Behind the Slide – Dana Clark, Florida

Dana Clark brought a very special entry for her first-ever NRHA Futurity. Riding her own stallion, Mighty Mouuse, an offspring of her stallion Mighty Joe Gun, and her mare, One Berry Smart Chic, Clark was very excited to compete at the World’s Richest Reining.

“It has been a cool journey to get here,” she said. “This is the first foal from both my stallion and my mare, so I was pretty excited about showing him here. I ride with [NRHA Professionals] Kaci O’Rourke and Jack Daniels, and they have been amazing to me. I cannot say enough good things about them. They have prepared him for me every time. I fly once a month to ride him, which is hard on every horse, let alone a 3-year-old, and they always have him ready for me. I just have to get on him and show. I only showed him once before coming to the NRHA Futurity. It was quite nerve-wracking to come to the show here, but it is also so much fun.”

Clark, a trauma ICU nurse in Florida, says that the hardest part of her job is to see severely injured people.

“What I take from that though, and try to carry into my riding, is that safety is very important. I have a very emotional job, we work so hard, so this is a good, healthy outlet for me. I love riding and love these horses so much.”

Next year, Clark plans to continue showing her stallion in the derbies, as well as enter more futurities, as she has a half-brother to Mighty Mouuse, so she is looking forward to being in Oklahoma City back again with another homebred NRHA Futurity entry.