any other boot I’ve used.”

The third 5 Star product Josie uses is the 5 Star mohair roper cinches. “I love them because they are 100 percent mohair, soft and comfortable for the horses,” she said. “What I really like is they don’t have any leather where I would strap my tie-down strap. The girts with leather where the tie-down strap pulls on them tend to roll up and pinch the horse. These don’t pinch or irritate in any way.”
A homeschool student, she will graduate this May. Homeschooling works well for her. “I’m really on top of my schooling. I try to get as much done as I can at home so when I’m on the road I don’t have to worry about it, and it’s done. School is my first priority.”

Last year was one of her best years in rodeo. She won the Jr NFR, the Jr Patriot, and the World Championship Junior Rodeo in Guthrie. This year, she’s secured her spot in The American with an exemption in the sixteen-man round.
The horses carrying her to the winner’s circle are a sorrel blaze face named Tonka, and a sorrel chestnut named Bingo. Tonka was purchased by the Conners in 2019.

He’s very good at his job, Josie said. “He leaves the corner and reads my hand well in the breakaway. He lets me float; if I go early, I can pull without him stopping.” Tonka has good timing and a lot of try as well. “He gives me his heart every time.”

Her backup horse is Bingo, who was purchased by the family last year. Bingo likes to run, and if it’s a slow calf may not read the calf as well. “On faster calves, I like to run Bingo,” she said. Both horses are equally talented. “When I don’t want to put the runs on Tonka, I ride Bingo.”

This fall, Josie will attend McNeese State University, working towards a business or marketing degree. She hasn’t decided if she will rodeo collegiately yet. “There are so many options: pro rodeos, amateurs, ropings and collegiate. I’ll look at my schedule and see what fits in best.”

Her parents travel with her, and that’s the best part of life. “We do everything together. It’s really cool.”
The family lives near Iowa, Louisiana.

STEVI HILLMAN IS THE NEWEST $1 MILLION COWGIRL ON THE RODEO TRAIL.

The 5 Star Equine team member made the million-dollar mark at the 2021 National Finals Rodeo.
On her sixth trip to the “big show,” she won two rounds (splitting the win in round nine) and placed three more times to finish as the number six cowgirl in the world standings. She jumped from eleventh place to sixth place, earning over $100,000 at the Finals.

The “yellow dragon” carried Stevi through all ten rounds of this year’s NFR.
Famous Lemon Drop, “Lemon Drop,” is a five-year-old palomino who showed up on Stevi’s radar in April.
The mare was all-business and kept her space, but the two bonded quickly, and Stevi took her on the summer rodeo run.
She knew the horse was successful at futurities and indoor arenas, but rodeos, with outside pens and varying conditions, was a question.

But Lemon Drop shone. “She took to it extremely well,” she said.
The horse has her own personality, Stevi said, describing her as a toddler with lots of energy. “She’s just like a little kid that never wears down. She’s spunky and a lot to warm up. Wild is a good word to describe her.”
Not everyone can jump on Lemon Drop to ride her. “She’s a lot of horse. She’s little but she’s strong. You have to be very dialed in and sharp with your reactions and your timing, because she is aggressive and quick and fast and really strong. She’s a very, very confident five-year-old.”
Stevi’s team includes other horses, in addition to Lemon Drop, who have excelled for her. The team started with Truck, a horse she began riding in 2014 and who is still in the rodeo trailer this year. It also includes Martini, Sharpie, Slick, Sherlock, Millie, Shiner, and several others. Each horse has played its part; some larger roles, some cameos. But they’re all important.
“I take pride in the fact that these horses have all been part of my story,” Stevi said. “I treat them like family, and I’ve been blessed by all of them.”

She has been a loyal 5 Star Equine customer since a friend gave her a saddle pad in 2012. “I’m all about my horses and their backs, and how they feel and how the saddle fits. Five Star has been a great part of my program and keeping my horses’ backs feeling good. And the pads last a really long time. That’s sold me on them.”
The 5 Star Equine team provides their Wrangler NFR qualifiers with a custom-made saddle pad, made especially for each cowgirl. Stevi’s had her birth month flower on it, a marigold, her previous NFR back numbers, and yellow and gold crocodile print, “which looked really good on Lemon Drop.”

She is no stranger to young horses and jokes that she does well with five-year-olds. She’s taken three different horses, all at five years of age, to the NFR: Lemon Drop this year, and Sharpie and Martini in past years.
She has a zeal for training horses. “It’s my passion. I love taking a young horse to the next level. That’s probably why I get along so well with the five-year-olds. I understand them. Not everybody can run a five-year-old. You have to keep them together without scaring them.”

Stevi and her husband, Ty, live on their place near Weatherford, Texas. They break their own horses and now own a stud with babies on the place. This year, she has four futurity horses and will rodeo a little and futurity a little more. “We’ll go to the big rodeos, but we’ll take some time to enjoy the closer futurities and the younger horses,” she said. “I have some great customers that have big hopes for their horses, and I’m super excited about that.”

Terry and Julia Moore, and their daughter Rachel Lowrey, are bringing the best products possible to horsemen and women.
Through their company, 5 Star Equine Products & Supplies, Inc., they provide high quality saddle pads, cinches, and equestrian sport and bell boots.
It all started in 2012, when they purchased the business from Mike and Laurel Easton.
Laurel and her first husband, Vernon Wells, had moved from Canada to Texas then later to Mena, Arkansas, to open their business in the States in 1998.
But before they could get started, Vernon suffered a heart attack and passed away.
Laurel, a master sewer who had been sewing since she was a child, vowed to carry on the business. When she met and married Mike, the two continued with the 5 Star Equine Products Company.
But in 2012, they were ready to sell.
Terry, a third generation logger living in Dierks, Arkansas, had owned a small wood shaving business, buying material from saw mills, bagging it, and selling it.
Mike and Laurel were in the process of selling 5 Star Equine Products to a different person, but when the bank work didn’t go through, Terry was interested.
Terry’s daughter, Amanda, was an accountant and tax lawyer, and she and her dad visited the business, looking it over. He was impressed with the product and how Laurel and Mike had run the company, and he thought it would be a great place for him to work alongside his daughters, so he bought it.
5 Star Equine manufactures saddle pads and cinches and sells equestrian boots. The saddle pads and cinches are manufactured on site, with the best possible materials used for them. They use 100% wool, the same product Vernon and Laura used when they started the business years ago.
The saddle pads are very durable. Terry sometimes gets pictures from customers of their saddle pads, more than 20 years old and still in use.
The cinches are made of 100% mohair; the only item they sell that isn’t made in-house are the equestrian boots, which 5 Star Equine puts their brand on.
“We have not changed what Vernon, Laurel and Mike started,” Terry said.
What has changed with 5 Star Equine over the years are the possible customizations. “We added styles and colors, different looks of leather, but the basic pad is still the basic. It’s what we build everything around,” he said.
Customers are able to customize their saddle pads and purchase online. “We built our online stores so people can go there,” Terry said. “We have so many options in styles, thicknesses, sizes and colors. We have about 50 wear leathers they can decorate with, hand tooled, with corner plates and embroidery.” When customers have chosen their options online, they can see the saddle pad built on the screen, with their customizations.
They’ve grown the business, selling close to five times more saddle pads than in 2012. Business is booming, Terry said. Last year, sales were up 35%; this year, to date, they’re up 20% over last year.
5 Star Equine has dealers across the world, from Germany to Switzerland and even Australia. When he advertises, he doesn’t like to preach at people to buy 5 Star products, but educates them “on what this pad will do for them, helping them help their horse feel better and perform better. We’re all about their horses, helping these performance horses perform better for their owners.”
The Moores married in 1979 and later made the decision to have a family hobby they and their children could enjoy. Both had ridden horses in their youth, so they chose horses.
“We got into the horse deal in 1980, and we’ve never been without horses since,” he said.
His daughters, Amanda, who passed away in 2014 in a motorcycle accident, and Rachel, competed in Arkansas youth horse shows and American Quarter Horse shows. Both girls were state barrel racing champions, and Rachel won The All American Congress twice in youth barrels. His wife, Julia, is a retired elementary school teacher.
Terry has grown the business from three employees to 23 and has nearly tripled factory space. He’s proud that he can offer good jobs in Mena, Arkansas. “I like that we’re able to provide jobs for families, and they’re dependable and steady jobs.” He’s grateful for his workers. “We have a core of employees that are good. We’ve built good relationships with them. We’ve been tremendously blessed.”
But it all goes back to the superior products his people create.
“When we put it on paper, it will do exactly what we say it will do. It performs in the field. That’s the main reason it’s grown. Our customers are our best marketing agent. That’s how it’s grown.”

It was a trail ride that inspired Jersey Thompson to run barrels.
The Westminster, Colo., cowgirl, who is twelve years old, was under the tutelage of her trainer, Marie Stephenson, a barrel racer, when Marie suggested the girl try barrels.
So she did, and at the age of five, began her career. She is the first in her family to rodeo.
Now, seven years later, she’s a member of the Mile Hi Barrel Horse Association, True West Productions, Dinero Dash Barrel Racing, BetterBarrelRaces, the Northwest Barrel Racing Association and the KK Run for Vegas. She has qualified for the Jr. American as well.
A member of the 5 Star Equine team, their products enhance her competition and keep her horses safe.
Jersey loves the saddle pads. “I really like how they absorb the sweat,” she said. “It lets the sweat dry in all the right places. And if you take care of them, they’ll last a really long time.” The pads don’t shift on the horses, and “they keep my horses from getting sore.”
She loves the colors, too, and “how you can customize them, and the cool prints and patterns.” She owns a black saddle pad with a turquoise scroll on the leather, a black pad with pink and black crocodile leather, and a third pad that is purple with turquoise leather.
Jersey also loves the 5 Star Equine boots. One reason she uses them is they do a good job of keeping out rocks. They also give her horses joint and leg support while they’re running. And, like the saddle pads, “you can customize the colors.” Her horses’ boots match their saddle pad colors.
The cowgirl has two horses, a paint and a palomino. The paint, named Priscilla, is ten years old. She’s been riding Priscilla for the last five years. The palomino, Magic, is seven. Priscilla is the boss horse, she said. “She’s pretty bossy and sassy but she does her job well.” Magic also likes her job, but she’s quieter and more gentle.
A sixth grade student at Moore Middle School in Westminster, Jersey is doing school remotely. She loves the subject of history and studying World War II, and science, due to a teacher she admires, who makes it enjoyable.
She also loves to draw, using any kind of medium. Her favorite subjects are people and horses, and her artwork is displayed across the Thompson home and in her mom’s office. Her mom has been bugging her for more artwork, to decorate her work space.
Skateboarding is another of her leisure activities.
The best trip Jersey has taken was to San Diego, Calif., three years ago. The family went to the beach, to the San Diego Zoo, Sea World, and whale watching, where they spotted a dolphin and sea turtles.
The best meal her mom makes, in her opinion, is Texas hash, and the cowgirl is crazy for ice cream: brownie batter, mint chocolate chip, cookies and cream, and cookie dough types.
The family has two pet dogs, Teddy and Harley, who are Rottweilers, four cats, and a bunny.
Jersey has qualified for the Legends Shootout (the finals for the Mile Hi), and has competed at the 2020 Junior World Finals and the Jr. American. She won second in the 1D Dream Catcher slot race finals for the 2020 Mile Hi season.
When she grows up, she would like to be a professional barrel racer.
She is the daughter of Marc and Angela Thompson.

There’s a Baby making a big splash in the steer wrestling world, and she’s doing it with 5 Star Equine Products, too.
Baby, a nine-year-old quarter horse, is a steer wrestling horse owned by Sam Dixon and ridden mainly by Jacob Talley, Justin Shaffer, and Will Lummus.
The blaze-faced sorrel, off the race track, was purchased by Dixon in 2018. Jacob and Justin rode her in 2018 a bit, and they considered taking her to the National Finals that year, but thought she might not be ready for the big stage
In 2019, Jacob was out with an injury for three months, so Justin, Will and Cody Harmon rode Baby. She responded well, carrying the three men, plus Dixon, to the pay window several times, including big wins in Salinas, Calif. “People started asking where she came from,” Sam said.
Now, in her second full year of rodeo competition, Dixon says she’s won over $130,000 in the last two years.
Equine products are often overlooked for steer wrestling horses, Sam thinks. Some of the steer wrestlers are big men, and it’s not a natural movement for a horse when the wrestler hangs off the side. It can cause horses to have sore backs. “Here we are, hanging off the side of them, and that puts a major strain on their back. Ever since we’ve been using 5 Star pads, we’ve never had a problem.”
Sam had a horse at home with back concerns, and he switched products. “I got a 5 Star pad and since then I’ve never had any back problems” with the horse.
The saddle pads clean up well, he said, and the material, one-hundred percent wool, “wicks the sweat away very well, compared to others.”
He has a few 5 Star saddle pads that he customized with certain neon colors that will be put into use at the 2020 National Finals, but they’re a surprise. “We’re waiting till the Finals to bust them out. When we do, they’ll be very noticeable.”
He and his wife Allison’s kids: daughters Bailey, Hadlie and Reiny, use the boots, pads, and breast collars. “I’ve always believed that 5 Star (products) were above and beyond.”
At the 2019 NFR, Baby came out of nowhere. She was the backup horse for Will, and when things weren’t clicking for him, he decided to ride her in the eighth round. Dixon and the guys were a bit worried; she had been seasoned, but they were concerned that she wasn’t quite ready.
There was no need to worry. Will was3.6 seconds that round to win it, and he rode her in the ninth and tenth rounds, placing in the tenth. Dixon was in a motel room, on night eight, trying to bring up the NFR with limited service, when his phone blew up. “I spent three hours answering phone calls and texts,” he beamed, “before he could download the video to watch her run.”
Baby, whose registered name is Babysgonecountry, lets guys do their job, Sam said. “She’s so good in the box, as far as scoring. She stands still, and lets you do your job and not worry about it.” She’s also versatile. “She fits any situation you’re in. A long score, running them down like at Salinas or Cheyenne. Everybody likes her in the short scores, too, because she’s quick off your hand.
But she comes with an attitude. “She is very much a woman,” Sam said. “She wakes up on the wrong side of the bed many days.” Her quirks can be overlooked. “She is so gritty,” Sam said. “It doesn’t matter what she’s doing, she gives one hundred percent every time.”
Baby loves to run and often plays with the hazing horse. She thinks it’s a contest to be the fastest, Sam said. “She’ll put her ears back and it’s like a race to the back end. It’s pretty fun to watch. If you really get after her, she’ll catch another gear.”
Sam has been a 5 Star customer for as long as he can remember, even before Terry Moore bought the business in 2012. “Since the Moores bought it,” Sam said, “they have gone above and beyond to make sure their stuff is right. They put a lot of time and money into it, and it shows.”

Rylee Howton and her horses are a walking advertisement for 5 Star Equine products.
The Three Rivers, Texas cowgirl is in love with the 5 Star saddle pad, sports leg wraps and sports boots, and they work well for her five horses: Turnpike, Moe, Hildie, Renee, and Lil Mama.
She loves the softness of the saddle pad and how it molds to her horses’ backs. She thinks the leg wraps are more supportive, and the straps grip better and support in places that other brands don’t. But they’re not stiff, either. “They are flexible so the horse can move,” Rylee said. “They’re more soft, and aren’t as long (as typical boots.)” Being a bit shorter is good, she said. “If a horse was to make a crazy movement, he wouldn’t step on the strap and injure himself.”
The seventeen-year-old competes in the barrel racing, pole bending and team roping in the Texas High School Rodeo Association, the Texas Youth Rodeo Association, the Better Barrel Races, and the National Barrel Horse Association.
For the barrels, she rides Bit of Gold Dust, “Turnpike” and Heza Fast Kitty, “Moe”. Turnpike, a seventeen-year-old, is her main horse and “the most consistent horse you’ll ever ride,” she said. “He makes the same run every time.” When Turnpike was injured earlier this year, the family bought Moe and she used him. Turnpike is recovered, so she trades off between the two. “Moe usually outruns Turnpike the first day, and the second day, Turnpike outruns Moe.” Turnpike prefers the big pens and Moe likes the smaller pens.
Turnpike was the big boss around the ranch, “the grumpy old man, the only boy at our house,” till Moe appeared, Rylee said. Moe has quite a personality. “If he sees you outside, he’ll run up to you and get all in your face,” she said. “If you’re not giving him attention, he’ll throw a fit.”
For the poles, Rylee rides two horses: Rocking Renee, “Renee”, and NQH Sun Hocks Hilda, “Hildie.” In the team roping, her mounts are Shes A Royal Fletcha “Lil Mama.”
Rylee is a 2020 graduate of George West High School. Looking back on her high school career, she recognizes how fun high school was. “I didn’t realize it when I was in school, but you see your friends every day and get to play sports every day. You don’t realize it at the time, but it’s a lot more fun to be in school than not.”
In high school, she participated in FCCLA, FFA, volleyball, basketball and softball. The pitcher for her softball team, the team qualified for districts the last two years.
In high school, she made it to the Texas State Finals all four years in the barrels and the last two years in the poles.
She will be a student at Texas A&M in Kingsville this fall, competing in the barrels and possibly the team roping. She plans on majoring in ranch management/ag business and would love to manage a ranch someday. She and her family live on her grandpa’s ranch, and she loves being around animals.
Her mom, Krystal, loves the 5 Star Equine products as well. “You can’t compare them to any others,” she said. The saddle pads “really reduce soreness in a horse’s back, and are one hundred percent wool, which absorbs sweat.” Krystal and Rylee use the garden hose to clean them. “Most saddle pads, with sweat, turn hard. These don’t do that.” They also have a horse with high withers and before they started with 5 Star Equine, they had trouble finding a pad that fit. “They just lay on the horse’s withers. They are so much softer.”
The boots also do what they’re supposed to do, Krystal said. “They stay where they’re supposed to be.”
Rylee’s step-dad is Londie Ruiz; her dad is Magoo Howton. She has a younger sister, Kylie Ruiz, who is six years old.