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Reined Cow Horse


Champions Crowned in Paso Robles


NRCHA Derby


Contributed Courtesy NRCHA, Photography by Primo


A thrilling day of reined cow horse action


on Saturday, June 17, wrapped up the main event at the National Reined Cow Horse Asso- ciation Derby in Paso Robles, California, with the finals for Open and Non Pro competitors. Champions were crowned in three Open and three Non Pro Derby divisions. The NRCHA Derby is the biggest and richest event for 4- and 5-year-old reined cow horses, with the total payout in 2017 exceeding $300,000. Derby Open Finals night was emotional


for Justin Wright, of Santa Maria, CA. He had three horses in the finals and won the Champi- onship - his first NRCHA Premier Event Open title - with Stephen Silva’s Lil Bay Hawk (Cat- ty Hawk x Gray Little Freckles x Playgun), scoring a phenomenal 672.5 composite (225 herd/220.5 rein/227 fence). Wright and Lil Bay Hawk were the com- posite leaders after two events, and were among the last few horses to go down the fence. Wright needed a big score to overtake the leader, Todd Bergen, Eagle Point, OR, and Boonlight Roan Bar (Bet Hesa Cat x Cat Boonlight Jewels x High Brow Cat), who were in the lead with a 666.5 total. “I don’t remember most of it,” Wright


admitted of the fence work. “He went in there, and it felt good, and it just all worked out. Ev- ery turn, it seemed like we just stayed in time, and it was incredible. It’s everything I’ve ever dreamed of - winning a major, and it’s just in- credible.”


The Championship paid $29,588. Bergen took the Reserve Champion title earning $22,391 for owner Tony Grover. The Derby Intermediate Open Champion


Brendon Clark & Metal Cat


Justin Wright & Lil Bay Hawk


Shawn Hays & Nee On Lights


was Nee On Lights (CD Lights x Shine Smartly x Shining Spark), shown by Shawn Hays, No- cona, TX, for owner Yellow Creek Ranch. Nee On Lights, a 2012 stallion bred by Hays’ wife, and her father, Walter Greeman, scored a 655 composite (216 herd/218 rein/221 fence). The Intermediate Open Championship came with a $6,981 paycheck. Hays and Nee On Lights earned another $3,198 for finishing 12th in the Open.


“I drew a good cow, and that little horse,


he was on target in the fence work. He was a little tired because it’s been real hot today. The cows, in the prelims, the heat kind of tapped them out, but the cows didn’t weaken today. They stayed strong. We went down and made a good right turn, jumped out and made a good left turn and got circled up,” Hays said. He praised the honest nature of the horse he has known since he was foaled, out of the Hays family’s champion performing and pro- ducing mare, Shine Smartly.


“He goes in and tries to give you the same


run every time. He doesn’t try and cheat you. He’s just a really solid little show horse,” he said.


Hollister, CA, professional Brendon Clark piloted Metal Cat (Metallic Cat x Tipofthestar x Grays Starlight) to the Derby Limited Open Championship, scoring a 632.5 composite (215 herd/210.5 r e i n / 20 7 fence). The win paid $5,836.


Hope Miller & Dare To Sioux


“I won the


Level 1 Limit- ed Open here last


year, and


was Reserve in the Limited


Open, so to come back this year and be able to win the Limited is exciting. I worked really hard over the last few years trying to learn as much as I can, and I’m still learning something every day,” Clark, a former professional bull rider, said. He owns Metal Cat in partnership with friends Quentin Kersh and Jonathan Fine, and praised the gelding’s steady temperament and cow sense. “He’s a horse that doesn’t need a lot of


work. You don’t need to warm him up much. You just go in, and he does what you want. He’s a nice-minded horse.” A special bond between Hope Miller and


her 5-year-old gelding, Dare To Sioux (A Shin- er Named Sioux x Tari Darlin x Taris Catalyst) helps the pair consistently achieve fence work performances that any top professional trainer would envy. The non pro from Washington state piloted “Baby Sioux” to the highest fence score of any rider at the 2017 NRCHA Derby, a 229, to seal triple Championships in the Non Pro, In- termediate NP and Novice NP divisions. “He is amazing. That’s the only thing I can


say. Amazing Special,” Miller said. “He tries his hardest with the fence work. It’s his favorite thing to do.” It’s often said that the most talented horses


have oddball qualities, and Dare To Sioux fits that mold. “He is so quirky. We always joke that he acts like a girl,” Miller said. Her preparation to show consists of keeping him happy. “I walk him around, I pet him, I give him a cookie and tell him he’s so pretty and so cute, and let him have his confidence. He’s an odd horse. Some- times you have to ride him a lot and sometimes you just walk him. It really just depends on what he needs.” Their composite score of 656.5 (210


herd/217.5 rein/229 fence) earned triple pay- checks totaling $12,364. Visit www.nrcha.com for results. w


July 2017 SouthWest Horse Trader 7


Primo


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