Whose Tuff and Parkinson win the Open Super Spectacular

By: Abigail Boatwright Courtesy NRCHA.com

Whose Tuff proved his mettle throughout the four events of the Open Bridle Super Spectacular on June 9. The 2015 sorrel gelding, guided by Shadd Parkinson of Scottsdale, Arizona, secured the championship title with a composite score of 880.5 worth $1200 and a Classic Equine bag.

Parkinson has been with “Shep” (Woody Be Tuff x CR Dees Boon Meow x Peptoboonsmal) since the gelding was a 3-year-old. They’ve shown in World’s Greatest Horseman competition before, so the gelding is wellused to roping.

“He’s not very complicated,” Parkinson said. “He’s a real fun horse to show—he’s always game for just about whatever you want him to do. So my biggest strategy is to try to do the best job of staying out of his way and letting him do his job.”

The pair scored a 219 in the herd work—second in the class. They were top of the reining with a 221.5. They also did well in the cow work—a 220. “In the fence work, he was excellent, especially since the cows were kind of hit or miss yesterday, it seemed like, but he was fantastic down the fence,” Parkinson said. Steer stopping was the final event.

“I just saddled him up, turned him around and backed in there, and he acted like we’d been doing it a hundred times,” Parkinson said of their run, which scored a 220. “I was real happy with him.”

Parkinson highlighted Shep’s consistency during the event.

“This win is a fun one, being the Super Spectacular, because it’s hard to get through four events, and we carried a betterthan-220 average across the board. I am just real pleased with him.”

Shep’s attitude is his greatest strength, says Parkinson.

“He’s always willing to do anything, he’s got a lot of try, and he stops huge, whether it’s in the reining or other events,” Parkinson said. “Mostly, he’s just got a real love of life. He can just go lope a circle and you can show him, and he’s going to be the same if you lope him for an hour. It doesn’t make a difference to him. He’s just one of those really good show horses.”