Raising The Next Futurity Champions–Owen Deary (EP 114)

This week on The Show, we’re joined by Owen Deary, fresh off a massive first NRHA Futurity—and what a debut it was.

Owen is coming off a career-defining week in Oklahoma City, taking home over $100,000 at his first NRHA Futurity. His results included the Levels 1–3 Co-Championship, the Levels 1–3 Non Pro Challenge Co-Championship, the Youth Championship, and a Top 10 finish in the Level 4—all aboard a horse trained and sold by Joe Schmidt. After an accomplishment like that, having Owen on the podcast was an absolute no-brainer.

In Episode 114, Tom, Joe, Gunny, Cade, and Owen sit down to talk through Owen’s journey in and out of the show pen. Owen shares how he found his love for training horses again, how he once had to make the tough decision between baseball and horses, and how that choice shaped where he is today.

They also dive into what it was like growing up as the son of one of the industry’s greats, Casey Deary—who just claimed the 2025 NRHA Open Futurity Championship—and how that upbringing influenced Owen’s mindset, work ethic, and approach to showing and training.

The conversation naturally turns toward the Deary family as a whole: who rides, who golfs, who likes makeup, and how the family includes everything from golfers and rodeo clowns to makeup artists and pony bronc riders. It’s a talented, entertaining group—and a wonderful family to learn more about.

Of course, the guys also spend time breaking down the NRHA Futurity, which wrapped up just last week. With a much different schedule this year, they discuss both sides of what it was like to compete under that format and share their personal experiences from the show and the horse sale—which still took place, just in a very different way.

Mixed in with the stories are plenty of laughs, some great (and highly questionable) relationship advice from Tom, Gunny, Joe, and Cade (do not try this at home), a story about Casey Deary knocking out a couple of Owen’s teeth, and Owen being welcomed by a big gun from a maybe future father-in-law (sorry, Jason). And that’s just the beginning.

All in all, this episode is packed with insight, humor, family stories, and industry perspective.

Owen, we are incredibly proud of your achievements at the NRHA Futurity and couldn’t be more excited to see another one of our horses succeed in the Deary family. Congratulations on an unforgettable week.