NON PRO BOXING

Lucinda David & Rubys Reypeat

If Rubys Reypeat (Reys Dual Badger x Ruby Tuesday DNA x Peppy San Badger) is any indication, 13-yearold Lucinda David is on her way to doing great things in the cow horse. He is the first horse she has brought from the ground up, she said, from buying him right before he turned 5, derbying him through that year and then putting him in the bridle when he was 6 years old.

All her hard work paid off in 2022 when David navigated the 2016 gelding to the Non Pro Boxing National title.

“It was a bunch of firsts with him,” she said. “This year was really the first time I had competitively shown in the boxing, and the Non Pro especially. It was really special to do it with him since I had come so far with him.”

Lucinda plans to add more firsts to her and Rubys Reypeat’s record together by learning to go down the fence on him.

“I know he’s going to take care of me, no matter what,” she said. “We’re going to learn together and maybe by the end of the year, we could be going down the fence some. It’s all going to kind of be up in the air, but that is the thing I look forward to.”

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

Lucinda David: The Non Pro Boxing at the Western Derby was the highest scoring run I’ve ever had on him. It was really special because it just showed me that we were able to score up there, we were able to be competitive in that big field of really nice horses and riders. It was just like, I have something here. I have a horse that can win. It just set that fire off, like let’s go do this, let’s go win.

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

LD: It was mainly just not letting the bad runs crush my confidence. Just learning to show through it, learning you can always grow from your mistakes and to just keep going and keep trying, keep getting better.

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

LD: I love his personality—he is just such a goofball. He is so easygoing, and he’s so easy to be with. He’s honest, he’s pure in the show pen, and he always tries his best for me and takes care of me.