Latricia Duke Reflects on Her Unexpected Rise to No. 2 in 2026 World Standings

In the final month of the 2025 professional rodeo season, Latricia Duke found herself at a crossroads. Her beloved equine partner was performing well, but she knew he needed a break from the grueling road.

Despite September arguably being the most lucrative month of the season, Duke did not question her decision. They went home, finishing the year No. 23 in the World.

Lovingly known as Vanilla Wafer, the palomino stallion has made friends and fans across disciplines, with his stunning conformation and elegant presence.

With over $680,000 in lifetime earnings, the now 9-year-old stallion built an impressive resume in his career: a multiple-time futurity and derby champion, pro rodeo champion, WPRA Co-Reserve Horse of the Year, and 2024 National Finals Rodeo (NFR) qualifier.

Registered as DM High Roller, Vanilla Wafer is sired by French StreakToVegas and out of Duke's standout winner, Happy To Run Em. Now living life to the fullest at Switzer-Hill Horses, the stallion is breeding some of the best barrel racing mares in the world.

Changing Mounts in 2026

Duke, a trainer by trade, knew 2026 would look a lot different than the past few seasons on the road with Vanilla Wafer. She had qualified for many of the limited-entry rodeos from her position in the 2025 World Standings, and she entered the new season with a very talented, but very green, half-sibling to Vanilla Wafer.

DM He Will Run Em ("Carlos") shares the same dam, Happy To Run Em, and is by $11 million sire, Eddie Stinson. While his siblings were born via embryo transfer, Carlos is the only foal that Happy To Run Em (who sadly passed away in 2021) ever carried.

Duke had hauled the six-year-old gelding with her on the road in 2025, but he had only been entered a handful of times. Roughly six months ago, Carlos made his pro rodeo debut, and his first win at a barrel race came shortly after.

The duo continued to win in a variety of setups at some of the biggest winter building rodeos, including checks at the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo in Denver, Colo., the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo, and Rodeo Austin.

One of their most impressive showings so far was RODEOHOUSTON, where they topped Super Series V, a stacked bracket of NFR qualifiers and the reigning World Champion, Kassie Mowry. The pair skyrocketed to No. 2 in the World Standings, with $67,416.38 in season earnings.

Duke Opens Up About 2026 Pro Rodeo Journey

The pair race to the finish line — Duke and DM High Roller | Fernando Sam-Sin

Hot off a long round win at the San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo, Duke graciously shared the story behind her 2026 season.

"This is all a God thing, because I could have never come up with this. The saying 'God's plan is always bigger and better than ours' is 100% true. I want to be a good steward of him... It would be a dream to make the finals again, but I won't do it at his expense. The horse is more important to me than hearing my name called," Duke shared.

As for where it all began...

"JoJo LeMond broke him and had him going really good in the heading. I picked him up and had him cruising the barrels pretty good as a four-year-old. Then I left for the summer (to rodeo) and didn't want him just standing there, so I dropped him off with Kyle Leleux. He rode him some and exhibitioned him four or five times."

"I took him with me this past summer. I was staying at an arena during Prineville (Ore.) and they had a jackpot. That was his first entry. I think he won third on the first day and won it the second day. I was so proud of him."

As a reminder for anyone who feels "behind," Duke emphasized that Carlos' first entry was in June of his five-year-old year.

"You just have to wait on them. I don't think you can force a horse into being ready. It's amazing if they're ready at four or five, but if they're not ready until they're six, it doesn't mean they're not going ot be a great horse."

Balancing training and seasoning young horses while on the road is challenging, so Carlos remained on the trailer, but only made a handful of runs for the remainder of the summer.

"I came home and took Vanilla Wafer to the breeding farm. I went and stayed with Kyle for a while and started entering (Carlos in) jackpots. He was placing in the 1D and that was exciting, then EHV hit. When I got back on, I took him to a jackpot, and he won the whole 1D. I took him to another jackpot, he won it. I took him to another jackpot, he won the whole 1D again, and I was like, 'What is going on?!' Then I took him to a big barrel race, Emily Beisel won it, he was second, it was the second fastest run all week at Shawnee."

"I entered Odessa and thought it would be a good experience for him. I got a bottom hole check there and was so excited. The next place we went was Denver, and he was great. We jumped the chalk lines in the arena and visited the people in the bleachers at the first barrel in Fort Worth, but then he was really good at San Antonio."

Duke felt she needed to make a bit change, so she entered McAlester, Okla., to try it out. The team split first. They hit another jackpot shortly before Houston, but Duke was still worried about how the inexperienced gelding would handle the challenging setup of NRG Stadium.

"I didn't know if Houston was going to work. I was stressing! Fort Worth was bad, and I thought, 'If he does that at Houston, they're going to need a sundial to time me!' He just felt good in practice. I couldn't have asked him to be any better."

Carlos delivered, winning Super Series V and advancing all the way to the Shootout.

"Carlos‘s first prize he ever won was the guitar at RODEOHOUSTON. I never thought I would own one of those!"

Going into Championship Saturday, Duke was simply grateful for the experience.

"I had no nerves, because I didn’t even think I would be there on Saturday night... When I made the final four, I definitely wasn’t nervous, because I knew I was leaving with at least $10,000. I was running baby Carlos with Jarvis and Sister and Apollo, so I was just having fun."

Duke's extensive experience competing on young horses in high stakes situations came into play in Houston.

"I tried to just make my run. I was the same way with the futurities and the slot races. I never tried to win the slot race. I tried to make my run and hope it was good enough. I think it’s important not to set these horses up for failure and ask them for more than they are either ready for or capable of."

"I will expose a colt sometimes, but I’m going to go home and put them back together. If it goes bad, you can’t let that dictate what you think of your horse or yourself or your training. You just go home and fix it, put them back in a comfortable situation. I just wanted to go make one more nice solid run and let the chips fall where they may on that day."

With a lifetime of riding the ups and downs of training and building great horses, Duke stays focused on the process.

"We play a game that you lose more than you win. I see young people in the industry, not just rodeo, but across the board, if somebody goes really fast, they try to outrun them. One thing I do is try not to focus on winning first, but focus on a month from now, six months from now, a year from now."

The trio pose in the warmup — Carlos, Bravid Duke, and Latricia Duke at RODEOHOUSTON | Bravid Duke

As for Carlos' meteoric rise, Duke says that some horses are just "special."

"I really believe my horse is just being solid. He’s just running through the barrels... We’ll see what God has in store, and we’ll go from there. I guess I can’t say anymore that I’m not rodeoing, I just don’t know how long we’re rodeoing."

For Duke, her current success is the product of decades' worth of hard work and belief in her program, all starting with the unlikely broodmare who produced some of the best barrel horses in history. Lady Rompin, the dam of Happy To Run Em, and granddam of Vanilla Wafer and Carlos, changed the course of Duke's life.

"I love the sport, I love great horses, I’m still just the little horse girl at heart, and it all goes back to Lady Rompin, the $400 sale barn horse."
Latricia Duke