Dan Hansen, Weatherford, TX, is leading the 2007 National Cutting Horse Association world championship standings in three divisions on three different horses, two of which Hansen raised and trained himself.
Eight-year-old Bobcorn and five-year-old Bobin Hood, ridden by Hansen in the $10,000 Novice Non-Pro and $3,000 Novice Non-Pro, respectively, are full siblings by Bob Acre Doc (deceased) and out of Mia Tiana, by Tiana Doc. Seven-year-old Woody Be Lucky, Hansen’s Non-Pro mount, is by Nitas Wood and was bred by Craig Crumpler. All three horses have impressive limited age event records, especially Woody Be Lucky, who earned more than $240,000 under trainer Don Crumpler, as well as both Dan and his wife Karen.
With the exception of the time that Phil Rapp rode him as a finalist in the Memphis Classic, Bobcorn earned all of his $91,600 under Dan in non-pro competition, including reserve championships in four major events. Bobin Hood won most of his $57,000 in 2006, finishing no less than fifth in six major events, with a championship title in the Breeder’s Invitational Senior Rider and reserve in the Bonanza 4-Year-Old Gelding class.
Hansen, who owns a general contracting business headquartered in Nampa, ID, was raised on a cattle ranch and met Karen in high school, where they both competed in rodeo events. While Karen excelled in barrel racing and eventually began training barrel futurity prospects, Dan turned to cutting and purchased his first limited age event horse, Tiana Bob, in 1995.
It was Bobs Tiana, full brother to Bobcorn and Bobin Hood, that inspired Hansen to seek out and purchase his full brother Tiana Bob, and eventually the dam Mia Tiana, who was unshown due to an injury.
“We sold Tiana Bob as a five-year-old and regretted it,” Hansen said. “It worked out that we had a breeding to Bob Acre Doc because the mare we were going to breed died. So we ended up buying (Mia Tiana) to use that breeding. Bobin Hood is from Bob Acre Doc’s last crop.
“Bobs Tiana was really my first young horse,” he added. “He was always a hard stopper and real honest, with a lot of try. That seems to be consistent with all of them – they have a lot of try.
“They make it pretty easy to train. I’ve tried some others that aren’t as easy for a non-pro like me.”