Tragedy to triumph

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Casey Deary, is shown riding his horse, Americasnextgunmodel, during the Futurity competition in Oklahoma City earlier this month. Courtesy
Casey Deary and his wife, Nicole. Courtesy

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December 19, 2012

Tragedy to triumph

Local rider wins Futurity title

Anonymous Weatherford Democrat The Weatherford Democrat Wed Dec 19, 2012, 06:52 AM CST

By SALLY SEXTON

ssexton@weatherforddemocrat.com

From his school years as a 4H participant into adulthood, Weatherford’s Casey Deary grew up around horses.

“I started riding when I was about 15,” he said. “I never really had a consistent set of horses that I could go show until 2004.

“I’ve done reigning horses for most of my life, except for a brief period one summer where I started cutters.”

After breaking into the industry, Deary saw success, most recently winning the NRHA Open Futurity title earlier this month in Oklahoma City, Okla., riding his horse, Americasnextgunmodel.

Deary and his wife, Nicole, picked up the mare at a 2-year-old prospect sale last year.

“A customer and I partnered on her, and it turned out to be a pretty good idea,” he said.

The mare is now owned by Dana Conrad and Arcese Quarter Horses USA.

Competing against more than 60 fellow riders, Deary finished at the top of the Futurity competition, securing a purse prize of $165,000 for the level four open championship.

Heading into the finals, Deary and Americasnextgunmodel trailed one opponent before the duo scored a run of 228 points for the new high score.

It was Deary’s first level four open championship.

Ironically, it was a horse that almost brought Deary’s career to a halt.

At the age of 16, he suffered a life-threatening injury when a foot became hung in the stirrup of a spooked colt he was riding. The animal began running and bucking, slamming Deary’s face against a pipe fence in an arena in Terrell.

The incident, which caused Deary to lose six of his front teeth and suffer face, neck, back and spine damage, required eight reconstructive surgeries over the course of three years.

“Casey’s equine endeavors did not end there, they were just beginning,” wife Nicole wrote on Deary’s website, www.dearyperformance.com. “Instead of hiding, being humiliated, or embarrassed, Casey literally came out of his shell, he once told me, and made the most of his situation.

He did have an unforgettable face!”

Deary continued to make a name for himself in the industry, working for three years as a Havery Ranch employee, where he developed such skills as training colts and show horses, coaching non pros, breeding management, stallion promotion, business management, ranch maintenance and more.

Following the Havery experience, Deary moved to Stephenville, where he worked for the Jae Bar Fletch Ranch and got his degree from Tarleton State University.

Deary made his way to Weatherford in 2001, working for mentor and business partner Robby Robertson.

As business on the ranch picked up, so did Deary’s competition record, with an NRHA 2002 limited open class championship and several more victories in the Texas Reining Horse Association.

“Life is full with family, business demands, horses, traveling and new endeavors,” his wife wrote. “A quality horse is never overlooked and sound horses, sound training, sound advice are always a pursuit for Deary Performance Horses.”

Now more than $165,000 richer, Deary said he plans to invest his earnings wisely.

“Make some repairs to the house, pay some bills and of course, put a little money back for college for the little ones,” he said.