HTIME

Phillip Ralls has won four reserve buckles, but at the 2023 World’s Greatest Horseman, he finally took home the coveted Champion title aboard Call Me Mitch.

BY KATE BRADLEY BYARS

There are years when the World’s Greatest Horseman event is electric, some years when it is shocking, but on February 18, the event had a heartbeat and it synced up with Phillip Ralls and the roan stallion Call Me Mitch. The pieces came together for Ralls—solid herd work, rein work and steer stopping runs that put him in striking distance of claiming the title that has eluded him four times, when he left the pen with the reserve buckle. However, his fence work draw of 14, of 16 riders, allowed Ralls the chance to make an unbeatable run.

“He told me this morning that ‘nobody is going to take this from me,’ and they didn’t,” said Ralls’ wife, Teresa. “This is a dream for our family!”

In 2002, Ralls hand-selected a 2011 roan Metallic Cat colt out of Miss Hickory Hill (by Docs Hickory) for client Estelle Roitblat to have as a National Reined Cow Horse Association Snaffle Bit Futurity® prospect. The Paso Robles, California, horseman guided “Mitch,” bred by James Eakin, through a career that saw the pair claim top titles like the National Stock Horse Association World’s Richest Horse, the NRCHA Derby Two-Rein Spectacular Champion, the Magnificent 7 Champion, several Open Bridle championships, third at The Run For A Million Cow Horse Challenge and two Reserve Champion finishes in the World’s Greatest Horseman. It’s quite a résumé, but it was not complete.

TOP 10 WORLD’S GREATEST HORSEMAN

(Rider/ Horse/Pedigree/Owner/Composite Score/Money)

1. Phillip Ralls; Call Me Mitch; 11S (Metallic Cat x Miss Hickory Hill x Docs Hickory); Estelle Roitblat Living Trust; 902; $150,000.

2. Chris Dawson; Reyzinette; 14S (Dual Rey x Sheza Shinette x Shining Spark); Holy Cow Performance Horses TX LLC; 893.5; $75,000.

3(TIE). Tyler Merrill; Bet Hesa Boon; 14S (Bet Hesa Cat x Flo N Blu Boon x Pretty Boy Boon); Beverly Servi; 889; $35,000.

3(Tie). Todd Bergen; Smartly Starstruck; 12S (Very Smart Remedy x Katie Starlight x Grays Starlight); McSpyder Ranch; 889; $35,000.

5. Boyd Rice; Quahadi; 13S (Bet Hesa Cat x Ginnin Attraction x Tanquery Gin); Burnett Ranches LLC; 880.5; $16,000.

6. Brady Weaver; SJR Reygun; 12M (Dual Rey x Playguns King Badger x Playgun); Gary Ewell; 876.5; $14,000.

7. Nick Dowers; Time For The Diamond; 10S (One Time Pepto x Diamonds With Style x Playin Stylish); Rod Dowers; 875.5; $12,000.

8. Clayton Edsall; Bet He Sparks; 14S (Bet Hesa Cat x Sparking Train x Shining Spark); K&L Phillips, LLC; 873; $10,000.

9. Corey Cushing; Hesa Dual Bet; 16S (Bet Hesa Cat x RJJ Miss Viagra Pep x Dual Pep); Teton Ridge; 872.5; $8,500.

10. Jake Telford; Northern Metallic; 15S (Metallic Cat x Little Cow Hound x Peppy Uh Huh); Marti Katerberg; 872; $8,000.

He is a dream horse, according to Ralls, and the 2023 Western Bloodstock / High Brow Cat / Hashtags World’s Greatest Horseman, held at the Kalpowar Quarter Horses Celebration of Champions saw the late Roitblat’s dream come true.

“It started with Estelle Roitblat wanting to buy him and this has been a dream of Estelle and Harry, and it’s been hard to get here, but this is a dream come true, for sure,” Ralls said. “More than anything for me, I felt like if I could put him in a good place and all the pieces came together. He is a horse that deserves this title. But there are a lot of great horses here; everybody here is amazing. I love this event and being able to come here, but [winning] this is pretty magical.”

Two months prior to the event, Mitch was in Scottsdale, Arizona, at the breeding farm to ship to clients in Australia. With only two months to prepare the stallion, Ralls said that he was surprised that Mitch felt “stronger, faster and more explosive” than before.

“From the time we started [preparing] this year, it just felt right,” Ralls said. “My whole crew supporting us is amazing and helped us so much; it was absolutely a team effort. I told Teresa, no matter what happens we live by the sword and die by the sword, and this horse owes me nothing. Competition is fierce. I know that nobody is going to let me have [the win], so you have to come guns a-blazing every time and show to the best of your ability.”

In the preliminaries, the pair tied for third place in the herd work with a 222.5, bringing them into the Finals where the herd work kicked off on Saturday in the John Justin Arena. This time, Ralls marked a 224 to earn the high score, followed by Chris Dawson on Holy Cow Performance Horses’ Reyzinette (Dual Rey x Sheza Shinette x Shining Spark) with a 221. The pair followed that high to the steer stopping to mark a 226, and then a 224.5 in the rein work.

Meet The Sponsors

Thunderous applause met Doug Williamson when the legendary horseman made a special appearance during the opening ceremonies.

Western Bloodstock LTD. is a horse auction company based in Weatherford, Texas, that is run by Jeremy Barwick. Western Bloodstock began working with the National Reined Cow Horse Association when the Snaffle Bit Futurity® moved to Fort Worth, Texas, and handles the Snaffle Bit Futurity Sales® held every fall during the NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity. The company elevated its support of NRCHA to a Corporate Partner level in 2021 and matched the then-purse of $50,000 for the World’s Greatest Horseman winner, making it $100,000.

In addition to supporting the World’s Greatest Horseman event through Western Bloodstock LTD., Barwick’s Brazos Valley Stallion Station is an NRCHA Breeder Sponsor partner. For more information, visit westernbloodstock.net.

Hashtags (Metallic Cat x Dual Rey Tag x Dual Rey) and trainer Tatum Rice became household names in the National Cutting Horse Association through the horse’s multiple wins and searing arena performances. In 2018, the stallion’s final year of competition, the pair earned the NCHA Open World Champions. The 2013 blue roan stallion also set a record for the Equi-Stat NCHA earnings with $473,635.

Owned by the Hashtag Ventures LP group based in Weather-ford, Texas, Hashtags became a named sponsor of the NRCHA in 2019, the same year his first foals hit the ground. For more information on Hashtags, visit brazosvalleystallionstation.com.

BDB Breeders added their support to the World’s Greatest Horseman purse following the 2022 event. Darren Blanton and Beechfork Ranch partnered to own High Brow Cat and NRR Cat King Cole, and together form BDB Breeders.

High Brow Cat, a 1998 stallion by High Brow Hickory, continues to be a top sire in the cutting and reined cow horse industries, with offspring earning more than $90 million in the NCHA. NRR Cat King Cole, a 2007 stallion by High Brow Cat, is an NCHA World Champion and Hall of Fame stallion that has sired offspring earning more than $700,000. Both stallions stand at Weatherford Equine.

Heading into fence work, Ralls needed to mark a 219 to clinch the win. Instead of playing it safe, he and Mitch left it in the Will Rogers Coliseum’s dirt, marking a 227.5 amid a crowd that was on its feet, cheering—and shedding tears—when the realization that the longtime bridesmaid’s time to take the win had come.

“I was just trying to stay calm, not come with too much adrenaline even though it is the moment I had dreamt about my whole life,” he said. “This is, in my mind, the biggest event there is and I was trying to stay focused. I knew what I needed to do but I also know there is no way to plan a score in the fence work. You have to make sure you’re in the moment, present and putting your horse in the best situation as possible.

“When I got that first turn, I felt good about it. That second turn, the cow popped off at an angle I wanted, and I knew I had to keep horse showing but I knew I had a chance. When I circled that first way and the cow set up and I could switch where I wanted to, I knew we had it. I’ve dreamt about that my whole life.”

Ralls added a World’s Greatest title to the family’s growing pile. His father, Ron Ralls, is a two-time World’s Greatest Horseman Champion and Ron’s wife, Patty Ralls, captured the Art of the Cowgirl World’s Greatest Horsewoman title in 2020. This win was exciting for Ron to watch his son capture.

“I am so proud of him, he’s earned this. There is no question they won, no one gave him this title. They won it,” Ron said.

HERD WORK:

Boyd Rice & Quahadi – 225

The 2013 stallion Quahadi (Bet Hesa Cat x Ginnin Attraction x Tanquery Gin), bred and owned by Burnett Ranches LLC, earned $5,000 and a Gist belt buckle for the high score with Boyd Rice aboard. This was Rice's 18th World Greatest Horseman entry.

REIN WORK & STEER

STOPPING:

Tyler Merrill & Bet Hesa Boon

Aboard Beverly Servi’s 2014 stallion (Bet Hesa Cat x Flo N Blu Boon x Pretty Boy Boon), bred by Garth and Amanda Gardiner, Tyler Merrill took the $5,000 check and custom Gist belt buckle with a 225.5 the rein work. A 231.5 in the steer stopping prelims put Merrill and the blue roan on top to earn another $5,000 and a custom Gist belt buckle for Servi.

COW WORK:

Shawn Hays & Moonshineandtwoadvil – 227.5

Riding Angela Massey’s 2014 gelding (Metallic Cat x Little Short Stuff x Shorty Lena), Shawn Hays topped the field to earn $5,000 and a custom Gist belt buckle.

HIGH-SCORE COWGIRL:

Abbie Phillips & Peptos Stylin

Time

For the second year, Abbie Phillips took the Ladies Champion award for being the highest placing female rider in the preliminaries. She and 2015 stallion Peptos Stylin

Time (One Time Pepto x Stylin

Jewel x Docs Stylish Oak), bred by Hanging H Ranch LLC and owned by Abbie and Kelby Phillips, finished the preliminaries with an 875.5 composite, placing ninth and making the Finals.

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Keep him protected

Along with the bragging rights and the weight lifted from his shoulders when he took that win, Ralls and owners Estelle Roitblat Living Trust took home the $150,000 check with a final composite of 902 (H:224/S:226/R:224.5/C:227), the highest composite score in the event's history. He also took a custom saddle made by Martin Saddlery, a CR Morrison bronze trophy, a Gist custom belt buckle, a pair of Rios of Mercedes boots, and much more home to Paso Robles.

Reserve Champion Chris Dawson rode to an 893.5 (H:221/ S:224.5/R:225/C:223), earning $75,000 aboard Reyzinette, a 2014 stallion owned and bred by Holy Cow Performance Horses. A competitor but also a fan of the sport, Dawson was cheering just as loudly for Ralls as those in the stands.

Reyzinette, started by Jake Telford, was in Ralls’ program before Dawson took the reins.

“I’ve never cheered that loud for anybody to beat me before! Phillip is so awesome and that is such a great horse,” Dawson said. “I marked a 223 [down the fence] and I told my wife that we were going to make him [work to win] it. If Phillip stubbed his toe, I would take the victory, but I couldn’t be any happier for Phillip.”

In addition to the final check, Dawson also rode to the high score in the rein work with a 225. Todd Bergen, aboard McSpyder Ranch’s stallion Smartly Starstruck, rode to the high score in the steer stopping finals with a 227. The score helped the pair finish tied for third place with Beverly Servi’s stallion Bet Hesa Boon shown by Tyler Merrill. Each earned $35,000. The total purse for the event was a massive $393,500.