Andrew Ward and Jake Long had a dominant performance at the 2025 WCRA Rodeo Corpus Christi, winning $28,000 a man en route to the title.

With 19 NFR appearances between them, Ward and Long won Rodeo Corpus Christi with a 5.43-second run in the three-man round May 10, to clinch the $18,000 win and secure Ward a spot on the Free Riders team at Kid Rock’s Rock N Rodeo. Ward and Long kicked off their week with a 6.04-second run in the Wild Card Round for $2,500, followed by a 5.82 to win Progressive Round 1 for $5,000. Their consistency landed them second in the Progressive average for another $2,500. They powered through the Showdown Round with another 5.43, placing second and punching their ticket to the final three-man shootout.

On this episode of The Short Score, Ward and Long break down their win, how to nail the stoplight start system and the rest of the year.

• Miles Baker & Joseph Harrison: Oil Can Classic Champs
• Sweep: Saebens on The Score Podcast After Oil Can Classic Pre-Futurity Dominance
• JD McGuire: The Rope Horse Market Series Part 1
• Driggers & Nogueira Get Real on 2025 Battles After BFI Win
• Mike Gets the Mic: Hear from Doug Arnew's Heeler, Mike Ramsey
• Loss to Legacy: Troy Ashford Shares Significance of Wesley Thorp's BFI Cowboy Auction Donation on The Score
• That Time We Let Tyler Wade & Wesley Thorp Host The Score with Doug Arnew

Miles Baker kicks off this episode after a big win at the 2025 Oil Can Classic heading futurity aboard Sevens Hank 2—a bay gelding making a triumphant return. Baker explains the horse’s background, why he’s in Miles’ program instead of Trevor’s, and how time off may have preserved his expression. He breaks down the run that earned the high score of the day and shares insight into how short-round judging dynamics favor a horse that stays sharp under pressure. He also weighs in on Nala, his veteran mare, and how the bay might be her biggest competition this season.

Then, ARHFA World Champion Joseph Harrison joins the conversation after making headlines by taking first through fourth in the heeling futurity. He walks us through each of the standout horses in his program, and what makes them so effective. Harrison shares what it means to deliver for his owners, why certain movement patterns predict stopping power, and how he’s setting up for the rest of the futurity season.

It’s a behind-the-scenes look at two powerhouse horsemen with futurity strings that are turning heads—and winning checks.

Learn more about Baker's training program on Roping.com: https://bit.ly/3y515QT

Billie Jack Saebens won both the heading and heeling pre-futurities at the Oil Can Classic, an American Rope Horse Futurity Association show in Ardmore, Oklahoma, that ran April 25-27, 2025.

In the heading, Saebens rode Una Furiosa, a 2021 gray mare bred by the Flag Ranch and owned by Shane Boston. The gray powerhouse, by Bobby Starlight out of a Furyofthewind daughter Playin For Fury, earned a composite score of 912.18 on four head to take home the title. For the win, Saebens and Southern Ranches pocketed $6,080.

In the heeling, Saebens topped the field aboard Hallle Berry, a 2019 red roan mare by Metallic Cat out of One Sparking Time, owned by Southern Ranches. The flashy red roan, whose flashy looks matched her big stops, put together a composite of 902.96, banking $10,430.

We're kicking off our 2025 Rope Horse Market Series with J.D. McGuire, a Midland, Texas-based heeler who's partnering with Hunter Koch and going all-in on the rope horse business.

What is driving a businessman to invest in the horse industry so heavily, and where does he see the business going?

---

This episode is presented by Fast Back Ropes.

Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueira get REAL about the problems they've had connecting this winter after they win $154,000 at the BFI to redeem their jackpotting on the year, marking their second-straight BFI win. This victory puts them in rare company as only the fourth team to win back-to-back Feist titles in the event's 48-year history.

---

This episode is presented by Cactus Ropes' new Kool Kat CoreTX Rope. The Kool Kat is a 4-strand, poly-nylon blend rope that creates optimal weight and balance. This rope has a unique diameter to weight ratio, slightly on the medium to smaller side. The Kool Kat has had the best winning percentage since it has started being used by Cactus' pro athletes of any rope the company has ever made. The Kool Kat, the newest rope using CoreTX™, is the most complete and balanced rope in the line. The smaller diameter but solid weight allows for ropers of all levels to feel their tip and have the confidence they need to win.

We continue the chaos with the 2023-2024 World Champs Tyler Wade and Wesley Thorp, as they talk to Mike Ramsey, the heeler for the Facebook famous Doug Arnew.

We gave Mike the chance to clear his name on this episode, and we also provide details on the BFI Cowboy Auction, where Tyler Wade and Wesley Thorp will auction off their John Deere Gator to benefit the Golden Circle of Champions, the Live Like Ace Foundation and the World Youth Team Roping Championship. Bid online: https://bit.ly/BFI-Cowboy-Auction

More details on the Gator auction: https://bit.ly/BFI-Cowboy-Auction-Wesley-Thorp-Gator

Troy Ashford is navigating life after the loss of his 18-year-old son, Ace, who died in a cowboying accident last August. Along the way, Ashford has found purpose in giving back, and that brings us to the purpose of this episode: to tell you about the charity auction for the Live Like Ace Foundation, the Golden Circle of Champions and the World Youth Team Roping Championship at the 2025 Bob Feist Invitational Cowboy Auction.

Link to bid: https://bit.ly/BFI-Cowboy-Auction

The 2025 Bob Feist Invitational Cowboy Auction will this year play host to a special charity sale of a John Deere Gator, donated by Wesley Thorp. The Gator's proceeds will go toward the Live Like Ace Foundation, the Golden Circle of Champions and the WYTRC, and in this episode Ashford talks about what that donation means to his entire family.

Doug Arnew caused quite the stir when to took to social media to lament the trials of a header just trying to find a good run in the 7. The team roping industry took notice, including World Champs Tyler Wade and Wesley Thorp. Thorp, for his part, had recently given a lesson to Arnew, so getting a hold of him and visiting was the easy part. Now, Wade and Thorp are making it their mission to help Doug improve and find heelers who are ready to work for it, too.