That’s Down Ta Drive, a 7-year-old buckskin stallion by Dash Ta Fame out of MP Wooden Cowgirl she calls Drifter. She and the stud rounded the cloverleaf pattern in 17.37 seconds to take the title in Lovington, distancing themselves from the field by seven-hundredths of a second. It was a $7,385 payday. They also finished third that week in Hermiston, Oregon, worth another $8,933.
“We were on the road for just over two weeks,” she said, noting their first stop was in Salt Lake City, where she didn’t advance to the championship.
She and Drifter left for Helena, Montana, where she was a walk-up entry and won the rodeo. From there it was off to Rimbey, Alberta, where Nowosad produced the Breeders Elite Incentive event; she also caught a little of the payout. The next trip was to Hermiston before turning the rig toward Lea County.
“At Hermiston, we ran a (16.98), which is the fastest me and this stud have been on a standard,” she said. “He’s only been running barrels for a year and a half. He didn’t get to futurity or any of that stuff. We just basically went from winning some of these local jackpots around Stephenville and decided to start rodeoing. He loves it, so we’re just doing that.”
Nowosad left her ranch in eastern Alberta in 2021 to move to Texas, where she worked at the Brazos Valley Stallion Station. She had no time to ride much less compete. Once the workload leveled out, she and Drifter began connecting and focusing on making barrel runs.
“He just picked it up and did so good,” she said. “It’s just been a great experience.”
With a stallion that has a hunger for the road and the pattern, she understands the opportunities that might be out there.
“We would love to run at the NFR, and every run is just preparing us for it,” Nowosad said. “We’ll just take each run as it comes. He keeps proving to me that the more we go, the closer we’re getting to the NFR. I’m not sure how long it’s going to take, but we’re going to just follow the Lord’s path.”
