Shepard is one of four cutters who’ve qualified every year to TRFAM Cutting Horse Challenge since the class’s inception in 2023, joining Michael Cooper, Adan Banuelos and Kenny Platt. He also enjoyed showing alongside his son Cade Shepard for the third time at The Run For A Million.
“This is the best of the best — best horses, best riders, so to be able to win this, it’s pretty incredible,” said the NCHA Hall of Famer and earner of more than $12.6 million. “This is a huge win for her, huge stage. She’s just all heart. She gives everything she’s got. You don’t get many horses that want to win as bad as you do, but she does.”
Bred by Todd Nelson, the 2021 mare by Rollz Royce and out of This Cats Smilen by WR This Cats Smart is the 2025 NCHA Horse of the Year and an earner of more than $732,000. She was the 2024 NCHA Futurity Reserve Champion and 2025 Super Stakes Open Derby Champion.
The most meaningful part of the win for Shepard was the privilege to showcase such an exceptional animal.
“At the end of the day, you just want everybody to see your horse. It’s great for me to win, and I’ve been blessed to win a lot, and I appreciate that. But I love that everybody loves my horse, and there’s people here tonight who had never seen her and were in love with her. It means a lot to me, because these horses, they become part of your family. She’s like one of our kids,” Shepard humbly said.
Rollz Eh has been part of Shepard’s family since Wolf purchased her as a 2-year-old out of the 2023 NCHA Futurity Sale. Shepard still recalls what drew them to the mare as a prospect in the sale.
“She had a really cool way of doing it. Just a really neat style, like she still has. Low headed, stops really good, but you could just see how much she enjoyed it. It was just all over her face. She was just ate up with it,” Shepard said.
Wolf and Shepard are now four-for-four together on TRFAM qualifications — every year Shepard’s shown at TRFAM, he’s shown a Wolf-owned horse. He rode Wood She B Magic in 2023; Kittenish won the Cutting Horse Challenge in 2024 and was Reserve Champion in 2025; and now he’s added a second TRFAM Open Cutting Championship on Rollz Eh.
“Billy’s first cutting horse he ever owned was in 2017, and I won the Futurity, so he had a really good start,” Shepard said of 2017 NCHA Futurity Champion Dual Reyish. “He’s been a great owner and so supportive. He gives me the green light on whatever I want to do, and it means a lot. It makes you feel really comfortable when somebody has that kind of trust in you. He’s a great family friend, great person. He’s very supportive of my career and my son Cade’s career. He’s a guy we can always count on. A special person.”
Congratulations on another great win tonight in the $250K Cutting Horse Challenge.
