Saebens was a heading machine at the Gold Buckle Futurities Winter Event.
NFR Heeler Billie Jack Saebens’ heading game is on point, getting the win in the 4-&-Under Heading at the Gold Buckle Futurities Winter Event on Bonny Freckles T 4, owned by Bart and Tana Hutton.
The mare, by Freckles Ranger out of Twisselena’s Ima Bonnie Girl N 4, was bred by the Huttons and started her training with tie-down roper Justin Maass before coming to Saebens in the winter of 2023.
“I had to get her out of the right lead and moved over a little bit,” Saebens explained of her training. “But chasing cows was already easy for her.”
She scored a 900.20, worth $9,000, and she won the third go-round, too, with a 226.52, worth another $1,000.
“She’s really pretty good everywhere,” Saebens said. “She locked up to the box and looked out of the front of the bridle. She stood there good, and she ran and rated. She caught up good every time. I took a couple of swings and let her set in the spot for a second to show the judges I wasn’t throwing because I had to. She stuck her hind end down good and faced good, and it all flowed together pretty good.”
The mare is big—already 15.1 at just 4, and Maass sent her to Saebens because she had outgrown the tie-down roping in spite of her talent.
Saebens had the help of NFR Heeler Hunter Koch, fresh off a second-place finish in the aggregate at the 2023 NFR. Koch also helped Saebens win the Maturity Heading on SJR Diamond Billy, the buckskin 5-year-old Saebens has been campaigning for Southern Ranches.
The Team Roping Journal
by Chelsea Shaffer
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