In 1941, when he was 9 years old, Driftwood was sold to Asbury Schell of Tempe, Arizona. Asbury was a tough calf and team roper and a former world champion in the second event. The horse fit in well with that program and before long he was a fixture at the big rodeos across the country. From the Mexican border to Calgary, from California to Madison Square Garden, Driftwood was ridden by some of the top timed-event hands in the business. Schell began calling the horse Speedie (later, the Peakes spelled it Speedy) based on the speed with which he caught cattle and the name caught on with the cowboys.
In those days, most outdoor rodeos were held in large arenas and over a long score. Because of his match-race experience, Speedy broke from the roping box extremely fast and learned to hunt, or track, cattle in the quickest way possible. Ropers of the time still talk about the way that he ate up ducking, dodging calves and steers.
At a rodeo at Payson, Arizona, probably in 1941, the spectacular bay stallion was ridden in every timed event - calf roping, team tying, single steer roping and bulldogging. And he carried his riders into the money in every one of them. Then, he won the stock saddle cow horse race down the length of the arena.

On March 9, 1943 Channing Peake paid Asbury Schell $1,500.00 for the stallion. For years, the major rodeos and team ropings in California and Arizona were a showcase of Driftwood offspring. In addition to the foals out of the Hughes mares owned by the Peakes, his most popular crosses came from daughters of Red Man by Joe Hancock and Lucky Blanton. Both were outstanding race and rope horses in their day.