Gunderson and 'Wonder If Im Lucky' Top Ruby Buckle Derby in Emotional Win

Continuing their recent hot streak, one of the winningest barrel racing duos of 2025 claimed the Ruby Buckle Central Derby Championship.

Heidi Gunderson and Wonder If Im Lucky | Lexi Smith Media

The first "Buckle" race of 2026 took over the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie, Okla., with a record-breaking 421 entries in the $175,000 added Derby. Kicking off one of the biggest weeks in barrel racing of the entire year, many of the industry's elite teams competed in two rounds, held on Monday and Tuesday.

Round 1 Champion

Michelle Alley and Lipstick N Stilletos winning Round 1 | Lexi Smith Media

Michelle Alley and $500,000 earner, Lipstick N Stilletos (RR Mistakelly x Seis Caress x Tres Seis), clocked in at a speedy 16.747 seconds, earning the round win. The duo returned with a vengeance to defend their title after winning the Ruby Buckle Central Futurity in 2024 and theRuby Buckle Central Derby in 2025.

The duo has been on a heater throughout April, earning a seat at the infamous Calgary Stampede through the WPRA Western Regional in Salina, Utah. They also topped the San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo, where they banked over $23,000 at the single rodeo.

In the same weekend, they won the qualifying event for Rodeo Corpus Christi, another lucrative limited-entry rodeo. Alley and "Stiletto" have launched to No. 6 in the World Standings, as they pursue their first National Finals Rodeo qualification.

Round 2 & Average Champion

The past two weeks have been emotional for futurity trainer Heidi Gunderson. Her sister-in-law, Lindsey Klimek, passed away on April 16 due to complications following a heart attack. Klimek was one of Gunderson's biggest fans and supporters.

With her guardian angel riding every step of the way, Gunderson has claimed two major barrel racing wins in 10 days.

While Gunderson usually focuses on aged events, she added professional rodeos to her 2026 schedule. She and Wonder If Im Lucky ("Casey") had an incredible season in 2025 and are pursuing even bigger goals this year.

The week before Ruby Buckle Central, Gunderson and Casey ran the only sub-15-second time of The American Rodeo Central Regionals, securing their seat in The American Rodeo.

Five-year-old Casey had $373,753 in officially recorded earnings before the Ruby Buckle. He has now crossed the $400,000 mark just a year and a half into his competitive career.

Gunderson and Casey banked $24,564 in the Ruby Buckle Derby before adding in any Open or carryover earnings. Casey, who is sired by Lucky Wonder Horse and out of TS Sunnys Superstar by PC Mr Sun Peppy, was purchased by Shannon Kulseth through the 2022 OKC Futurity Sale.

Gunderson's husband, Mark, started Casey under saddle and Heidi took over the reins for barrel training. Despite being very watchy in new environments, Casey proved he was a winner from the beginning.

He and Gunderson earned the BFA Juvenile Championship when he was just three years old — kick-starting their domination of the 2026 futurity season, where they claimed six major futurity titles. Casey finished the year as the highest money-earning futurity horse in barrel racing.