16 minute read
Nothing Short of Spectacular
LIMITED NON PRO RESERVE CHAMPION
Riding R.A. Brown Ranch-bred-and-owned RAB DiamondRForever (Time For The Diamond x Sparks Smart x Genuine Masterpiece), Lanham Brown marked a 636.5 composite (H:213/R:209/C:214.5) for $1,555 in earnings.
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nOn PRO BOXInG CHaMPIOn
Riding her 2016 mare Hannas Metallic Rey (Metallic Cat x Reyhanna x Dual Rey), Denille LePlatte bested the 40-entry non Pro Boxing Derby field with a composite 653 (H:216.5/R:214.5/C:222) to earn $3,534.30. The two also won the class, non Pro Limited Derby, in 2021.
nOn PRO BOXInG ReSeRVe CHaMPIOn
niamh Sexton rode Ima Metallic Shine (Metallic Cat x Isabellena x Quejanaisalena), owned by Melissa Sexton, to the reserve spot earning $2,827.44 with a composite 646.5 (H:215/R:215.5/C:216).
LeVeL 1 nOn PRO BOXInG CHaMPIOn
In the Level 1 non Pro Boxing, Jenna Stolting rode Kit Kat Royal (Kit Kat Sugar x Little Royal Blue x Smart Little Lena), a 2016 mare, to the Champion title with a composite 642 (H:214.5/R:214/C:213.5) to earn $1,559.25.
LeVeL 1 nOn PRO BOXInG ReSeRVe CHaMPIOn
Reserve Champion pair was Shandra Freitas riding her 2017 mare CR This Cats Tuff (Woody Be Tuff x CR Miss n Cats Meow x Miss n Okie). She earned $935.55 for the composite 630.5 (H:206.5/R:211.5/C:212.5).
Phillip Ralls rode Short N Catt (Sophisticated Cat x Shortys Sugar Sue x Shorty Lena) to a 662 (H:222/R:222/C:220) to earn the championship spot and take home $13,820.
OTHING SHORT OF SPECTACULARN
The horse and rider teams topping their Spectacular divisions each had a mission and a goal, and they more than hit the mark.
By Kate Bradley Byars Photos by Primo Morales
Phillip Ralls brought “one bullet” with him to enter the 2022 Teton Ridge Stallion Stakes Open Bridle Spectacular. But that bullet was a surefire shot with Sarah Davis’ gelding Short N Catt (Sophisticated Cat x Shortys Sugar Sue x Shorty Lena). While different factors have kept the 2011 bay gelding from earning a few top titles in the past, it all came together for Ralls, of Paso Robles, California, and Short N Catt to leave Las Vegas, Nevada, with the Open Bridle Spectacular Champion title and also a qualification for the 2022 The Run For A Million Cow Horse Challenge.
“We knew that the Stakes was going to be a big one with the Spectacular and The Run For A Million qualifier,” said Ralls, a National Reined Cow Horse Association Million Dollar Rider. “It’s pretty awesome for him to have the show we know he can have with all the good ones there. That was a big win for him. He’s placed and done well at a lot of places.”
With a composite 662, the pair garnered $13,820 for Davis. The event started with a bang as the pair marked the high score of 222 in the herd work, and then followed it with a 222 in the rein work and a 220 on a cow that Ralls deemed “a tick soft.”
“We drew good in the cutting and I got some good cows with a degree of difficulty cut. He got to show off how quick and cow smart he is, and we won the herd work,” he said. “I was early in the rein work and then late in the fence, which I would rather do so that I have an idea what to do to get a win done. He really challenged the pattern in the reining and kept us in a good spot.
“Coming back [in the fence work], I needed to be a [218.5] to win the bridle spectacular. I’ve had some great runs down the fence on this horse so I was confident he could handle what they kicked out. He is a gamer and when your back is against the wall, you know you can leave with a lot of cow and handle it. He gives me confidence in that position.”
Ralls and the gelding have been a longtime team. However, it had been several months since they’d shown due to a bone bruise that affected the gelding. Though Ralls had hoped to have him for the World’s Greatest Horseman, he says the extra rehabilitation time ensured a successful Stallion Stakes showing.
“He came back better than ever. He feels really good; super fit and strong. He is tough, but I didn’t want to put him in that situation. I wanted him primed and ready,” Ralls explained.
The gelding was indeed ready to go, even making an extra run to secure Ralls’ qualification to the August The Run For A Million event. Ralls and Justin Wright, aboard Scooter Kat, were tied at eighth following the Open Bridle cow work, which ran concurrently with the Open Bridle Spectacular and the qualifier. Ralls had to ask Short N Catt for one more run.
“The Run For A Million qualifier runoff is a perfect example of that horse’s best traits: he is strong, he is confident and gets it done,” said Ralls. “He was
outstanding and can make it happen out of sheer desire and athleticism. People have definitely taken notice of him now by beating the best bridle horses in the world. He is a warhorse. He gives 100 percent every time he shows. If you are going down the lineup [of great horses] he might not come up in conversation, but the people that know him don’t bet against him. He’s one you don’t count out.”
The Reserve Champion Open Bridle Spectacular pair was Nick Dowers riding Santiago Time (One Time Pepto x Reymanising x Dual Rey), bred by Matthews Cutting Horses LLC and owned by Clinton Marshall. The pair earned $10,365 with a composite 660.5 (H:216.5/R:221.5/C:222.5).
NON PRO BRIDLE SPECTACULAR
The 2022 Teton Ridge Stallion Stakes Non Pro Bridle Spectacular was the first NRCHA premier event for Lindsey James after giving birth to her son last year. She and Maximum Spoonful (Hes A Peptospoonful x PG Maxine x Playgun), bred by Anderson Cattle Company and owned by LMJ Enterprises, didn’t need a refresher, though, as they powered to the win with a 437 (H:144/ R:146.5/C:146.5), earning $5,360.
James and “Max” have paired up for seven years to earn multiple NRCHA premier wins. The 2009 gelding stays at home with James, and she often rides him on the beach and trail, before getting a refresher with trainer Phillip Ralls immediately before a show.
“Max is really just getting better every time I show him,” James said. “He has quite the life but he deserves it! He is awesome out of the herd and it is usually one of our best events. I can always count on him and he’s a really cool dude.”
While not a typical show for James with her young son along for the event, she was able to concentrate on showing. James appreciates the help she received from her mom, husband and an assistant that stayed home in California to foal mares.
With the entries up for this year’s event, and the caliber of horses everincreasing, James said she knew she’d have to ride hard.
“I had to go for it. He ran hard and stopped big for me. Every time I asked him, he gave a little bit more and let me put him where I needed to,” she said. “Those cows were hard coming down the fence and he knew exactly how to handle it. They blew us a new cow and the second one ran really hard, but he handled it. I can’t say enough about this horse, he is one in a gazillion.”
Katherine DeHaan, DVM, and her 2015 gelding Smooth Dera Max (Smooth As A Cat x Dera Dually x Dual Pep), bred by Dana or Harry DeHaan, took the Reserve Champion title and earned $4,288 with a composite 437 (H:147/R:144.5/C:145.5). Though she tied with James, the cow score decided the event champion.
Lindsey James and Maximum Spoonful needed no warmup to get back to winning in the show pen, earning the Non Pro Bridle Spectacular Champion title.
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YOUTH COW HORSE SPECTACULAR
Catelyn Walker kicked off her final year competing as a Youth with a bang. She and Playin Motown rode to a 442 to earn the Youth Cow Horse Spectacular Champion title. The 2013 gelding (Mr Playinstylish x Mo Flo x Mr Peponita Flo) was bred by Kit and Charlie Moncrief and Lee Tennison, and is owned by Walker.
Earlier in 2022, the duo clinched the 2021 World and National titles in the Youth Cow Horse. It adds to the long show résumé they have compiled together.
“He is rock solid; he is the easiest horse there is to show,” she said. “It is a matter of tuning him up a couple weeks before the show, working a practice cow then going to show. He is a machine; he is fun!”
The pair earned the top spot in the rein work with a 148 then matched that in the cow work. They finished the event with a solid 146 in the herd work.
“On ‘Rio,’ my goal is always to go in, be clean and show him to the best I can,” Walker explained. “He does his job and it is more fun for me to show him than nerve wracking. That was probably our best herd work we’ve ever had. He was so pure in the rein work and stopped huge. He was right there with the cow. I was ecstatic with him!”
Walker plans to enter all NRCHA premier events in 2022 to complete her final Youth year. She earned $480 with this win.
“I’m hoping to repeat any and all the titles we’ve picked up again this year!” she said.
The Reserve Champion title went to Lannie-Jo Lisac and 2013 mare Lookslikelucktome (Smart Boons x Dual Lookin Pep x Dual Pep), bred by Kevin and Sydney Knight and owned by Timothy and Katherine Miller. The pair scored a 440.5 (H:144/R:147.5/C:149) and earned $400.
—Catelyn Walker
OPEN BRIDLE SPECTACULAR RESERVE CHAMPION
Nick Dowers rode Clinton Marshall’s stallion Santiago Time (One Time Pepto x Reymanising x Dual Rey) to a 660.5 (H:216.5/R:221.5/C:222.5) to earn the reserve spot and take home $10,365.
INTERMEDIATE OPEN BRIDLE SPECTACULAR CHAMPION
Shadd Parkinson rode 2014 gelding Metal Storm (Metallic Cat x Cowstruck x Smart Little Lena), bred by Reata Cutting Horses LLC and owned by Bronwyn McCormick, to a 656.5 (H:217.5/R:217.5/C:221.5) and earned $2,700.
CD Highlights (High Brow CD x Go Little Starlight x Grays Starlight), a 2012 stallion bred by John McCoy and owned by Linda Katz, and Randy Paul rode to the Reserve Champion title with a 656 (H:215.5/R:217.5/C:223) to earn $2,160 and take home $10,365.
NON PRO BOXING SPECTACULAR CHAMPION
Julie Gibbons and 2017 mare GAR Sweet Tea (Bamacat x PG Selena x Playgun), bred by Mark and Eva Gardiner, rode to 438.5 (H:144/R:145.5/C:149) to earn the title and also $4,500.
NON PRO BRIDLE SPECTACULAR RESERVE CHAMPION
Katherine DeHaan, DVM, and her 2015 gelding Smooth Dera Max (Smooth As A Cat x Dera Dually x Dual Pep), bred by Dana or Harry DeHaan, took the Reserve Champion title and earned $4,288 with a composite 437 (H:147/R:144.5/C:145.5).
NON PRO BOXING SPECTACULAR RESERVE CHAMPION
Laney Fjelstad and 2006 gelding Mini Mes Mercedes (Mini Me Merada x Spooks Hickory x Olenas Command), bred by Deborah Jean Powers and owned by Addison Fjelstad, rode to a 432.5 (H:141/R:144/C:147.5) and earned $3,600.
YOUTH COW HORSE SPECTACULAR CHAMPION
Catelyn Walker rode Playin Motown (Mr Playinstylish x Mo Flo x Mr Peponita Flo) to a 442 (H: 146/R:148/C:148) to earn the win and $480.
YOUTH COW HORSE SPECTACULAR RESERVE CHAMPION
Lannie-Jo Lisac and 2013 mare Lookslikelucktome (Smart Boons x Dual Lookin Pep x Dual Pep), bred by Kevin and Sydney Knight and owned by Timothy and Katherine Miller. The pair scored a 440.5 (H:144/R:147.5/C:149) and earned $400.
YOUTH BOXING SPECTACULAR CHAMPION
Caleb Cushing rode 2011 gelding Good Time (One Time Pepto x Dual Nurse x Dual Pep), bred by Cindy Smith and owned by Corey or Kristen Cushing, to the win with a 436.5 (H:143/R:145/C:148.5 ) and earned $600.
YOUTH BOXING SPECTACULAR RESERVE CHAMPION
Cole Hawk and 2006 mare Miss Montana Smarts (Cowboy Smarts x Lois Montana x Mister Dual Pep), bred by Jim Babcock and owned by Hawk Family Trust, rode to a 432.5 (H:145/R:142/C:145.5) and earned $450.
TWO REIN SPECTACULAR
Las Vegas is lucky for Erin Taormino and Hazardouz Material as the pair pick up another premier event title.
Hazardouz Material and Erin Taormino know how to win big in Las Vegas. The pair nabbed the 2021 National Reined Cow Horse Association Stallion Stakes Derby Champion title, then came back this year to earn the Open Two Rein Spectacular Champion win at the 2022 Teton Ridge Stallion Stakes. For Taormino, it’s not a gamble to enter “Skeeter” since it is a sure bet the horse will do his job.
“He is such a special individual,” she said. “I wholeheartedly feel like the older he gets the better he gets and the more he comes into his own. He is a good-minded horse and gives everything you ask. I feel so lucky to have him. He is a once-in-alifetime type of horse, I feel like.”
In February, the 2016 stallion sired by Metallic Cat and out of Scooters Daisy Dukes, bred by Taylor Carbo and owned by Linda Mars, earned the 2021 NRCHA World Champion Open Hackamore title. The red roan is on a roll. This win added $5,500 to his earnings with a 446 score (H:146/R:148/C:152).
“He knows his job so well. Going from the hackamore to the two-rein, I took him to confidence-building smaller schooling shows to feel the adjustment from two hands to one-handed,” Taormino explained. “At home I started working him one-handed, straight up in the bridle and took things as they came. My goal was to season him and build his confidence during that adjustment phase.
“Especially down the fence with all the variables, you don’t know how a horse is going to handle it or react, especially
with only one hand, but for him I was owned by Kit and Charlie Moncrief, first two-rein event together, the Non Pro confident because he does his job so to a 438.5 (H:146/R:145/C:147.5) and Two Rein Spectacular. well. I took my time with him and never earned $4,125. With the same compos- “I’ve show in Non Pro Derbies but rushed, and he felt a little wiggly and ite score of 438.5 (H:144/R:143/C:151.5), never much in the horse show classes, and green in a couple spots, but I let him feel Clayton Edsall rode 2016 stallion Heza this was my first Non Pro Spectacular. It his way through.” Rowdy Cat (Bet Hesa Cat x Dear Little was pretty cool! I was nervous showing
While the stallion may have seemed Boon Bar x Boon Bar), bred by Clyde this,” Walker, an NRCHA Youth, said. “wiggly”, he handled the two-rein and Wilmott and owned by Kim Basterrechea, “‘Fraser’ is always there for me and fun also the bridle events at the Stallion Stakes to earn $4,125. to show, but I wanted to put him in a like a pro. Taormino also entered The Run position to go and do his best.” For A Million qualifier on him. While she NON PRO TWO REIN With a composite 439 (H:145/ didn’t make the top eight in Las Vegas, Catelyn Walker’s good luck continued R:147.5/C:146.5) the pair earned $2,828 the Lipan, Texas, trainer plans to show at to hold in Vegas at the 2022 Teton Ridle for the win. the next qualifying event in June. Stallion Stakes as she and her 2016 geld- “My rein work was really good and
“He allows you to show him, to put ing Frat Cat (WR This Cats Smart x he was pretty pure,” she said of their him in spots, and he thinks his way TAMU A Dualin Reina x Aggies Twelfth runs. “He waits on me to ask him to run through and makes my job pretty easy,” Man), bred by Texas A&M University down and always stops huge. Our cow she said. “His confidence is growing out Department of Animal Science, won their was good and he was right there with it. of the herd. The rein work, he’s always been strong, and down the fence I appreciate how he hunts that cow and gets to that spot. Come June I am going to use him again for The Run For A Million qualifier. He was really good but we didn’t have enough cow and we were a point or two out of it. I’ll show him in the two-rein and use him in the qualifier.”
Taormino expressed thanks for her herd help that she said she couldn’t do without fellow NRCHA trainers Boyd Rice, Sarah Dawson, Chris Dawson and Tyler Merrill.
“I can’t tell you how much I appreciate Linda Mars and everybody at Tres Osos Performance Horses standing behind this horse,” she said. “The whole Taormino barn crew—my husband is my rock and I couldn’t do it without him. My girls are new to Taormino Performance Horses and hold down the fort—Emily Chisholm and Katelyn Molstad. We couldn’t do it without them.”
There was a tie for the Open Two Rein Spectacular Reserve Champion title. Boyd Rice piloted 2016 stallion Fabulous Fletch (Royal Fletch x Little Smart Ginger x Smart Little Lena), bred and Riding in her first two-rein event, Catelyn Walker piloted Frat Cat to the win.
