From the Open division to the Youth, High Stressin Cat is showcasing why he is a champion, no matter which Dowers is at the reins.
When Nick Dowers rides into an arena, it is easy to identify one of his bridle horses, carrying a Spade bit and rein chains, swinging. In recent years, if he was on a bay, it was most often High Stressin Cat, a well-known sight for reined cow horse enthusiasts. The 2013 gelding was often at the top of the class.
“He is incredible,” Nick says. “A lot of horses are good in a couple or great in two, then you have to get by in another, but he can mark the high mark of the show in any given event. That is what made him so fun to show. I knew I could mark big at any event.”
Now, though, the son of WR This Cats Smart out of the Playgun daughter Playguns Melody, has a new pilot. Nick’s 17-year-old daughter, Tuli, is taking that Open-caliber athlete and making a name for herself in the youth and non-pro bridle classes. It’s not a step down for the gelding called “Hot Rod,” but rather, a step in the right direction.
Coming In Hot
Hot Rod joined Nick’s program, located in Dyer, Nevada, as a 2-year-old, owned by Bill Stevenson. The gelding was aimed at the National Reined Cow Horse Association‘s Snaffle Bit Futurity. The gelding earned money at the National Stock Horse Association Futurity, and Nick took him to $40,000 and 4th place in the NRCHA event.
It was apparent from the beginning that the gelding was a high-caliber athlete.
“He’s such a great horse; he’s an incredible athlete,” Nick says. “He’s very motivated, and you don’t have to motivate him to work. He’s not necessarily a superhot horse, but he’s ready to do the job. He’s one of the smartest horses on a cow that I’ve ever had.”
Though the horse changed hands after the Futurity to longtime owner Clint Marshall, he remained in Nick’s program. The pair began racking up earnings in derby-aged events, for 4- and 5-year-old horses, but as a 4-year-old, the gelding had a growth removed from his knee, which took him out of competition until the horse’s 5-year-old year.
“When he was 5, I was winning and doing really well on him, and I was going to a lot of horse shows,” Nick recalls. “I knew I needed to probably school him more than I did, so once I got him into the two-rein and the bridle, I had to back off. He was so competitive as a 5-year-old that I was anxious to show him a lot, and I had to kind of rebuild him a little bit that 6-year-old year.”
The rebuilding didn’t mean that Nick and Hot Rod didn’t win because the pair picked up checks and wins in the two-rein classes at the Reno Snaffle Bit Futurity, the National Stock Horse Association and at the NRCHA Snaffle Bot Futurity. When Nick put Hot Rod fully into a bridle bit, it seemed there was no stopping the pair.
Nick points to the gelding’s cow savvy as a key point in their success.
“He’s really good at getting the cow to play his game, and not very many horses can do that,” Nick says. “For example, in the cutting, he can make a bad cow into a good cow by kind of baiting the cow [from the ends] back to the middle. It’s like he says, ‘Oh, you can get away to the middle; nope. gotcha!’ He’s really good at baiting that cow into being awesome right there in the spot you want him to be for the judges. It’s really cool! I kind of joke around and say that he plays with his food.”
With four years of showing — and winning — in the bridle under their belts, Nick saw that the Open level competition was affecting the gelding. The pair were still winning, but Nick saw the horse getting more anxious.
“He was sound and good, but he tried so hard that he would get anxious about showing,” Nick says. “Every run in the Open is big, and you ask a lot of them. I felt like he could use Tuli, and that would allow him to continue to show for a long time and not stay rattled because he was a little rattled by the big runs. With every run that Tuli shows him, he is quieter and better.”
Shifting Gears
Tuli Dowers was no stranger to riding High Stressin Cat around her father’s training arena, but she never expected to own the gelding who “taught her everything.”
“When he was kind of retired from the Open, Clint gave him to the kids for a Christmas present, which is incredible,” Nick recalls. “It was awesome.”
Soon, Tuli wasn’t only exercising Hot Rod, but riding with a purpose to get with the high-powered horse to make their show pen debut.
“He is such a special horse, and you don’t get gifted these every day,” Tuli says. “I had been riding him quite a bit before he was gifted to us, but I was so excited he was mine because before he was Clint’s. I was very excited to show him in the youth and the non-pro.”
Shifting the horse into one that the youth could pilot did cause Nick a little anxiety.
“I did hesitate because he is a powerhouse,” Nick explains. “There was trepidation there because it is hard to take a top, competitive Open horse and transition that to a youth horse. Tuli rode him a lot at home, but we took our time, and they knew each other really well before the show pen. Even now, he still does the big maneuvers, but he is more relaxed in between. He settles into the run a little bit more every time with her.”
The pair didn’t have a fairytale first show, which was in Reno, Nevada in 2022. In fact, Tuli describes it as “terrible.” But the pair rallied, learned and came back to win that event in 2024.
“He knows his job and is very good at it, so he gets a little strong in spots during a run,” Tuli says. “After the first show, we knew what to look for and how to prepare. After that, we’ve gotten shown a lot better the last few times. I showed him in the same class in 2024 and won it on him. That was pretty fun! It was my first win, and I felt like we could do it.”
Since then, the pair have become a staple at the NRCHA major events, winning in Las Vegas, Nevada, and in Scottsdale, Arizona, in the non-pro level classes. Tuli credits Hot Rod with a lot of their success.
“He is the same all the time; he is great horse allt he time,” Tuli says. “If he gets strong, it is because he is trying hard for you. He tries all the time. It is really special to ride behind my dad. It is one thing to ride a good horse, but it is another to show and win on them.”
It’s a family affair for the Dowerses when it comes to Hot Rod. Both know what it is like to ride the gelding, his quirks and strengths.
“It’s awesome to watch her,” Nick says. “Tuli works her butt off at home; she rides all the time, and she rides really well. That horse is trained and good. It’s awesome to watch them; it’s special. I had my time with him, and now she has her time, and we are both successful. That says a lot about the horse.”
For Tuli, anything she can pilot the horse that taught her to show, she is happy. The pair is aiming at the 2026 NRCHA Celebration of Champions to compete for a world champion title.
“He’s my main man; he has taught me everything,” Tuli says. “I learned to ride on him; I learned to show on him. I learned literally everything on him. He’s a good horse.”
This article was originally published in the February 2026 issue of Western Horseman.
Super outstanding story!!