Hunter to saddle up Big Papa for a cause
Daughter-in-law awaiting a heart transplant
Nancy Hunter knows exactly what she wants to do. The right thing. Sitting pretty at the Calgary Stampede after two go-rounds — winning twice — the charming barrel-racer figures she’s a lock to be part of Championship Sunday.
Which means Hunter has the luxury of indulging her warm and fuzzies.
Which means she’ll rest her go-to horse Thursday.
Which means she’ll saddle up Big Papa, a roly-poly bay who belongs to her daughter-in-law, Amy, back home in Utah awaiting a heart transplant.
“I know she would be overwhelmed if I rode him,” Hunter, 56, said after her latest triumph. “It kind of makes me teary-eyed. She’s been watching (the Stampede) and she keeps asking me, ‘What about Big Papa? Is he ready?’
“So you know what? There’s more to life than money — I know that. I had a little boy who had cancer at 11. I had a boy who had meningitis at 18 months … so I know what life’s all about. Being an emergencyroom nurse, I know it changes in a minute.
“So … $5,500 is a lot of (day money for first), but having her smile when we don’t know what her outcome is? You can’t put a price on that, can you? So I’m going to do it — Big Papa and me.”
Amy is married to Hunter’s oldest of four sons, Josh.
“She’s a fighter,” Hunter continued. “She’s done a lot for a lot of people. She has Ebstein’s (anomaly) heart condition. They told her she would live to 13 — she’s 35. A lot of people who have that, who have young families, will call her. She just gives a lot of hope to a lot of people. So I think it would be fun for her to see him.
“I may even put, ‘For Amy,’ on his butt.”
Which, apparently, has ample room for signage.
Chuckling — and holding her hands out wide … like, really wide — Hunter explained that Big Papa is well-named.
“He’s a little chunky,” she said. “I don’t think he’ll get a cheque. He’s a little out of shape.”
Maybe these assessments should come with a wink.
Because only a day earlier Hunter had been referring to her No. 1 ride, Fuzz, as the “ugliest horse in the barn,” and made him out to be some sort of nervous wreck. So anxietyridden, in fact, that she needs to fit him with earplugs before races. Now, two first-place finishes. “He’s had his moments, but so far he’s holding up pretty good,” said Hunter. “He tests me. He’s like one of my four boys … but I just get after him a little bit and he comes right back where he needs to be.”
Whatever she’s doing here it’s working.
Wednesday’s clocking — 17.53 seconds — put her narrowly ahead of Sherry Cervi, of Marana, Ariz., and Trula Churchill, of Valentine, Neb., in Pool B.
Tuesday, Hunter had raved about the crowd here.
This time it was the pack of rivals that had her crowing.
“Oh my goodness, is this a field of competitors? I like this. I enjoy this,” Hunter said. “But this is tough. I was thinking about it — of the 10 of us, seven of them have been to the Wrangler NFR and we also have Sherry, who’s a world champion. I like that kind of competition. It kind of gets me going. Sometimes they kick my trash. Other times, I get to get a little bit of their money. That’s what I like.” Then she must be happy. Two days into her first visit to the Stampede, she’s banked $11,000. (Saddle-bronc ace Wade Sundell, wandering by during her media scrum, slapped her on the back. “Don’t take all their money,” he’d cackled, “they don’t like it.”)
Pretty good for someone who had been stressed out about even getting across the border.
So far so good. Money in the bank, literally.
“They said they’d direct-deposit it … I made sure I took them a voided cheque,” said Hunter. “My husband (Fred) says I am the budget queen from hell. I had four boys — I have to know where all my money is. I had to buy four gallons of milk a day. I know how to spend money carefully.”