Jamey Hunt and his incomparable gelding Gripe Gut top all three days of the NBHA Wrangler Jacksonville Super Show.
Contestants had plenty of reason to haul to the National Barrel Horse Association Wrangler Jacksonville Super Show in Jacksonville, Florida, from April 5–7. The event drew more than 300 entries in the Open each day and paid a total $86,215, plus $10,000 in Legends of the South incentive dollars, prizes, saddles and Wild Cards for the NBHA World Championship Shows.
Open 1D Average Champion Jamey Hunt and Gripe Gut
It came as no surprise to anyone who follows barrel racing that Gripe Gut and Jamey Hunt completed a total sweep of the NBHA Jacksonville Super Show en route to winning the 1D average. Even more impressive, the show was the first event back for Jamey and “Juice” in two months as the team prepares for the Better Barrel Races World Finals.
“He made the same runs he usually makes, and I just stayed out of his way and let him do what he does. He always makes me look good,” said Jamey, who owns, rides and cares for the gelding alongside his wife, Ashley Hunt. “That’s the first weekend I’ve been on him since [the Kinder Cup in February]. At Kinder, he didn’t work bad, but he was getting a little too set-y, and I thought something didn’t feel right. We brought him home and got some vet work done and gave him a few weeks off. Ashley ran him through at a local rodeo with good ground just to make a run, and she barely caught the third barrel to be first or second, so it looked like he was back to normal. We went to Jacksonville to make a few runs before BBR weekend, and he felt perfect.”
Juice, an EquiStat earner of more than $221,000, added $5,764 to his earnings in Jacksonville. The pair won all three days with consistent times of 15.125, 15.215 and 15.180, respectively.
While Jamey is the gelding’s primary jockey, Ashley also runs and wins on him and is one of the biggest reasons behind the scenes that Juice is able to perform so dominantly time and time again, Jamey says.
“We’re really cautious about making sure he feels perfect, and we’ve had him since he was young, so we know every little thing about him. Ashley knows him like the back of her hand,” Jamey said. “If anything isn’t right, we don’t try to ride him through it. He can take one little funny step, and she’s got a list of everything we work on and the whole program, so she really stays on top of it.”
Both Ashley and Jamey work closely with Dr. Nate Lea, DVM, of Outlaw Equine and credit him as the main ingredient to keeping Juice and all of the Hunts’ horses at the top of their physical game.
“Ashley is really good at watching horses and telling if one little thing isn’t right. I can tell a little, but my eye isn’t as good as hers visibly watching the horse on the ground lameness-wise. I’m not going to lie, every week or so she’ll jog him and send Nate videos if she thinks something looks funny. We see him quite a bit, and Ashley aggravates the crap out of him, but he’s always there for us,” Jamey said with a laugh. “Nate is a big, big part of our program. He checks on all of them, not just Juice. Every weekend, he’s texting or calling and asking how they feel, just keeping up with what’s going on so he can stay on top of every little thing.”
The McAlpin, Florida, futurity trainer says vet work and a good relationship with their vets is one of the most important pieces to keeping horses working and winning, whether it’s a young futurity colt or older open horse like Juice.
“I think that’s the key to keeping a horse like him winning and winning and winning. There’s a lot of horses as they get older, if you miss a few things or they don’t feel quite as good, it doesn’t take but a few little things to slow them down two or three tenths,” Jamey explained. “[Vets] keep them completely perfect. If it wasn’t for that, I’m not going to say he wouldn’t be a nice horse, but he wouldn’t be the standout he is. He’s an athlete, and I feel like I do a good job, but the vetting and keeping him feeling 100% is what makes it where he can win rounds and not just go be a nice open horse.”
Ashley and Jamey also utilize a variety of therapies at home and on the road to help Juice stay comfortable, such as the Magnawave machine and Bemer blanket.
“He loves the Magnawave, so Ashley uses the Magnawave quite a bit. If we’re in a hurry or have horses stacked, she might just throw the Bemer on him to keep him feeling good,” Jamey said. “Vetting and the little stuff she does with him, and of course she stays on top of the feeding program and stuff for preventing ulcers and stuff like that.”
Jamey extended a special thanks to Ashley as well as his entire team and sponsors Oxy-Gen Equine, J&C Bits, EquiPride/EquiLix, Skippers Custom Leather and 100X Equine.
“It takes a team, and I’ve got a great team,” he said. “We have a girl who helps us at home and stays on top of everything and keeps it all rolling. Ashley helps me ride some and watches everything, keeps up with all the bookwork and entering and stalls. And of course the vetting, Nate is a phone call away. We’ve got a good team, and everybody works together.”
This article was originally published in the June 2024 issue of Barrel Horse News.
