All In on the Young Guns: Tricia Aldridge’s Bold Bid for Vegas
- Sarai Angelle
- May 29, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Jul 12, 2025
By Sarai Angelle
Tricia Aldridge talks about life on the road and hauling two studs.
Everyone knows that rodeo isn’t for the faint of heart. This sport will test even the tried-and-true veterans with its extreme highs and lowest lows. It’s pretty rare in the sport of barrel racing to survive in the rodeo shark tank on a horse that isn’t seasoned to the melee of the rodeo road—some might even say impossible.
Impossible isn’t something Tricia Aldridge believes in, though.
“Some people probably think I’m crazy,” Aldridge laughed, “but I figured, why not try to make the NFR on two young horses?” Stallions at that.
That’s right—the North Texas barrel racer has put the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo in her crosshairs. And historically speaking, when Aldridge and her team of horses put a goal in front of them, it’s only a matter of time before that goal becomes reality.
Adios Pantalones is a name that people all over the world know, whether they barrel race or not. The impressive five-year-old palomino stallion has achieved tremendous success under Aldridge’s jockeying, with multiple futurity and rodeo champion titles, sub-16-second runs on a standard pattern, and, of course, the distinction of being the highest-earning barrel racing Futurity horse, and now stallion of all time—with over $640,000 in lifetime earnings and counting.
It’s truly a rarity to see a horse succeed in a high-stakes rodeo environment at such a young age, but Adios has far surpassed Aldridge’s—and the world’s—wildest expectations by walking into the rodeo scene like he owns it. With only 23 pro-rodeos to Adios’ name (10 of those he was 1st or 2nd at) and Truly with 5 total rodeos under his belt, they are sitting 5th in the world and poised to strike going into the summer run.
There is, however, a second bullet in Aldridge’s gun.
Truly Epic is a four-year-old gray stallion by the infamous Epic Leader, and out of the blue hen barrel racing mare Famous Silk Panties. When it comes to bloodlines and pedigree, you can’t get much more barrel racing royalty on a set of papers than that. Aldridge is partnered on the talented stud with Heath Boucher and Gary Hess. While he hasn’t been in the limelight nearly as much as his golden child barn mate, Aldridge and “Truly” have been quietly putting in the work behind the scenes, sharpening the axe.
“Truly came from Heath Boucher, who bred and raised him, and he was initially started on the barrels by Stephanie Duke,” Aldridge explained. “I got him pretty late in September as a three-year-old, so things were a little rushed, but the goal was to try and get him ready for the BFA and OKC, where he was already entered. After that, I brought him home and just wanted to spend some more quality time with him—ride him and get him more ‘my way.’”
Aldridge focused on finessing Truly, and while he didn’t set the futurities on fire early on, spring rolled around and he started to show what she’d suspected was inside all along. He clocked right behind Adios on several occasions and even won a futurity side pot at the J&J productions big league slot race in Glen Rose, Texas. He clocked only 2/10ths behind Adios. He also won a round at the BBR finals Futurity with Jamey hunt jump riding him while Aldrige was at rodeos in California.
“This year I knew I wasn’t going to futurity as much, so Truly has gotten the call at some of the smaller rodeo slacks, where he did well but was just out of the money,” Aldridge explained. “And the last couple of weeks, with Adios getting hurt (breaking his nose), I have had to put Truly in some performances where I probably would have ridden Adios. He’s exceeded all my expectations, and this past weekend he ran at three different rodeos with three different setups and was just a tenth out of getting a check at every one of them.”
“I am excited to get Truly outside this summer at some of the big standard patterns, where I’ll really be able to let him run. I am really proud of how he has handled the rodeo environment as a four-year-old without so much as batting an eye—all while still collecting and shipping to breed mares this year. I hated to not be on Adios at some of those rodeo performances, but looking back, I really think it was a blessing in disguise. It made me get on Truly, and it made me have to put my full trust in him. Now, going into the summer run, I feel like I really have the confidence I need to believe in him, and I have no doubt he will be an integral part of making it to Las Vegas.”
Aldridge is ready to hit the road with both young studs, and while some people have advised that having an older, more seasoned horse on the trailer would be helpful, she wouldn’t change anything.
“Don’t get me wrong, I think hauling two studs this summer will be its own challenge, but the best part is both Truly and Adios are good on the road. They haul well, stall well, and most importantly, they know when to rest. I think that is paramount to keeping these horses good-minded on these whirlwind hauls when it comes to rodeoing. They might be young and new to the rodeo scene, but these are two horses that I have invested a lot of hours in. I know them like the back of my hand. I know how they ride, I know how they work, and most importantly, I know they fit me. More importantly—I trust them.”
“I’m excited for both of them this summer. Truly and Adios complement each other really well, and it gives me a lot of faith in both of them to be successful.”