“I have a great support system,” she said. “A great family and friends that have stood behind me and helped me get to where I’m at today. I would not be here without the support of my family.
“My sister and her family—I just can’t stress the support I have. I have a great family on both sides. I’ve had great people help me through the years. My sponsors are awesome. I couldn’t do it without them. I appreciate everything they do for me. There are thousands of people that need to be thanked.”
And, as always, Cervi ended her thanks by remembering her competitive partners.
“Being around the horses I’ve been able to be around and ride them is awesome,” she said. “I’m very fortunate to have had the horses that I have, and I love my horses.
“Being able to ride, compete, get to see the country and meet the friends that I have, I would not trade it.”
The Average Champion
The 2010 National Finals Rodeo proved to be a spectacular 10 days for NFR Average champions Jill Moody and her dynamic gray mare, TR Dashing Badger (“Dolly”). Although they didn’t win a single go-round, instead finishing second four times, the team from Letcher, S.D., did something that was perhaps even more impressive—they broke Charmayne James’ and Scamper’s 24-year-old NFR Average record.
“I’m speechless,” Moody said when she learned that she had broken the oldest record on the NFR books heading into the 2010 event. “Go Dolly! I don’t even know what to say. It almost brings tears to my eyes.
“It would have been a big honor to have the arena record, but I’m almost more honored to have this record for the 10 runs. That’s just amazing.”
Moody knew she was in contention to set a new Average standard, but when she ran the numbers, she wound up a second off, believing she need to run a 13.5 or better in the 10th go round to have a shot at breaking James’ mark instead of the 14.5 she actually needed to beat.
“I’m kind of glad I didn’t know that,” she said, “I might have played it a little safer. But I couldn’t play it safe. Sherry is not going to weaken. I knew that, and I wasn’t going to weaken either.
“Sherry’s had an incredible year. I’m happy for her. I’m happy to be there and be able to compete with her and show that my horse is just as competitive as Stingray.”
The fact that Dolly was able to compete at all in 2010 was actually in question for most of the last half of 2009. The mare developed pneumonia while on the road during the 4th of July rodeo run in ’09, which laid her up for the final six months of the year, derailing her season.
“It was completely, 100 percent management error on my part [that caused her illness],” Moody said, “and I learned some pretty valuable lessons.”
Many doubted that Dolly would be able to return to her previous form in 2010, but Moody always believed in her partner’s heart.
“She came back like the champ she is,” Moody said proudly. “It was really devastating for her to be down for six months, but I’m really thinking it helped her a bunch to have some time off and not have so much pressure on her. She’s just a good girl. She knows her job.”
Moody and Dolly’s 2010 season started out slowly, with the pair tipping a barrel to place in a round at Odessa, Texas.
“The first jackpot I took her to, I think she was in the 2D,” Moody said, “and I was kind of laughing, ‘I have a 2D NFR horse. Yay!’
“The question was would she come back, and nobody could really answer that. It was just wait and see. She just kept getting stronger the more she ran, and I just kept getting with her.”
By the time they arrived in Houston, things had started to turn their way, and they placed in the top four there for the third year in a row. A win at Laughlin, Nev., launched their season into high gear, and they didn’t look back until they reached the NFR, where they were fourth, second and third in the first three rounds, followed by a pair of reserve placings.
“I was kind of pouting because I was second and second and second,” Moody said. “There were a lot of girls this week who would have loved to have been in my shoes, but I’m a true competitor, and I always want to be first.
“The first night was probably my worst night, where [Dolly] didn’t work the greatest. She kind of got by the first barrel. The ground was a little loose. Then she tripped one night pretty bad, and that cost us a little. She’s just real solid. I figured she’d run 13.7’s and 13.8’s in here all week. We rocked off a couple of .6’s and stayed pretty much true to course with the .8’s. She’s the picture of consistency as of tonight, I’d say.”
Moody entered the 10th round poised to break Charmayne James’ 24-year-old NFR Average record, and with a fifth-place run of 13.85, Moody and Dolly shattered the previous mark by two-thirds of a second to set the new benchmark at 138.26 seconds.
“This is really special to me and my family,” Moody said, “and my horse and her family—the Thomas Ranch of Harrold, S.D.
“I’m way bling-y for Jill Moody, thanks to Cowgirl Tuff,” she continued. “They’ve dressed me up all week. MVP Supplements have kept Dolly firing. She hasn’t had so much as an aspirin this week. The Dakota 2000 Company keeps me in touch with all the things going around computer-wise. The Thomas Ranch—I couldn’t do anything at all if it wasn’t for them and their family, and T3 Moody Quarter Horses and my family.”
Even with all of their success this year, Dolly is still a bit of a wild child at times, according to Moody.
“She got away from me one night out there in the warm-up pen and bucked around the pen,” she said. “Jean and Guy Winters have helped me a bunch this week. Jean has been in the back helping me walk her and help get her warmed up where she’s not being so stupid.
“But as far as going out there and working in the arena, I’d like to think her and I are a pretty good team. I’d like to think I’m good at keeping level-headed and not letting the pressure get to me. She runs on good ground or bad ground, or mud or water standing, or indoor/outdoor. I’m really pleased that she likes this arena. I would love to come back next year and do it again.”
Go Rounds at the 2010 NFR
It wasn’t surprising that Oelrichs, S.D., cowgirl Lisa Lockhart took control of the 2010 NFR in the first go round, but it did shock many that she did so with a 7-year-old buckskin named An Oakie With Cash (“Louie”) and not her prized main mount, Fast An Gold (“Chism”), with whom she had won the 10th round at the 2009 Finals.
Chism fell during practice and hit the ground hard when he landed, injuring his stifle, which was swollen and sore to the touch before Round 1. Although X-rays showed no structural damage, Lockhart’s chances of having a successful NFR rested on Louie withstanding the pressure.
