The Money Barrel: Kathy Grimes on Raising Her Own NFR Horses, Why She “Keeps Going”

In August, Kathy Grimes took KG Just Money home and thought about just finishing out her circuit rodeos. Her friends told her to keep going. She did. Then the horse she raised herself set the WPRA standard-pattern record as a walk-up at Burley and carried her to her second NFR.

That’s what KG also stands for is keep going.-Grimes on what she tells herself when the lows hit.

Grimes, a veterinarian, was the third guest in Money Barrel history. She came back on with Kayla Jones to talk about raising her own, getting out of her own head and the horses that made it possible.

Why Kathy Grimes raises her own barrel horses

Grimes has been breeding horses for 34 years, and by her count Showie, as she calls him, is the fourth generation of her program. She said she started with a mare she liked, one with good qualities and some weaknesses, picked a stallion that might strengthen the weaknesses and kept going from there. She was no trainer at the start, she said, and is still working on her horsemanship, her training and her mental game.

• Kathy Grimes and KG Just Money Dominate Royal Crown and South Valley Equine Futurities

It’s pretty tough to afford some of the horses that are out there now. So you may have to make your own.-Grimes on making her own horses.

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Owning the hard stretch of a season

Grimes talked openly about the middle of her summer. She said she created a lot of their problems in late July and early August, starting at Cheyenne, where she was afraid the ground was slick and pulled on him. She felt like she did not know how to ride him anymore and second-guessed everything until she knew he was sound. Once she knew he was fine, she said, it took a couple more runs, and then they got back in the groove.

They say your character is not defined in the good times, it’s in the bad times. And my character was really bad there for a while and I was not very proud of it.-Grimes on that stretch of the season.

How Kathy Grimes handles the mental side

Grimes calls herself a mental midget and says overthinking is her strong point. She knows the horse can do it, she said, so the pressure is on her, especially the run to the first barrel. Her fix is to refocus on the horse, breathe and go do her job.

I’m on the fastest horse in the world right now, so let’s just focus on that.-What Grimes told herself waiting to run at Ellensburg.

Letting a young horse find its own way

Showie has his own style around a barrel, and Grimes let him keep it. She said she has criteria for where she wants a horse’s feet and body and how a run should feel, but she lets them choose a couple of ways to get there.

I do let them do their own thing because sometimes I think they know best what works for their body, not always, but sometimes.-Grimes on training a young horse.

The horses that came before

Grimes closed by thanking the horses that taught her how to win and how to train and ride better. Jones named them on the way out: Bobby, Mooney and Issy, Showie’s mother.

Maybe they don’t get the accolades they deserve because they’re not in the limelight now or whatever, but they are such a big part of this.-Grimes on the horses behind Showie.

Inside the episode

• The walk-up at Burley, three runs in 24 hours and the 16.31
• Getting a Dinero breeding as partial payment on a horse she sold
• Naming Showie after Patrick Mahomes’ nickname
• Showie’s futurity year and the Royal Crown
• The two-hour standings math that kept Grimes off the last California rodeos
• Tillman, the stallion she says travels better than the gelding
• Her first NFR vs. this one
• Making the NFR without a big string or two rigs

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