Trevor Brazile Wins First and Third in the ARHFA Sun Circuit Futurity

Trevor Brazile kicked off the Scottsdale Arizona Sun Circuit with a bang and created a lot of buzz around West World by taking the ARHFA Sun Circuit Open Heading Futurity Champion title March 4th. It was his second futurity win in less than a month in Arizona on Step N Small Town, owned by Relentless Remuda. “Kobe” is a 6 year old gelding by Whimpys Royal King. The team marked a 225.59 in the first go, a 227 in the second go and a 229.80 on their third cow to leave him third high call going into the short round.

Brazile contends this gelding gets better as the day progresses, and that was certainly the case as Kobe surged in the final round with his best run of the day. The pair marked a 234.26, which was well ahead of the pack and they finished, with a composite score of 916.65 on four head. The team took home the champion’s check for $11,845 and the DT Horses bonus of $1,250.

The second place horse, The King N Diamonds, was ridden by Cade Rice and owned by Cassie Silveira. Their composite of 911.31 earned a check for $9,270. A total of 99 horses were entered in the Open Heading with a total payout $51,500.

Brazile rode another Relentless Remuda horse, Big Time Movie Star, whose consistency through the day in the 228 range was enough to garner a composite of 910.87 and a check for $7,725.

Fourth place went to Fallon Avery’s horse One Vintage Merada with Andy Holcomb on board. They left Arizona with $5,665.

The Intermediate Heading division had $5,000 added and a total of $12,600 to payout over 6 places. When the dust settled, CR California Tuff with Clay Logan on board for owner Kaleb Terlip topped the composite. They were also the Limited Open Champions and won a total of $7,150 including the DT Horses bonus.

There were 129 in the Open Heeling Futurity on March 5th, chasing a total payout of $66,500.00. Jungle Cat, by High Brow Cat, with Cade Rice for Brian and Amy Bush was 7th in round 1 with 229.85 and slipped to

11th in round 2. But the red roan stallion pulled out all the right moves in the short round to score a 234.59 and had a final score of 924.48 at the end of the day winning $13,300 plus the DT Horses $1,250 bonus.

JKC Smart Playen Sis owned and ridden by Shay Carroll was in the hunt through each round earning solid marks. They scored a fraction higher in the final round, but landed in a close second with a composite of 924.2 and $10,640 in winnings.

Big Time Movie Star was back in the Open Heeling Futurity with Miles Baker in the saddle, earning $8,645 with a composite of 922.48. This team also won both the Intermediate Heeling and Limited for another $4,032.

Daniel Rice rode First Class Vintage, owned by Robertson Ranches to second place in the Intermediate for $3,168.

The Sun Circuit Futurities offered Non Pro divisions as well with $2,500 added. Liz Hirdes had a clean sweep in the Non Pro Heading on her gelding Walking The Dog. They won the 1st round with a 229.18, round 2 with a 233.32 and then topped the finals scoreboard in dominating fashion, claiming the Championship title and $6,480. Quincy Probst stayed consistent all day on TRR Lucky Playgun to land in second for $4,150. Madison Garcia rode her horse Tactically Smooth to a $3,320 payday.

On Non Pro Heeling side, tightly packed scores in round one made for an exciting competition. Koda Peterson and Catty N Stylish won round two setting up a tight race with Jungle Cat and Nash Nelson. A miss in the finals put Jungle Cat out of the money while Catty N Stylish was nearly a point and a quarter ahead of the second place horse DT Metallic Mojito with Quealy Probst in the saddle. Peterson took the champion title and $4,170 while Probst won $3,475.

Hefty payouts, a roster of outstanding young horses ridden by some of the best ropers in the nation has established the Sun Circuit Futurity as a major stop on the ARHFA’s calendar of events.

Brazile has been a big supporter and goes to most of their futurities. ARHFA founder Jay Wadhams added, “We had him, Cade Rice, we had Billie Jack Saebens there, along with Jeremy Buhler, Rhen Richard, Dakota Kirchenschlager, Cole Davidson, a lot of big rodeo and NFR names were in Scottsdale for this.

Whadhams was pleased with the turnout. “Our numbers were excellent, we were up quite a bit from last year. The non pro actually doubled this year from what it has been the last couple years.” The combined total paid out a total was $207,000. There was a good crowd in the stands too and they offered a live feed that had 30,000 people watching the heading.

The Futurity’s growth is also a product of good timing being run in during the Sun Circuit which is one of the world’s largest AQHA shows. “I think the this Futurity brings a lot of ropers to the quarter horse show,” added Wadhams. “They stay over and enter the AQHA roping. Many also come to the Hershberger Performance Horse sale the day before the Futurity. After, they move over to the local jackpots that have some impressive payouts and on to the Racho Rio sale. It all hits at a really good time. They can spend 10 to 15 days in central Arizona and do a lot of business.

The ARHFA was designed to combine the needs of cowboys, rodeo guys, jackpoters and horse show guys. “The whole roping industry is changing because of the amount of money we payout and I think its changing for the better. People want to buy a really nice, broke, good looking, well breed horse. With the ARHFA, we are encouraging the development of horses that can be a good show horse or go out and win a lot of money.”

FORT WORTH

– The National Cutting Horse Association

(NCHA) is pleased to share the hiring of Andy Adams of Gerber, Calif., as the NCHA Director of Judges.

Ncha Announces Andy Adams As Director Of Judges

Adams has been an NCHA member for nearly 40 years and became an NCHA Judge in the early 1990s. Adams is an AAAA-rated NCHA judge with 579 credits to his name.

Adams has judged from the weekend level up to the pinnacle events in the sport of cutting, providing him with a wealth of knowledge and experience.

“The position of Director of Judges has played an important role in maintaining the reputation and success of the NCHA,” said Adams. “I am excited and honored to accept this position as I have enjoyed and respected the role as an NCHA judge and monitor for the past twenty years. I am enthusiastic about further developing our reputation for consistency and accuracy. Most importantly, I am committed to the future of the NCHA through the development of succession planning programs and systems that open doors to up-and-coming cutting horse professionals who are interested in judging. I believe by growing the pool of judges with well-informed and trained professionals, we open doors to growing the sport and encouraging new participants to enter our historical and prestigious sport. As our sport evolves, the judge’s department realizes the need to adapt for this evolution. Through communication, collaboration, and education, we strive to be the absolute best we can be.”

In addition to his experience in the arena as a judge, Adams had most recently served as the Development and Education Specialist for the Association, coordinating continuing education efforts for NCHA judges and members alike.

“Andy has devoted his professional career solely to judging for the last 20 years, making him an outstanding fit for this role,” said Jay Winborn, NCHA executive director. “He has done a great job in his former role within the Judge’s department in his efforts to promote education to further develop NCHA’s judges. I am confident that Andy will continue advancing our program forward to become the best in the industry.”