Chewy the Horse
By: Ruth Nicolaus
Unlikely horse takes to barrel racing, carries rider to regional, nationwide rodeo qualifications
Chewy the barrel horse stands between Molly Otto, his rider (on the right) and Katie Lindahl, his owner. The horse has carried Otto to a berth at the Badlands Circuit Finals Rodeo in Minot, and to her first ever National Finals Rodeo in December in Las Vegas. Courtesy photo.
Minot, N.D. – Never make assumptions about a horse.
When barrel racer Molly Otto got a three-year-old palomino mare named Chewy, she was dropped off with the premise that she didn’t show much promise.
And no one, including Chewy’s owner Katie Lindahl, ever thought that Chewy the horse would be a barrel racing horse: she wasn’t fast, nor was she hard working.
“She was small, she was lazy, and she wouldn’t even lope,” Otto remembered.
But Otto, a horse trainer, decided to give her a try.
After fifteen minutes on the mare, whose registered name is Teasin Dat Guy, she had a new diagnosis for her.
“I said, this horse is just bored. She needs something to do. She doesn’t like to do the same thing over and over again.” On the first day of training, Otto loped her through the barrel pattern, and on the second day, she did a flying lead change, and Otto thought to herself, “this horse wants to be a barrel horse.”
And Chewy’s rodeo career was born.
Otto, who lives near Grand Forks, N.D., entered Chewy, as a four-year-old, in the Women’s Pro Rodeo Association’s World Futurity, where barrel horses compete against other horses their age. Chewy won the 1D contest, making her the best barrel horse at the event.
The mare also carried Otto to the top fifteen barrel racers in the nation and a trip to her first Wrangler National Finals Rodeo, and a berth at the Badlands Circuit Finals Rodeo in Minot in October. Otto and Chewy are ranked fifteenth in the nation, having won a little over $64,000; they are ranked third in the Badlands Circuit, having won more than $14,300.
Chewy is five years old now, and that’s young for barrel horses. It can take months, even years, for barrel horses to learn their job well, and to be seasoned – conditioned to the travel, noise and excitement of rodeos.
Molly Otto rides Chewy at the 2020 Badlands Circuit Finals Rodeo in Minot. The horse has won eleven rodeos for his rider this year, breaking two arena records. Photo by Peggy Gander.
Otto credits Chewy’s success to her mental maturity. “I think she just really enjoys going down the road and going to new places. She just really loves her job and likes to work.”
The palomino travels well, Otto said. “She always eats and drinks on the road, she loads up great, she comes off the trailer looking good, and she never acts tired.”
The mare has her own unique personality. “She’s really goofy,” Otto said. “She acts like a teenager. She wants all the attention, gets bored easily, and is bossy.” She loves to be scratched, too. “If you’re standing next to her, you might as well be petting her,” she said.
And when she’s made a barrel racing run, she doesn’t go for a drink of water first. She needs snacks. “After her runs, she won’t even drink,” Otto laughed, “until we get back to the trailer and I giver her 52 treats.”
This year, Chewy has won eleven rodeos and set two arena records. She’s won the rodeos in Cortez and Gunnison Colo.; Eagle Mountain, Utah; Mobridge and Deadwood, S.D.; Killdeer, N.D.; Spooner, Wis.; Hamel, Minn.; Walla Walla and Moses Lake, Wash., and Sikeston, Mo. She set arena records at Cortez and Walla Walla.
Otto and her husband Andy have three children: sons Sterling (15) and Rowdy (11) and daughter Blaisy (5). The kids haven’t traveled with her much this summer, due to their sports schedules, but they cheer their mother on, and the boys are excited to travel to the National Finals to watch her compete.
Chewy has been a game changer for Otto. “It’s been a fun year,” she said. “He’s really an amazing horse. She’s given me a lot of opportunities to travel and see a lot of places I probably would never have seen if it wasn’t for her.”
Otto and Chewy will try for a Badlands Circuit Finals title in Minot Oct. 8-10 at the N.D. State Fair Center.
The rodeo, the championship event for the Badlands, will be held at 7 pm on Oct. 8-9 and at 2 pm on Oct. 10.
Tickets range in price from $20-$25 for adults and $10-$25 for children ages 12 and under.
They can be purchased online at BadlandsCircuitFinals.com and at North Country Mercantile in Minot (2000 20th Avenue SE).
For more information, visit the website or the Facebook page.