NON PRO BRIDLE

Amy Bailey & Electra Tuff

RCHN: What was your most memorable NRCHA show moment in 2022?

Amy Bailey: My favorite moment last year was during the NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity® on my fence run. I had a fast calf, and not only was it fast going down the fence, but it was also fast coming back. That was just one of those [runs] that I enjoyed. When I got done, I was like, “Man, let’s do that again!”

RCHN: What was the biggest challenge you faced during the show season?

AB: In November, he fell with me going down the fence. An ambulance had to come take me to the hospital, and I ended up with a concussion and bone bruising. I didn’t think showing would bother me, but that first day before I went in, it just hit me. But that was the only second thought I had about anything. I tell everybody, “I’m not going to be the one that, when I’m 80 years old sitting at home on the couch, [who] says I wish I had done this or that.” I’m going to do it because we’re going to die sooner or later, and it might as well be doing something we like!

For Amy Bailey, winning a year-end title on Electra Tuff (Woody Be Tuff x Electras Boots x Doc O Boots) was extra meaningful, as it was her last year competing on the 2012 gelding. As of February, the horse was pending sale, and though it was bittersweet to see him go, she was grateful for the memories she made with him.

“Last year was the first year I’ve ever been Intermediate,” Bailey said. “I had previously won the Non Pro year-end high point on Electra Tuff, but I never won the Intermediate. To win them both was special because I’m selling him. I want him to go on to somebody else that can win with him for a little while.”

Bailey said she had started roping on Electra Tuff this year, adding to the gelding’s talents. She thinks he’ll make a great contender for the Non Pro World’s Greatest Horseman one day.

“He is the soundest horse I have ever owned,” said Bailey, who also won the Intermediate Non Pro World title with the gelding. “I will miss him because he has been a good horse for me. My ultimate goal is to eventually show in the Snaffle Bit Futurity, because I have never shown a futurity horse.”

RCHN: What is your horse’s most special physical talent?

AB: Number one, he’s got speed and it’s hard to outrun him. Number two, he comes out of the turns quick. He’s so physical that he’s violent. He is just so willing to do whatever I ask him to do, and he never refuses. He is the best three-event horse I have ever had.

The front is smooth and inviting. And it’s got a bold middle flavor that I love but can’t really describe. The finish is warm honey-almond with a smokey tinge on the very back end. It’s damn good.

— Kory Pounds, Professional Cowboy, Cutting Horse Champion, Whiskey Advocate