NRCHA Celebration of Champions


NRCHA World Champions Cont from page 8


World Championship to the tune of $6,125 in earnings. Cushing scored 220.5 in the reined work and a massive 225 down the fence for a 445.5 to clinch the win.


Open Hackamore The Open Hackamore World Cham-


pionship was decided in dramatic fashion when Clayton Edsall rode Metallic Train (Metallic Cat x Sparking Train) to beat an ultra-tough field of hackamore horses with his score of 442.5 (222 rein/220.5 cow), which was worth $9,000 for owner Bev- erly Vaughn.


Kaleigh King & Scootin Jule Lee


Limited Open Bridle


Limited Open Bridle World Champion honors went to Scootin Jule Lee (Scootin Boon x Angelina Jule Lee) owned and ridden by Ka- leigh King. Scootin Jule Lee and King scored a composite 440 points thanks to their 218.5 reined work and 221.5 on the cow to bank $4,150.


“It was awesome,” said King. “I knew my


reined work was real pretty. She was right there with me every step of the way. I knew I had a pretty good handle on that cow, I knew my first turn was awesome—during that turn I was thinking, ‘I can’t screw this up now!’” King, who purchased Scootin Jule Lee,


now 7, from Bobby Lewis as a 3-year-old, appreciates her mare’s grit and dependability. “She’s always been the same horse inside the arena as she is at the house. I trained her and tried my best to make her a fence horse; she gives it her all every time.”


Open Two Rein


Sippin Boons Farm (Smart Boons x Pep- py Nicolena) ridden by Corey Cushing for Eric and Wendy Dunn earned the Open Two Rein


Corey Cushing & Sippin Boons Farm


“It was a run-in, of course, and she’s really good at running and stopping so I just wanted to make sure I got her started off cor- rectly,” said Edsall of the reined work portion of his winning run. “I felt like I got her stopped good that first time and turned good. I was a tick concerned with how the circles were going to go after the run-in pattern, but she handled it well, it was definitely a difficult pattern, and a good one for the Finals for sure.”


Edsall went wide open on the cow and


the judges rewarded him accordingly. “I didn’t help her any by blowing a stirrup in my first turn,” he said. “I tried to get it back and our second turn wasn’t great, then I finally got it back and finished up good.”


Limited Open Hackamore SJR Smart Dancer (WR This Cats Smart


x Like A Sundance) owned and ridden by Re- becca Sternadel cumulative score of 430.5 (216 rein/214.5 cow) earned her $3,090 and the title of Limited Open Hackamore World Champion.


Purchased by Sternadel out of the 2014


Snaffle Bit Futurity Sale with guidance from Jake Gorrell, “Butter” secured his owner’s big- gest career win at the Celebration of Champi- ons.


Rebecca Sternadel & SJR Smart Dancer


Clayton Edsall & Metallic Train


“I don’t know if it’s sunk in yet, it’s pretty exciting though,” said Sternadel. “I love this horse, I owe him a lot.”


Since scores were held through the dura- tion of the 10-horse Finals, Sternadel wasn’t sure if the chips had fallen in her favor. “I felt like my run went pretty good, I felt


like he was doing his job and pulled through for me,” said Sternadel. “I’ve gotten a lot of help from Jake Gorrell and Don Murphy, they’ve helped me immensely. I got him as a long yearling and started him and have had him ever since, so I have a long history with him.”


Non Pro Bridle Karen Stallings rode she and husband


Kevin’s home-raised and –trained Sheza Voo- doo Dr (Shiners Voodoo Dr x Leapin Lindy Chex) to the Non Pro Bridle World Champion- ship and a $5,130 payday. Stallings marked a composite score of 433.5 (216.5 rein/217 cow). The win marks Karen’s sixth NRCHA


world title, the first five of which she earned riding NMSU Truckin Chex, which is the grandsire of Sheza Voodoo Dr.


“He always made me look like a superstar


so it’s just awesome to win it on a granddaugh- ter,” explained Stallings. “I might have been a little nervous, but she handled me really good and covered up a lot for me. I might have been a little tight in my run downs, but she went ahead and stopped. She’s just honest and rides so good. I’ve got to thank my husband Kevin, I wouldn’t be here without him.”


Intermediate Non Pro Bridle


In the hotly contested Intermediate Non Pro Bridle Finals, it was Sareece Brown and Very Smart Playmate (Very Smart Remedy x Gunna Be Mine) who took the title. While Brown and Judy Fortenberry aboard Cold


14 SouthWest Horse Trader April 2019 Continued on page 16


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