If you’ve been around the cutting or the reined cow horse pens the last few years, there’s no doubt you’ve heard the name Stevie Rey Von mentioned. This junior stallion, who sired his first foal crop in 2018, is not only a National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Futurity Open Champion himself, but he has already sired an NCHA Futurity Open Champion and a National Reined Cow Horse Association (NRCHA) Snaffle Bit Futurity Open Champion.
With six years of full stud books behind him and a waiting list that extends into 2027, Stevie Rey Von is making big waves in many cow horse breeding programs. Neither his longtime owners, Alvin and Becky Fults (prior to his sale to Theorem Ranch), nor his most recent trainer, Beau Galyean, are surprised—the horse has been special from the beginning.
Bred for Success
Stevie was initially a Dufurrena Cutting Horses collaboration. Bred by Brandon Dufurrena, the stallion was trained by Ed Dufurrena, Brandon’s dad, and also ridden by his sister, non-pro Rieta.
At his first event, the 2015 NCHA Futurity, Stevie had his work cut out for him. In addition to showing with Ed in the Open, Stevie pulled double duty with Rieta in the Non-Pro. Through many go-rounds, semifinals and finals, Stevie never faltered. By the end, he had won the Open and Limited Non-Pro championships, and made the Non-Pro semifinals.
Stevie continued to pick up checks in 2016 and 2017 under both Ed and Rieta until the Fultses bought him in early 2018. If the name “Fults” sounds familiar, it’s likely because you’ve heard it in conjunction with powerhouse stallion Metallic Cat, Stevie’s sire. The Fultses owned the producer of more than $70 million through his performance career and many of his years at stud until they sold him in October 2017. Four months later, they purchased Stevie.
“I knew if I was to ever want another stud other than Metallic Cat, it was Stevie,” Fults says. “At that time, he was the only Futurity winner by Metallic Cat, and he was very special to us because we loved his mother [Miss Ella Rey]. She was showing at the same time Metallic Cat was, and I absolutely loved her in the show pen.”
The Fultses sent Stevie to Metallic Cat’s trainer, Beau Galyean, to finish out his aged-event career. Through the rest of 2018, Stevie collected three more championships, including the NCHA Super Stakes Classic Open title.
“Everyone throughout the industry knew that he was an awesome horse, and I think he just had a lot of tough luck,” Galyean says. “I got the horse, and in the first week, I just worked on getting used to him. We went to the Arbuckle, and we ended up maybe fifth, and then went over to The Cattlemens and won, and then he won the Super Stakes. That was pretty much just book closed on him. All of a sudden, he proved to everybody that, yep, he was no fluke. He was as good as everybody thought.”
Quick off the Mark
Stevie’s first foal crop, consisting of 61 AQHA-registered horses, was born the same year the Fultses bought him. Every year since, he’s sired well over 200 foals, even reaching 365 foals in 2023.
“Luckily, when we started standing Stevie, the customer base that we had with Metallic Cat came to get behind us with Stevie, and that was what got Stevie off and running at this pace,” says Fults.
Stevie didn’t waste any time, either—his first foal crop produced NCHA Futurity Open Champion Janie Wood. The daughter of Junie Wood (by Nitas Wood) won the 2021 NCHA Futurity Open Championship with John Mitchell at the reins. Stevie’s highest money-earner, Swing Wide (out of Miss Woody Two Shoes, by High Brow Cat), came from his second foal crop. The stallion tied for third in the Open at the 2022 NCHA Futurity and currently stands at stud at Brazos Valley Stallion Station.
2022 was also the year that two of Stevie’s offspring, Tornado Jonez and Vince Von, finished first and second, respectively, in the Open at the NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity. Since then, the stallion’s numbers have continued to increase as more of his offspring come of age.
“I see speed and I see cow smarts [in his offspring],” says Fults. “Our hope when we bought him was that he’d pass on one of those two, and that would be enough. Well, he’s passed on both. That makes him really special. Plus, he’s not just producing great fillies or just producing great stud prospects; it looks like it’s across the board.”
As of press time, Stevie had offspring earnings of more than $12 million, with $10.2 million won in cutting, $1.7 million in reined cow horse, $218,000+ in roping, and the rest in ranch riding, reining, barrel racing, pole bending, and more. With 1,605 AQHA-registered foals as of Sept. 17 and only four years of crops that are show age so far, it’s clear the young stallion is just getting warmed up.
“It seems like they’re trainable, and people like them. That’s why there’s such a demand for the horse,” Galyean says. “The other thing that Stevie offers in the breeding world that’s so huge is that he’s negative for HERDA [Hereditary Equine Regional Dermal Asthenia]. So, all the mares out there that have HERDA, they now have a [High Brow] Cat-related stud to go to that doesn’t carry the HERDA gene. For all of that, what else does anybody need to say? He’s just proven that he’s a winner all around, in the show pen and outside of it.”
Stevie Rey Von by the Numbers
Stats: 2012 red roan stallion
Pedigree: Metallic Cat x Miss Ella Rey x Dual Rey
Lifetime earnings: $418,953
Accolades:
2015 NCHA Futurity Open Champion with Ed Dufurrena
2015 NCHA Futurity Limited Non-Pro Champion with Rieta Dufurrena
2015 NCHA Futurity Non-Pro finalist with Rieta Dufurrena
2016 AQHA Junior Cutting World Champion with Ed Dufurrena
2018 NCHA Super Stakes Classic Open Champion with Beau Galyean
2018 West Texas Futurity Classic Open Champion with Beau Galyean
2018 Cattlemen’s Cutting Classic Open Champion with Beau Galyean
2018 NCHA Hall of Fame Inductee
Leading sire in the NCHA and NRCHA
Top 5 Progeny:
Swing Wide (2022 NCHA Futurity Open Third Place (Tie), NCHA LTE $342,343)
Janie Wood (2021 NCHA Futurity Open Champion, NCHA LTE $325,056)
Cool Guitar (2023 NCHA Futurity Open Finalist, NCHA LTE $291,391, Other: $262)
Hottie Rey Von (2024 Breeder’s Invitational Derby Open Champion, NCHA LTE $224,412, Other: $46,733)
Tornado Jonez (2022 NRCHA Futurity Open Champion & Intermediate Open Champion, NRCHA LTE $256,807, Other: $1,401)
This article about Stevie Rey Von appeared in the Winter 2024 issue of Western Life Today magazine. Click here to subscribe!
