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Tyson Durfey’s Horse Nikko Passes Away

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Tyson Durfey, the 2016 PRCA World Champion Tie-down Roper, had his main horse Nikko pass away Nov. 23. Nikko was 14.

Nikko passed away because of a ruptured colon.

“He was more than just a horse to me,” Durfey said on his Facebook page. “He was a member of our family, and he brought so much joy to us and so many others. I was leaving a roping, and my daughter, Praise, said, ‘Daddy, I want to ride Nikko.’ I didn’t say anything back because I was choked up and couldn’t speak without crying, but I was thinking what I would give to make one more run on him. I never thought the best year of my athletic career would be the last year of his life. He made me a better man and a better athlete.”

In his Facebook post, Durfey spoke more about his standout horse.

“It’s honestly hard to look around and not see something I have because of him,” Durfey wrote. “He gave me a world championship, my ranch, countless wins and 100 percent effort every time. For that I am eternally grateful. Nikko you will forever live as a member of my family and we will forever love u! We will miss you, but I’ll see you again someday! I made Nikko a promise that I would finish the year off strong, so this is what I am going to do. He was my special boy.”

Nikko’s initial colic came from a displaced colon Nov. 16, causing him to have surgery.

Durfey is exploring horses to ride for the 2018 Wrangler NFR in Las Vegas, Dec. 6-15. Durfey enters the Wrangler NFR third in the 2018 PRCA | RAM World Standings with $126,518.

In a Nov. 21 interview with ProRodeo Sports News, Durfey said his options include his back-up horse Mitch, 14, and Curtis Cassidy’s horse, Stick, a former Canadian Professional Rodeo Association Tie-down Roping Horse of the Year. Durfey rode Stick for half of the 2014 Wrangler NFR.

Courtesy of PRCA

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