Danyelle Campbell's Gelding 'Big Shoes Ta Fill' Steps Up at Kinder Cup Futurity, Wins Round One

The Kinder Cup Futurity barrel race is an exciting event that no barrel racer wants to miss. Held at the Coushatta Casino Resort in Kinder, La., this race is unique and full of energy. Local delicacies like crawfish and fried alligator are available for those who want to explore the local cuisine. In case barrel racing isn't enough of a gamble, there are also spinning slot machines around.

Round one of the futurity took place on Feb. 8, with over 250 talented barrel racers and their finely-tuned young equine athletes competing. All of the horses in this race are four or five years old and have only been competing since November.

Renowned futurity trainer Danyelle Campbell and her gelding Big Shoes Ta Fill, who she affectionately calls Joaquin, topped the leaderboard with a 14.832-second run. This fast duo started off the week with a $7,174 check.

Now, with a registered name like that, there's got to be a story behind it, and a story there is. Campbell acquired Joaquin's full brother over 10 years ago.

"Famous Dungarees or Glider (Joaquin's brother), was a stakes winner on the track in New Mexico, just one of the nicest horses I've ever owned. Sadly plagued with injuries, but when he was sound, he was stupidly, ridiculously fast," said Campbell.

Over the years, she tried to acquire Gingham Dungarees, Glider's dam, but she was either not for sale or too expensive for Campbell. Finally, after a lot of persistence, Campbell obtained the mare and, sadly, the next day, Glider broke his hip.

"It was a bittersweet situation, but I knew I wanted to recreate a Glider, and I had a friend who had a rebreed to Dash Ta Fame who gifted it to me, and low and behold, we created Joaquin," said Campbell.

Now Campbell had already picked out a different registered name and even paid to reserve it through the American Quarter Horse Association. However, fate had different plans.

"My old horse that I had won a ton on and went to my first National Finals Rodeo on was at my parents in California, and he was 32 years old. He lived a great life and ended up passing away the same day my colt was born," said Campbell, " I walked out into the pasture and looked at him [Joaquin] and said, 'You have some big shoes to fill, buddy' in honor of his brother and my old horse."

Sadly, Campbell had to lay Gingham Dungarees to rest last year because of an old injury. But this mare lives on through her phenomenal offspring, including Campbell's two geldings and The American Rodeo qualifier and ProRodeo winning mare, The Dungarees Moon, owned by Billie Ann Harmon.

Coming into the Kinder Cup, Campbell was not very confident. The duo had had a rocky few months since the start of the futurity year in November of 2023.

"We had only made one run in the past five weeks, and it did not go well," said Campbell. "I just knew we were here for a reason, and I know I have a good horse, and if I do my job and he does his, he's as nice of a colt as any out there. So I just need to ride him like I know he's going to work. That's the mentality we all need to have no matter what horse we ride. If we are going to go into the alley, we need at least fake it till we make it, have the confidence, or pretend to."

Joaquin went to work, laying down the winning time of round one and showing he's stepping up to the plate to fill those big shoes.