Page 66 - 2021 Barrel Stallion Register

“I’m so grateful to have this opportunity at this stage of my life,” she says.
“I know this is not about me; it’s an inspiration for many, many others and hopefully I can spend my life being somewhat successful and helping others.”
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SPEEDHORSE
Dona Kay and her husband John
Family, Dona Kay’s husband John Rule with son Marshall, grandson Hunter, daughter Kayla and granddaughter Henslee Rose.
The talented gelding was five when Dona Kay bought him. “Lana was going to keep him for herself and start back running barrels, but her business obligations didn’t allow her that kind
of time,” Dona Kay says. “I’d sold a filly to Jud Little that I was getting along with. Jud wanted the filly so badly that I sold her, and I was seeking out another prospect. I called Lana, and she was nice enough to share this nicely bred gelding.
“We spend our lives enjoying great conformation and a great horse ‘on paper,’ and we look for talent and we look for speed. Valor has even more than that: he has the ability to withstand the road and the pressure and the noise. I spent a lot of time building confidence in him and teaching him just to count on me: the noise is nothing; just do your job. He has the ability to wait on me, I guess.”
NFR DISTINCTIONS
After 64 events throughout the country in 2019, Dona Kay and Valor held the ninth spot in the World standings with $96,507.49 in earnings and a berth at the NFR.
Once there, Dona Kay and Valor won the second and fifth rounds and tallied an additional $95,884.62 for a grand total of $191,197.29 in World earnings for the year.
High Valor also took top honors for AQHA Horse of the Year and tied for WPRA’s NFR Rodeo Horse of the Year title. “Dona Kay has trained so many amazing horses and sold them to other people to make their own way,” says Lona Spears of Mustang, Oklahoma, Dona Kay’s dear friend of more than 40 years. “I don’t think there was ever a bad one. All the years we hauled barrel racing and team roping together, they were always good, solid horses that she made. And to have her peers recognize her for having a horse like that, that she made, has got to be a great feeling.
“She’s just like a sister to me so it was very emotional for me when she did so well,” Lona adds. “I’m an only child, and so to have someone you have grown so close to — to the point of considering them a family member — achieve that goal, affects the whole family in a good way. Even though she put in the work, it’s just exciting to be there and be able to support her.”
EMBRACING INTEGRITY
Among the things Lona admires about Dona Kay are her patience, her work ethic and her genuine nature. “She’s driven to accomplish all these things,” Lona says. “She’s forthright in anything she tells you but she’s going to speak the truth with compassion and she’s always going to have your back. And no matter what level you’re at, if you want advice from her, she’s willing to give it to you. She doesn’t hold back her secrets. She’s a very giving person. I don’t think there’s anyone out there that won’t say that she’s as genuine a person as you can find.”
High Valor, shown with Dona Kay and her rodeo dog Rosie
Dona Kay and Valor took top honors in 2019 for AQHA Horse of the Year and tied for WPRA’s NFR Rodeo Horse of the Year title.
High Valor was named WPRA/AQHA Barrel Horse of the Year for the second time in 2020.