NRHA Futurity Asmussen CINCHes NRHA NP Futurity
Jesse Asmussen and Ruf Style Of Play drew the dreaded No. 1 position for the CINCH Non Pro Futurity finals, but the pair made it count, marking a 220 to take the lead of Levels 3 and 4. As rider after rider took a shot at the lead and fell short, Asmussen and his team worked hard to stay busy. “We were back at the stalls sitting around, pacing, sweep- ing, and doing anything to just stay busy,” he said. “You don’t really expect a tie. You think someone will come in and beat you.” Luca Fappani had a wild run-in with a dog
that jumped into the pen during his finals’ run. Fappani was given the option of running again after the last draw. “I was just waiting for Luca to go at the end, and then he also marked a 220. We decided to run off,” Asmussen explained. Asmussen knew he had to set the pace.
Once again, the 3-year-old mare gave her best, resulting in a 222. “She was phenomenal in the runoff. I couldn’t believe she was better there than the first time I showed her in the finals,” he said.
The win came with a bounty of prizes, and checks totaling $61,455. “Winning this is a dream every year, and until it happens, it is hard to imagine.”
Asmussen purchased Ruf Style Of Play,
by Not Ruf At All and out of UB Stylin With Me, from Vaughn Zimmerman earlier this year. “Bobby Avila Jr. called me in June and told me I needed to buy her. I didn’t need another horse at the time, but he kept calling me and talking to me about her, so we ended up buying her without ever trying her,” he explained. After showing the mare a couple times, Asmussen elected to send her to Kole Price. “We live in Iowa, and the weather was really bad, so I sent her to Kole’s and he did a phe- nomenal job getting her ready to come here. She felt so well-trained and easy. I owe him a huge thank-you. I couldn’t have done it on my own.
The Other Non-Pro Champions Luca Fappani didn’t know he’d get to
show his horse three times in the non pro finals at his first NRHA CINCH Non Pro Futurity. “The first run was going pretty good. I saw something black and white run out in front of my horse, and I kept going, but the dog kept cutting the circle. I didn’t want to run him over, so I stopped. I’d never seen anything like it,” Fappani said.
Fappani and Gotta Get Diamonds were given the option of a re-run at the end of the finals. “He was pretty good the first time, so I trusted him the second time, and he was great. He did everything I wanted,” Fappani said.
When the score of 220 was an- nounced, Fappani had taken the lead of the Level 2 and Youth divisions but was tied with Asmussen for the lead of the Level 4 and 3.
Fappani and Gotta Get Diamonds
marked a 218 in the runoff, finishing as reserve champions in Levels 4 and 3. Still, earnings for the day came to $56,910. “This was my first futurity, and it was definite- ly one to remember,” Fappani said. Luca’s parents, Andrea and Tish, pur- chased Gotta Get Diamonds, by Spooks Gotta Whiz out of Tinker With Diamonds, from Ran- cho Oso Rio in October.
Finishing second in the Level 2 Non Pro was Jessicah Keller and Snips Shining Gun with a 218. Keller and Snips Shining Gun, by Colonels Shining Gun out of newly inducted NRHA Hall of Fame mare Snip O Gun, also placed in Levels 4 and 3. Keller and Snips Shining Gun, owned by Hilldale Farm, pock- eted $37,030. Taylor Zimmerman and Its All About Ruf,
by Not Ruf At All and out of Dun Pretty Nifty, finished reserve in the Youth division with a 217.5. Zimmerman won $24,707 for her finals runs on Its All About Ruf. Its All About Ruf is owned by her father, Vaughn Zimmerman. Blair McFarlin had never shown at the
NRHA CINCH Non Pro Futurity before, but she made it count, qualifying for the finals of the Level 1 through Level 3. In the end, she and her horse, Starlights N Dreams (Magnum Chic Dream x Strike A Star), won the Level 1 Championship with a 215. McFarlin’s earnings
Fappani & Gotta Get Diamonds
Luca
for all levels came to $20,760. Sally Berg and Had Us At Hello (REF
Black Mamba x Dunit N Continental) fin- ished as reserve champions in the Level 1, and placed in Levels 2 through 4, winning more than $21,645.
Over the years, Jose Vazquez has built an impressive breeding program and has made an impressive career on the resulting foals of his program. He won the Prime Time Non Pro ti- tle and placed third in the Level 4 Non Pro on one of those foals, this one a colt named Xtra Winding Step.
“It was a fun run,” Vazquez said of his
219-point run in the finals, which resulted in a $20,862 paycheck. “He showed he can com- pete at a high level. I showed him two times before here. He came out here and put together two quality runs. Of course, you want to win every time, so I hope our turn is right around the corner.” Xtra Winding Step is by Wimpys Little
Step out of SLJ Smartlikewhinny. “This is a horse we raised. I showed his grandmother, mother, granddaddy. The first good horse I showed was his grandmother,” he added. “This one is a little more special than the rest. He’s one of the best. I hope you hear from us again soon.”
Finishing tied for second in the
Prime Time Non Pro was Andre Lauzon and Kelle Smith. Lauzon rode A Whiz- ard Dream (Magnum Chic Dream x Miss Poco Whizard), while Smith rode Spookadoodlede (Tricked Out Spook x Tivitos Top Starlet). Lauzon also placed in the Level 3, for total earnings of $8,696. Smith placed in the Level 3 and Level 4 to take home $16,296. w
January 2020 SouthWest Horse Trader 15
Asmussen & Ruf Style of Play
Jesse
Waltenberry
Waltenberry
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