SWRHA Reining
Franco Bertolani & Chex For Nite
Martin Larcombe & Me And Julio
Loaded Lady Bug Hava Vital &
BERTOLANI WINS SWRHA Open Futurity
The Southwest Reining Horse Associa- tion Futurity has seen top-shelf competition throughout the week. Reiners from across the country have traveled the miles, put in the hard work and showed up in Ardmore in top form to battle it out for championship prizes and brag- ging rights. Saturday the Open Futurity Finals, sponsored by Billingsley Ford was the highlight of the day featuring the top scores from the two-section qualifying round. Franco Bertolani riding Chex For Nite marked an impressive 223 to clench the Open Futurity Level 4 championship, worth $15,788. Bertolani and Chex For Nite also won the go round aboard the 3-year-old stallion by Gunners Special Nite and out of Dun It For Chex. “It’s hard when you show and you feel like you had enough horse to win so it’s a little more pressure in the finals, I had to go a little hard- er,” Bertolani said. “Craig Schmersal showed before me and marked a 222 so it puts a little pressure, but the horse was really good. I tried to show a little harder, but not make any mis- takes and that’s what happened and I’m very happy for that.”
Bertolani and Cardinal Hill Training Cen-
ter has trained the stallion from the ground up and his bloodlines have been successful for them in the past, which makes the win extra special. “We started him from the beginning. He’s by Gunners Special Nite and out of Dun For Chex, our dashboard mare same mother - Dun It For Whizkey - those horses that make me feel
12 SouthWest Horse Trader
happy,” Bertolani said with a laugh. “We raised him and I broke him and I showed him for the first time in Denver.”
Schmersal rode Diggin For Proof, who’s by Pale Face Dunnit and out of Shining Proof, to the reserve with a score of 222.
Martin Larcombe took home the Level 3
title riding Me And Julio to a score of 221.5 worth $7,648. The 3-year-old stallion by Colo- nels Nite Special and out of Darlins Not Paint- ed.
“[The pattern] kind of suited him,” Lar- combe said. “Going in there and doing the cir- cles got him busy from the start. He’s kind of a light-backed horse so that way it kind of gets the blood pumping a little bit and gives him a job.” The duo have been together since Decem- ber of last year and Larcombe knew from the start Me And Julio had the potential to be a champion from the start, even though he might have had a little later start than most. “He’s a big stopper, so that’s probably his biggest maneuver,” Larcombe said. “I took him to [the Tulsa Reining Classic] and then I’ve kind of only taken him to schooling shows and then just brought him here, so he hasn’t been shown a lot. He’s getting better each time.” Dany Tremblay rode Starlightsndiamonds
(Whizkey N Diamonds x Starlight Sugarwhiz) to the reserve in the Level 3 with a score of 220.5 for High Hopes Farm. It was a big night for Hava Vital at the Har- dy Murphey Coliseum when she took home the championships in both the Open Level 2 and Level 1 with a score of 218 riding Loaded Lady Bug for owner Mary Jansma. The 3-year-old mare by Hes A Loaded Gun and out of BH Lady
December 2017
Bug was trained by Vital, which she says makes the win an emotional and memorable one. “I’ve had her since she was 2; I broke her. She is physically very small, so when the own- er brought her down he told [Justin Mattheson] this mare is especially for Hava,” she said with a laugh. “It hasn’t been easy. We’ve had tough times, but that’s horse training. It’s very spe- cial.”
Vital admits she was a little nervous before she entered the pen, but her nerves were quickly set at ease with the mare’s performance. “I was a little scared because my boss told me to go fast, go fast,” she said with a laugh. “I know I need to hold some for the big futu- rity [NRHA Futurity] but I just took what she gave me. I didn’t really push her extra hard and I trusted her to come back and she’s just been so good in the show pen.” The strategy paid off and combined be-
tween the Level 2 and Level 1 Vital earned $3,192.
An added bonus to the Open Futurity was
the Open Mare Incentive for the highest finish- ing mare in the futurity. The Mega Mare Bonus was created to honor Mega Maggie Mae and Cinco De Mega by rewarding
$1,000 to the
highest scoring mare of the futurity, this year claimed by Dany Tremblay riding Starlightsn- diamonds.
Three buckles were awarded to the sires of
the highest placing Open Futurity Finals. The Level 3 champion was Gunner Special Nite, the Level 3 winner was Einsteins Revolution and the Level 1 buckle when to Gunnatrashya. For information and complete results, visit
www.swrha.com. w
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