Tracing a Trademark  

Winning barrel racing mares come in many forms and fashions, in all shapes and sizes and across a wide spectrum of colors and bloodlines. The mares behind five-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier Ivy Conrado-Saebens are no exception.

From a renowned, flashy palomino to a gritty, wickedly fast sorrel, Saebens knows her way around the Thomas & Mack Arena best aboard mare power. While KN Fabs Gift of Fame, aka “JLo,” a 2009 mare by Frenchmans Fabulous and out of Mistys Dash of Fame, and CFour Tibbie Stinson, aka “Tibbie,” a 2009 mare by Eddie Stinson and out of Little Fancy Granny, are the most recognizable, there is one mare in particular who set that trajectory for the cowgirl’s career success, as well as the entirety of the Conrado family — and her name has already been mentioned. 

 Little Fancy Granny, affectionately known as “Racie,” is a 1998 brown mare by Del Puerto Bill and out of Nowniffs Fancy, who not only produced NFR-caliber offspring but was NFR-caliber herself, carrying Saebens, much of the Conrado family and several others to the winner’s circle across her remarkable 27 years. Racie was laid to rest on September 16, 2025, leaving behind a legacy that shaped a family and a career. What made her especially unique, however, was her ability to do so in a manner suited to jockeys of any age. 

“Racie was the ultimate kid’s horse,” Saebens said. “I could ride her bareback all day long, doing the things kids do and running around at junior rodeos. Then I’d boot her up, saddle her, get her brushed and shiny — and she’d go win whatever race she was at.” 

The great mare wasn’t born into the Conrado performance horse program but found her way there not long after she first hit the rocky dirt of Colorado. As a 2-year-old, Racie was gifted to Saebens and the Conrado family by longtime friend Kay Bumguardner. Saebens’ father, Kelly Conrado, instantly pegged the mare as something special.  

“As a 4-year-old, everybody was like, ‘What are you going to do with that brown mare?’ because she was built like a freight train,” Kelly said. “And I said, ‘We’re going to run barrels on her.’ Everyone kind of chuckled. They didn’t really see what I saw.” 

Racie’s distinction wasn’t limited to only Kelly. After a traumatic barrel racing accident, Saebens also quickly discovered how extraordinary the mare really was. 

“When I was 7 or 8 years old, at Fort Smith (Arkansas), I had a horse run off with me and run into oncoming traffic,” Saebens said. “After that, I was really, really, really scared to ride. I wouldn’t get out of a trot half the time, and I was terrified of the majority of the horses we had. But my dad put me on Racie, and I just trotted Racie through the barrels for many, many years.” 

Kelly also remembers watching the mare slowly rebuild Ivy’s confidence. 

“She just had a phenomenal way about her. She was extremely regal and elegant and had this calmness to her,” Kelly said. “Ivy had been in a wreck with a runaway horse, and it had taken all of her confidence. She didn’t want to ride. And then one day, I just stuck Ivy on Racie. Ivy walked around the arena on her, and you could just see her light up and get braver. Racie waited for her and waited for her, and then all the sudden, they were running barrels.” 

Racie’s career success came early. Once Saebens mustered the confidence to make a run on her, the pair nearly instantaneously claimed their place in the 1D. Racie went on to win Saebens’ Colorado Junior High State Finals twice, claim a 1D Open Championship at the Mile Hi Barrel Horse Association and qualify for the Cowboys Professional Rodeo Association (CPRA) Finals. Beyond Saebens, the mare also set an arena record with Kelly, qualified for more CPRA Finals with Saebens’ sister, backed into the roping box with her brother and was even leased to Liz Pinkston as a backup horse for the NFR in 2005. 

“My dad had won on her, my sister had won on her. We’ve let a friend borrow her to win some rounds at the Little Britches Finals. My brother had team roped off of her,” Saebens said. “There’s just not very many horses that you can put kids on and walk away, but then show up in places and blow you away in the open.” 

At one of Saebens’ state finals, Racie was in foal to Eddie Stinson at the time. That foal ended up being Tibbie, the mare Saebens took to her first NFR in 2016. 

“That first NFR was really emotional for all of us,” Saebens said. “My dad had wrapped his whole breeding program around Racie, so for her second baby to make the NFR was special. Tibbie was born on our place, and we got to watch her grow up, and my dad trained her. So, it was a big deal for the whole family. She meant a lot to all of us. It was all these years and years and years of things coming to fruition in 10 nights.” 

Within Kelly’s breeding program, Racie had quite a few standouts foals other than Tibbie, including babies by JL Dash Ta Heaven, PC Frenchmans Hayday, Winners Version, Epic Leader, Darkelly and Vanila Viper. 

“She just had an integrity, intelligence and a stature about her that doesn’t come along every day, and she really put that in her colts,” Kelly said. “She put confirmation, substance, mind and ability into them all. She just was everything I ever wanted and was the only horse I never sold in my whole life.”  

Although Saebens has been fortunate enough to jockey a large pool of nice horses that have come through Kelly’s barn, she credits Racie with laying the foundation of her professional career, especially when it came to learning how to run a great horse. 

“If you take Racie out of the equation of my career, I don’t think I’d have one. Or it at least would have been a very different path,” Saebens said. “If you take her out, there’s no Tibbie. And if you take Tibbie out, there’s no NFR in 2016. And if you take that away, there wouldn’t have been the opportunity for me to run JLo. If you pulled that mare out of the string of events, I don’t think I’d have my five NFR qualifications or any of the things I have, truly. She was the trademark.” 

As a mare the entire Conrado family depended on — a mare credited for putting groceries on the table — Racie carried an entire livelihood on her back.  

“I had a gut feeling about Racie when I met her as a 2-year-old. I knew that mare would be special,” Kelly said. “She just met everything with this confidence and regal presence that told you you were going to win. It’s simply amazing what a little brown mare can do to change your entire life.” 

And change lives she did, for NFR qualifications don’t appear out of thin air, and neither do the horses who earn them. Trademarks must be born somewhere, and for Ivy and Kelly’s program success, their career trademark can be traced back to one mare in particular, and a name that will always define their legacy.