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2530 Folks on-line
 Tiffany Fox wins Odessa! Jan. 26, 2005 On January 14, 2005 at 12:48 P.M.,
these words were typed out on the Barrel Horse World.com bulletin board: “Help! I need to know if I made it to
the short run at Odessa. I keep trying to call the Secretary but no answer!” Kanchazer,
a board buddy and barrel racer from Utah, read Tiffany’s cry for help and
answered in a very clam manner, “Call the Pro COM’s local line, they can
tell you. Good Luck, I hope you made it!” A
few days later I find out not only did she make it back to the short round, she
won it! I congratulated her along with many other board buddies. I thought to
myself, “How neat! One day trying to find out if you even made it back and a
few days later you emerge the champion! This calls for a story!” I
hunted Tiffany down through PM’S. I was now waiting for her answer. Would I
get her story? Like Tiffany a few
days earlier, I did not know if I was going to be able to make it to the “next
round”. It
was my turn to sit and wait. I
started my first page of this story. Will I be able to finish it? It’s now
Jan.19 at 7:55 AM! Mission
accomplished! I just got off the phone with a very happy and humble Tiffany Fox.
There wasn’t any problem speaking with her at work about her huge rodeo win at
Odessa. Tiffany works for Judd Little who is the proud owner of the mare she
rode that split 8th through 12th in the first go round! In
fact, Judd also owns the mare
that Kassie Mowry rode to win the first go!
Now
lets get down to some facts. I asked Tiffany how long she’s been going to Pro
Shows and she said, “I bought a permit last year and went to a few rodeos at
Mesquite to see what it was like. In December the two horses I was riding came
down with lameness issues. One had to have hock surgery and the other had chips
in her knees and ankles. I didn’t have anything to ride.” She went on to
explain that earlier Judd had purchased two great barrel mares to be used for
broodmares. The two mares were purchased from a man out of Canada that had
bought them after their Derby years. The one mare is Flick a Bullion that won
over $80,000. And the other was Less Return that won out over $90,000. Troy
Crumrine had been the jockey on both of these great mares. The man decided to
sell all his mares and replace them with geldings. Now
enters Kassie Mowry, a top rider on the Jud Little team. She was there the day
the two mares were delivered and had asked what their problems were. Well, it turns out their problems were relatively
simple. Flicka would get hot
outside the pen and Less Return would get a swollen ankle when standing around.
Other wise, No Problems! Kassie
told Jud, “Tiffany needs Flicka!” He thought about it for awhile and agreed.
Tiffany started to leg Flicka up. She had been riding her for about a month and
had made two runs on her before the Sherry Lynn Johnson Invitational. Tiffany
said the mare worked well but she hit a barrel and the mare wasn’t in shape. New
Year’s day she went to Mustang and said the mare ran better but still didn’t
seem to have enough wind. Kassie
was going to Odessa to run her great mount Shebe Firen For Cash by the great
stallion Cash Not Credit that is also owned by Jud. Kassie has been setting the
barrel racing world on fire with this mare. Tiffany
had her permit and the Jud Little Team team headed south to Odessa. They were up
in the second performance together. Tiffany said she got nervous. It was her
first rodeo run on Flicka but she was there for the experience and to hopefully
win some money to fill her permit. Kassie
set the pace and kept it for the remainder of the first round. Tiffany was
thrilled beyond belief with her run. She knew she was in the hunt for making it
back to the short go. Tiffany said, “It was a joy ride coming home! Flicka
ran great and Kassie was winning the round.” I would say it doesn’t get much
better then that. If Tiffany could win enough money to fill her permit she would
be able to enter some of the big card only rodeos coming up. There was a lot up
for grabs. The
next couple of days were really hard on the duo. They called the Rodeo Secretary
everyday to see if Kassie was still winning the round and if Tiffany was still
hanging in there for the short go. The duo found out that they were both going
back for the short go on Friday at 10:00 PM! Tiffany said she was so excited!
She could hardly believe she was going back! Tiffany
said that when they got back to Odessa that she was looking around at all the
great competitors and horses that were there. Jackie Dube, Sherry Cervi and June Holeman, just
to name a few. She was in such awe of the people that were surrounding her that
she said, “I didn’t get nervous at all! I was thinking how I was a little
fish in a big pond! I was just so happy to be there!” The
21 year old, Tiffany Fox was not only there but she emerged the Champion! She
won the short go, the average and filled her permit! I
asked what was next. Tiffany went on to say, “I would love to win the Rookie
of the Year! Kassie and I are entering El Paso, Jackson and San Angelo. I have a
futurity colt that I’m also riding and have entered at some Futurities. I’ll
just have to see what happens. My main goal is to make Jud Little famous.” Tiffany
has been working for Jud since she was eleven years old! She says without Jud
none of this could have happened. He’s treated her like a daughter for the
past ten years and he has truly been like a father too her.
And she repeated it several times. She
couldn’t be happier with her life and her job. She
also went on to say that Kassie, one of Jud’s top riders, has
been great to her and a wonderful companion to head down the road with. She was a little disappointed that her permit money won from
Odessa doesn’t count toward the World Standings. That’s almost $5,000. It
would have put her in the top of the World Standings and would have given her a
huge Rookie lead. The way this team is running I don’t think it will take long
before you see her name in the World Standings.
With Kassie already in the World Standings, “Team Jud” would have a
formidable presence. Tiffany
went on to tell me it was extra special because her Mom was there to see it!
After her win, her Mom gave her a tee shirt to commemorate her win. The shirt
says, “Sand Hills Rodeo…It all Starts Here!” How
fitting! ODESSA,
TX 1/6/2005
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