12/07/2025
๐๐ฐ๐๐ง ๐๐๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐ฐ๐๐๐ฉ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ง ๐๐ซ๐จ ๐๐ข๐ญ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ, ๐๐๐ซ๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ $๐๐๐,๐๐๐ ๐๐ญ ๐
๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ
Owen Deary was on cloud nine after he scored a 217.5 on Smoking Bubblegun and tied for the win in the Levels 3 โ 1 Futurity and tied for all three Futurity Challenge Purses with his friend, Maria Fagundes, who rode Nyourwildestdreams to the same titles. Deary also won the Youth Futurity and the Youth Challenge Purse bringing his total earnings for the evening to $102,367.60.
The seventeen-year-old son of NRHA Five Million Dollar Rider Casey Deary began showing in the short stirrup, then fell in love with baseball and didnโt ride again for a few years. His friend, Logan Flaherty, was key in getting him back in the showpen.
As the big event approached, Deary was bummed that he didnโt have a horse to show in it; however, one manโs bad luck turned into his fortune. NRHA Professional Joe Schmidt was injured by a horse not long before the Futurity and needed to place the horses he was to show in other hands. Just before rider designations were due, Owen was busy with school so his girlfriend, Emma Vanlandingham, tried the mare for him, and the decision was made for Owen to buy Smoking Bubblegun, by A Vintage Smoke out of Bubblegun.
โWe had about two weeks or less to prepare him for the show, but he has been so easy,โ Owen said. โJoe did a phenomenal job preparing him. I just rode him and got confident doing the parts.โ
He admitted that he was very nervous because the horse was so new to him, meaning that he didnโt know how to prepare him, so he didnโt have the highest expectations for the show. โWe were just hoping that I could get him through the preliminary round with no penalties and make the finals,โ he said. โHe was just a great, great horse in there.โ
Deary described him as a really calm horse everywhere, with great stops. He felt like the horse was dialed into him during the entire run. โI hope I can continue showing him because he is the best show horse Iโve ever had,โ he gushed.
The success of the day was extra special for Deary because heโs gone through some tough luck in the show pen over the past few years. โIโve gone and tried to show, but always seemed to mess it up. Iโve always wanted to be like my dad, but Iโve never been smooth like him or good like him, but Iโm trying. Heโs my hero, and heโs been helping me so much,โ he said. โThis is the first show Iโve ever felt like I really won something and lived up to his name. Iโm proud to be Caseyโs son, but I would like for people to believe that Iโm a good trainer and a good showman.โ
He said that although he has made a lot of mistakes, he has learned something new every time he has shown.
He thanked Joe and Mandy McCutcheon for thinking of him to show the horse, and Emma for trying him and giving him the go-ahead. He also thanked his dad for putting a ride on him and coaching him. He thanked his mom for trusting him to do it. He thanked Logan for getting him back in the show pen and his friend Rocco Arcese for letting him show a great horse that helped him regain his confidence. He concluded by thanking God for making it all come together for him. He quoted Proverbs 21:31 from the Bible, which reads, โThe horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord.โ
