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> The History of the NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity
The History of the NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity
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Few sporting events capture the attention and respect among
devotees as does the National Reined Cow Horse Association's
Snaffle Bit Futurity. In its history, the futurity has grown
from a 27-entry event, and from a stock horse show
organized, managed and staged by a handful of volunteers to
a world class event that has become one of the horse
industry's premier spectator shows.
The first SBF in 1970 featured just 27 entries who arrived
at the California State Fairgrounds in Sacramento to vie for
top honors. The performance lasted two days and produced a
tie for first place between Bobby Ingersoll on Leocita Chex,
owned by Fritz Strain, and Les Vogt on Wrong Key, owned by
Fred Mungia. Though the entries and spectators were sparse
by today's standards, it was obvious to the California
Reined Cow Horse Association that they had a hit on their
hands, and they began to make plans for SBF number two.
Held again in Sacramento, the 1971 Futurity drew 45 entries
for three days of competition. It was an encouraging
increase in numbers, dampened only by the rainy weather. Ken
Sutton, owner and rider of Royal Cutter, emerged victorious
and distinguished himself as the only Non Pro rider ever to
win the futurity. Les Vogt, riding Bob Chex for owners
Marabito and Mungia, was Reserve Champion.
In 1972 the futurity moved to the Lyttle Cow Palace in Santa
Rosa, California, where a covered arena, open on the sides,
gave some protection from the elements, which were again
nasty. Despite the rain, more spectators than ever huddled
in the grandstand to watch the unprecedented number of
entries (72) vie for a piece of the cash awards and silver
buckles. Sugarnic, owned and ridden by Greg Ward, was the
Champion, and Tyke Minetti (a Non Pro) picked up Reserve
honors on Doc's Cowboy. New to the futurity schedule was the
Hackamore Maturity, which gave older snaffle bit horses a
showcase for their talent. Restricted then to horses who had
competed in the previous Snaffle Bit Futurity, the contest
was later opened to all 4-and 5-year-old horses.
The 1973 SBF showed a small increase in entries to 87, but
the most dramatic change was in spectator attendance. It was
standing room only in the Lyttle Cow Palace on the day of
the finals and the crowds hollered, hooted and stamped their
feet for their favorites. A new three-judge system replaced
the former two-judge system, and only 1.5 points separated
the top four horses. Wrangler Chex, owned by Nina Rose and
ridden by Les Vogt, earned a narrow .25 win over Don
Thompson's Horseshoe Man, ridden by Dick Knight. Another new
contest joined the lineup that year: the Junior Stock Horse
Championship in which top youngsters from throughout the
West were invited, on the basis of their year-long show
records, to compete in their own event.
The fifth annual SBF, held in Santa Rosa, stayed even in
entries with 87 competing for the win, but the competition
was getting tougher. Owners were breeding or buying and
training horses specifically for the SBF. The point spread
among the top horses was getting smaller every year and it
was hard to make the cut to the finals. So the CRCHA decided
to take the top 15 horses, rather than the top ten, to the
ultimate competition. Big M Nu King, with Duane Pettibone
aboard, not only made the cut but went on to win the 1974
Championship for owner Pat Risely by a full 1.25 over
Reserve Champions Maxi Chex and Les Vogt. The Bridle Horse
Sweepstakes was added to the program in 1974. Originally
designed for previous SBF entrants, it later opened to all
4-and 5-year-old horses. Spectator-wise, the SBF crowd was
becoming so large that it was clear the CRCHA would have to
deal with that problem if they were to continue the
futurity.
It was decided, then, to move the SBF to Reno Park Sports
Arena in Nevada, a fully-enclosed facility with more
spectator seating. Some said moving the futurity out of
California was a mistake, but a record-breaking 128 horses
were paid up for the 1975 event, and the crowd followed in
bigger numbers than ever. More that $400,000 in cash plus
trophies and other awards, was up for grabs, and the event
was expanded to five days. Bobby Ingersoll put together an
incredible display of equine talent and became the first
"Triple Crown" winner, taking the Championship in the SBF
with Hankey Pankey, then winning the Hackamore Maturity and
the Bridle Horse Sweepstakes. Previous SBF winner Greg Ward
rode Sugar Fred to the Reserve Championship. In recognition
of the significant number of Non Professionals and Ladies
competing in the SBF, two contests within the futurity were
introduced in 1975 when the Ladies and Non Pros paid
additional entry fees and competed among themselves within
the Open division for their own high p
Point awards and additional purse money. Tyke Minetti, on
Doc's Know How, was the first ever Non Pro Champion, and Dema Clark, riding Bar Fly, took top honors in the inaugural
performance of the Ladies division.
In its first year at Reno Park, the SBF crowd filled the
stands to overflowing, and the CRCHA was again faced with
the problem of having to move the futurity.
The 1976 SBF was held at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center,
a plush, completely enclosed arena with paved parking,
indoor exhibit space and theater-style seating. Entries made
their biggest jump, to 195, and a tie for 15th place sent 16
horses to the finals. The top contenders hovered within a
few points of each other until the last of the fence work
when Benny Guitron, riding Kit's Smoke for owners Mr. and
Mrs. Bert Crane, turned in a fantastic cow work to shoot
four points ahead of his nearest competitor to become the
SBF Champion. In the Ladies and Non Pro divisions, Pat
Bello, riding San Juan Chex, edged out previous Non Pro
winner Tyke Minetti on Cowboy Two by .5 to win both
divisions.
In 1977, the SBF expanded to six days as entries broke the
200 mark by eight. The judging system was changed to allow
three experienced cutting horsemen to judge the herd work
while three other judges scored the reined and fence works
without having viewed the herd work. Attesting to the growth
of the futurity, Jake Walgenbach was hired to oversee the
event. Scoring in the 1977 SBF was so close that 17 horses
went to the finals due to a tie. Bill Wildes took the
Championship honors on his little mare named Sugaree by
besting Reserve Champions Doc's Moselle and Bobby Ingersoll
by a point. The total spread between first and 17th place
was 9 points. Sugaree took home $10,000 for the win. A lady
and a Non Pro each qualified for the 1977 SBF finals. Linda
Baker was the 1977 Ladies Champion and turned in an
outstanding performance on Cashier's Chex, owned by Penny
Schermerhorn, to capture the reined work and finish fifth in
the finals. Gerry Westfall, riding Andy Green Springs, was
declared Non Pro Champion and fished 12th overall.
In 1978, finalists were expanded to the top 25 and the SBF
was expanded to seven days. For a record-breaking third
time, a horse ridden by Bobby Ingersoll won the Snaffle Bit
Futurity. Doc N Missy, owned by Oxbow Ranch of Prairie City,
Oregon, scrambled down the fence after a difficult cow,
clinching the Championship by a 3.0 margin with an
incredible fence work score of 154. Doc N Missy won more
than $16,000. Gene Suiter, a tough competitor from Glendale,
Arizona, rode Dry Sherry to the Reserve Championship for
owner Jay Anderson of Colorado Springs, Colorado. A young
contestant from Thousand Oaks, California, Karen Kittleson,
walked away with two horse trailers and nearly $3,000 in
cash plus other prizes when she and her Paint mare, Diamond
Jewel Wood, won both the Non Pro and Ladies divisions.
The Wild Bunch class, still going strong, featured a special
guest - Red Skelton! Sporting a shaggy moustache and chewing
a dollar sized cigar, Skelton rode his curly maned, rubber
necked paint into the arena at the last minute to delight
the audience with his special humor.
The 1979 SBF produced a new face in the winner's circle when
Billy Arthur, Ontario, California, rode Aledo Bay for
veterinarian Michael T. Stabbe of Clovis, California, to a
1.5 point win over the field. Reserve Champion was Cal Jo Jo
Bar, ridden by Kenny Pugh for owner Joe Scoma of Moraga,
California. For the third time, a lady captured both the Non
Pro and Ladies divisions when Zera Varian won both
Championships on her horse Sugar D'or.
In 1980, Tom Lyons, who had horses in the finals of the past
four SBFs, rode Docs Baroque to win the fence work and,
ultimately, the Championship. Gary Baumer rode Cal Reb Bar
to the SBF Reserve Championship for owner Lisa Anderson, and
Pat Bello repeated her 1976 victories to again win both the
Ladies and Non Pro divisions, this time on Gays Leo Bar.
The 1981 SBF was expanded to nine days. The judging system
was also expanded, and three more judges were added to the
roster for a total of nine. That meant each segment-the
herd, reined and fence works-had its own three experts to
score the rides.
Greg Ward won the 1981 SBF Championship on Sugar Remedy, a
filly out of Sugarnic, the mare he rode to the 1972
Championship. One point behind was Me O'Lena, owned by
Double R Ranch of Clements, California, and ridden by Ronnie
Richards. The closest competitors to the top two horses were
7 points back. Kathy Wilson rode Martha Rey for owners
Thomas Jr. and Dixie Young, to win the Non Pro title, and
the Ladies division was taken by Jody Haeberle, riding
Londons Dart for owner Mike Baker of Pasadena, California.
1982 was the year of the stallions when for the first time a
stallion, Sanpeppy Smoke, ridden by Kenny Pugh, won the
Championship. Stallions also dominated the next six places.
Sanpeppy Smoke commanded the finals to win a six point
victory over Reserve Champion Doctor Sujo, ridden by Barney
Hinds. Sanpeppy Smoke, owned by Kenny Pugh and Coy Sanders,
had bested 292 other entries to win. In the Non Pro
divisions, Frank Rue on Fernwood Tivio, owned by Rue and
Forsman, outworked 45 others to win top honors, and Karin
Richards took the Ladies division when she rode Double R Doc
to the Championship.
Also that year a five judge system where the highest and
lowest scores are eliminated was established and the
30-second rule which allows riders half a minute to decide
whether or not to keep the steer they had drawn in the fence
work was also adopted.
Expansion of the Snaffle Bit Futurity Performance Horse Sale
was yet another milestone that came in 1982. Held annually
since 1971, the sale had been a successful marketplace for
top stock horses, but the move to Reno Park in 1975 created
a problem as no adequate sale facility could be found
nearby. So sale manager Duane Pettibone talked John Ascuaga
into hosting the sale in his posh Nugget Casino in Sparks.
The tradition continued until 1982 when, due to its
popularity, the sale drew too large a crowd for the
facility. It was decided to split the sale into two
sections: a select yearling and broodmare sale held at the
Nugget, and a performance horse sale, held at the convention
center. Both sales enjoyed continuing popularity; so much so
that both sales were later held at the convention center to
accommodate the crowds.
In 1983, an unprecedented $75,000 in cash went to Im Full Of
Pep, the stallion who won the Open Championship. Ridden by
Stan Fonsen, Im Full Of Pep capped nine days of work with an
exciting performance in the finals when he and Ole Zan
Tucker, ridden by Bobby Ingersoll, engaged in a seesaw
battle for first place throughout the competition. It was
not until the last third of the last event that the stallion
garnered a 1.5 point victory over Ole Zan Tucker, who
settled for Reserve honors. Im Full Of Pep, owned by Art
Haskins of Danville, California, is out of Im A Sugar Vandy,
who was fifth overall in the 1975 SBF. In the Non Pro
division, Kathy Wilson of Wilton, California, rode Doc S
George to a decisive victory over Gill Horn and Slip Snip
Bar, while Anne Reynolds of Hammett, Idaho, riding her mare
Nancy McLain, earned enough to top the Ladies division and,
while she was at it, scored 220.5 in the herd work to give
her the highest score of any entry in the Futurity that made
her the first woman to achieve that honor.
The 1984 Futurity saw one of the closest contests ever when
just 1.5 points separated the top three places in the Open
division. Former Champions Stan Fonsen and Bobby Ingersoll,
riding Lei Aloha and Oak Be Great, respectively, seemed to
have the contest sewed up following their scores in the
preliminaries, but in the finals, comparative longshot Plumb
Dry, ridden by Gary Baumer, bested them both with an
outstanding job in the herd work and solid performances in
the reined and fence works to earn the Championship. Plumb
Dry was owned by Leonard and Patricia Brooks of Jamestown,
California. Reserve Champion was Oak Be Great, ridden by
Ingersoll and owned by former SBF Champion Rider Ken Sutton
of Sacramento, California. The Ladies and Non Pro divisions
were won by 1983 Non Pro winner Kathy Wilson, riding Billy
Clover.
There was a flurry of competition right down to the end in
the 1985 Snaffle Bit Futurity finals as Bob Avila on Docs
Missy Command and Greg Wright and Peppy Par Three went into
the last phase tied for first place with 295. Avila's fence
work scored an amazing 150-the highest score on the fence up
to that point- and it looked as if Avila had the
Championship all wrapped up. Wright was one of the last to
work and he knew exactly what he needed to win, but could it
be done? It was. The judges agreed that Wright and Peppy Par
Three put in the best work of the day and awarded them an
astounding 152 for the fence phase, which put them in the
lead by 2 points and clinched the Championship for the
20-year-old from San Juan Bautista, California. Peppy Par
Three won $50,000 for owner Charles Walker of Salinas,
California, who purchased the Peppy San stallion at the 1984
Snaffle Bit Futurity Performance Horse Sale.
The Reserve Championship went to Docs Missy Command for
owner John Fournier of Freeland, Washington, who collected
$30,000.
Dema Clark of Marysville, California, swept the Ladies
division by winning both the Championship and the Reserve
Championship on Missy Tucker and Poco Jessie San,
respectively. She rode her own entry to the Championship and
Poco Jessie San to the Reserve title for owners Mike and
Kristine LaGrande.
The Non Pro Championship was awarded to Bob Scott of
Clements, California, who rode his own entry Shesa Lou Too
to high score of 434.5, which put him a full 12 points above
the Reserve horse.
The 1986 Snaffle Bit Futurity brought several "firsts."
Among them was that the Snaffle Bit Futurity Champion and
Reserve Champion were ridden by the same person-Greg Ward.
Ward rode Pat Hubbert's filly, Smokinic, to the Championship
and the stallion Nic A Chex to the Reserve title for owner
Clear Lake Land and Cattle Company. Adding to the novelty
was that both horses were sired by Reminic-a stallion owned
by Ward Ranch. Dema Paul was the highest placing woman ever
in Open Futurity competition when she rode Docs Jesse, owned
by her and her husband, Jim, to third place.
In the Ladies division, Anne Reynolds rode her own Shirley
McLain to victory earning $1,500, while Dema Paul and Docs
Jessie tied for Reserve honors with Lyn Anderson on Easy
Chexx.
The first ever to take the Non Pro Championship home to
Wyoming was Glenn Barlow who rode San Zorro, a stallion by
Rey De Peppy out of Zorra, to a 1.5 point win over Reserve
Champion Lloyd Merriman on his own entry, First Draw.
Another new feature in 1986 was a Junior division, the
Little Buckaroos (an 11 and under class). Dan Foster, riding
Tontos Gypsy Rose, was the inaugural winner of the event, in
which only the herd and dry works were involved. Second was
Tommy Guitron on Political Smoker, winner of the 1981
Hackamore Maturity.
In 1987 the Snaffle Bit Futurity Champion was Nu Cash ridden
by Ted Robinson and owned by Ralph and Mickey Gragg of Oak
View, California. Robinson came to the Futurity with eight
horses, five of which made it to the finals. In the final
work, Nu Cash and Robinson topped the herd work with a score
of 150, tied for first in the reined with 149 and scored
147.5 in the fence. Their combined score was 446.5, 6 points
higher than the Reserve Champion Tuff A Lena ridden by Gary
Baumer for owners Don and Charlotte Gibson of Wilton,
California.
Lyn Anderson of Clovis, California, riding Mae O Lena took
the Ladies division Championship over Reserve Champion Judy
Martin on Tuckernic. Mae O Lena is owned by Pete Bennett and
tied for seventh overall in the futurity finals.
In the Non Pro division Jody Gearhart of Santa Barbara,
California, took top honors riding Peppy Smoke Bar Lady, a
Quarter Horse mare owned by Jody and her husband Larry.
Gearhart went on to win the bridle horse Championship on
Mister Tiv. Reserve honors in the Non Pro division went to
Matt Day of Bend, Oregon, riding Mrs Ed.
The Reserve Championship in the Bridle Horse Sweepstakes was
won by Miss Callie Bar, ridden by former Snaffle Bit
Futurity Champion Billy Arthur and owned by Nan Sellman.
In the Little Buckaroo division, Princess Serena, owned by
Judy Luis and ridden by Cezanne Luis, took the Championship
followed by Charlie Dial, ridden and owned by Sara Ramsey.
Twelve horses entered the Senior Buckaroo competition, a new
event for 1987. Vickie Bischell rode her Smoke To Remember
and tied in total points with Roxie Commander, ridden by Ed
Kemble. Bischel had the higher fence work score so she was
declared the Champion in accordance with SBF rules.
Over 160 contestants from 12 states, Canada, and West
Germany competed for over $300,000 in cash and awards at the
1988 Snaffle Bit Futurity.
Bob Avila and Smart Little Calboy earned top honors, and a
check for $35,000. Jody Gearhart retained her Championship
title from 1987 riding Cash Little Lena. For the first time,
the Ladies Championship was won by a horse with 20 owners!
Dema Paul earned the title on Bex Leoak Chex, owned by a
group of women calling themselves T.R.O.U.B.L.E., which
stands for "Twenty Rowdy Old Uppity Broads Loving Equines."
The cotton candy pink Championship trailer added even more
fun to the T.R.O.U.B.L.E. crew.
The pro-am division was broken into two divisions in 1988 -
a $5,000 Open Limited and a $2,000 Non Pro Limited. The Non
Pro Limited division was open to those Non Pro exhibitors
who had not won in excess of $2,000.
The move to the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas in 1989
marked the biggest change for the year, but that edition of
the Snaffle Bit Futurity was full of "firsts." It was the
first year that a non-Quarter Horse had earned the
Championship, and it was also the first time a husband-wife
team had swept the Futurity. Carl Gould rode the appaloosa Ima Jo's Doll to win $50,000 in the Open. His wife, Kathy,
earned the Non Pro crown on Oakin Around.
Anne Reynolds Jones was six months pregnant with her first
child at the 1989 Snaffle Bit Futurity. News of the
"expectant cowgirl" caught the attention of a Las Vegas
television station, which sent a crew to film her during
competition and at a baby shower given later by her Reined
Cow Horse friends.
Dema Paul once again earned the Ladies Championship, this
time on Stars N Smoke.
The Snaffle Bit Futurity returned to the Reno Livestock
Events Center in 1990 - and ticket sales jumped over $8,000
from 1988 - the last year the show was at the "Biggest
Little City." Jon Roeser earned his first Snaffle Bit
Futurity Open Championship in 1990 on Otoe Master, while Tom
Buckingham earned the Non Pro title on Colonel De Boon.
Roeser and Otoe Master took home $34,015 for the
Championship. Buckingham, the first champion to hail from
Idaho, pocketed $11,028. Otoe Master went on to win the
Snaffle Bit Stakes in 1991.
Nelle Murphy earned her second Junior Stock Horse
Championship in a row on Mister Royal Three - the year
before earning the honor on Docwood Poco Smoke. Anne
Reynolds Jones earned the Ladies Championship on Red
Sentinal.
In 1991, Ted Robinson earned his first Snaffle Bit Futurity
on Master Checks, and took home $30,000 for the title. It
was the second year in a row that a foal of Master Remedy
had won the Futurity. Jody Semper won the Non Pro
Championship by a decisive 7.5 points. Her mount was Cowtown
Hickory, and she earned $10,310 for the win.
Janalee Davis earned the Junior Stock Horse title on Lucky
Chex. Jon Roeser earned the Open Bridle Championship on Dot
O Lena, for John Showalter.
The 1992 Snaffle Bit Futurity Champion was Doug Williamson
on Mr San Olen. Williamson and the talented stallion earned
$25,250 for the win. The Non Pro title was awarded to Patti
Davis and Spats O Lena, who was awarded a check for $10,742.
Jon Roeser and Dot O Lena returned for the second year in a
row to win the Open Bridle Championship, and Cary Ann Ripp
earned the Junior Stock Horse title on Remis Rocket.
The prestigious Futurity made another move in 1993, moving
to the Selland Arena in Fresno, California, and expanding to
7 days. Sandy Collier made history as the first woman to win
the Snaffle Bit Futurity. She accomplished that feat on Miss
Rey Dry, earning $27,000. Matt Day pocketed $8,770 for the
Non Pro Championship, which he earned on Hollywood
Boulevard.
The 1991 Snaffle Bit Futurity Champions, Ted Robinson and
Master Checks, earned the Open Hackamore title for 1993.
Robinson also earned the Open Bridle title on Charter
Colonel. Riding Doc Peppy Chex, Tara Sagniere earned the
Junior Stock Horse Championship.
John Ward, son of "the Master" Greg Ward, earned his first
Snaffle Bit Futurity Championship on Masteroani in 1994. The
title came with a check for $29,886 - but did not come easy.
In a grueling effort to hold a rank cow in the cow work, Masteroani went down. After checking his horse for injury,
Ward remounted and continued the run. To the delight of the
spectators, the judges blew the whistle for a new cow. Jody
Gearhart earned her 3rd Non Pro title, this time riding
Master Rani Chex, earning $10,186.
Ted Robinson earned the Open Hackamore Championship on Litas
Sans, and returned to win the Bridle Horse Sweepstakes once
again on Charter Colonel. Janalee Davis earned the Junior
Stock Horse title four years after her first championship,
this time on Mr Disco Doc.
Ted Robinson pocketed $41,047 for the 1995 Open
Championship, which he own on The Nu Colonel, by Nu Cash.
That marked Robinson's 3rd Futurity win, and the first time
the Futurity was won on the offspring of a Futurity
Champion. In the Non Pro division, Korie Baker piloted
Smokums Miss Doc Bar to the title.
Smoky Pritchett earned the Open Hackamore Championship on
his horse, Freckles Face Smoke. Continuing with his Open
Bridle winning streak on Charter Colonel, Ted Robinson once
again earned the Championship. Christopher Frith earned the
Junior Stock Horse Championship on Tommy Tucker Bar.
In 1996, Robinson earned the Championship title, and for the
second time it was won on the offspring of Nu Cash. This
time the title came aboard Shesa Lota Cash, and was rewarded
with a check for $50,000. Traveling from Wyoming, Glen
Barlow blew away the Non Pro competition, earning the high
score by 4.5 points on Lenas Hill Billy, earning $16,800.
Sandy Collier earned the Ladies Championship on Katie
Starlight. Freckle Face Smoke became the first horse in the
history of the NRCHA to win the Open Hackamore class two
years in a row - which he did with Smoky Pritchett. Sandy
Collier broke Robinson's stranglehold on the Open Bridle
Championship when she took top honors on Smokum Doc Bar.
Kristina Console rode Dry Reins Golden to earn the Junior
Stock Horse title.
1996 also marked the premiere induction into the newly
established NRCHA Hall of Fame. The three special inductees
were Bobby Ingersoll, Greg Ward, and a very special couple,
Ralph and Mickey Gragg.
In 1997, the Snaffle Bit Futurity paid out a whopping
$430,000 - up from $279,000 in 1996. Ted Robinson walked
away with an unprecedented 5th Snaffle Bit Futurity win -
the third in a row, and once again on a Nu Cash foal - Smart
Little Cash. Jo Anne Carollo took home her first Non Pro
Championship in 1997 on Nicilena.
Todd Crawford earned his first title at the Snaffle Bit
Futurity on Tejons Peppy Doc in the Open Bridle, while John
Ward rode Colonels Hot Chic to win the Open Hackamore. Bubba
Petty earned the Youth Bridle Championship on Arlies Super
Cash.
The Snaffle Bit Futurity was extended to eight days in 1998
to accommodate more than 250 entries, and over $600,000 in
prize money was distributed.
Cheering admirers, with knotted throats and tearing eyes,
gave Greg Ward - The Master - a standing ovation for his
spectacular fence work which clinched his fourth Snaffle Bit
Futurity Championship. Although he had been battling cancer
for two years, he fought back, and made it to Reno on Reminics Pep. Because of his declining health, he was
rapidly losing weight. By the time he got to the Futurity,
he was about 50 pounds underweight. Regardless, when the
results were in, Ward had captured the Championship by 12
points, and took home the first $100,000 check. Sadly, the
equine industry lost one of its greatest visionaries,
trainers, and friends just two short months later.
In the Non Pro action, Anne Reynolds-Jones held three of the
top four places, winning the Non Pro by 20.5 points on
Magical Lena, netting $34,835.
As the 20th century came to a close, the Snaffle Bit
Futurity returned to Reno in 1999. Bob Avila and Smart
Zanolena topped the Open, taking home the $100,000 check.
This win was Avila's second, and it was the first as owners
for Matt and Lesley Day, as Matt had won the Non Pro in
1993.
Jo Anne Carollo also earned her second Non Pro title, this
time on Roosters Chicaroo. They won the class by 12.5
points!
In 2001, the country was still reeling from the 9-11
attacks, so the NRCHA sent a portion of the proceeds from
the Silent Auction, held during the Awards Banquet, as well
as the Calcutta, to the New York City Relief Fund.
Young trainer Todd Bergen won the Futurity's title crown on Boonlight Dancer. He had long been well known in reining
circles, but the win solidified his reputation as a solid
cow horse trainer. Jo Anne Carollo earned the Non Pro
Championship on Plan To Win, tying her for the highest
number of Non Pro Futurity titles. It was a whirlwind show
for the pair, as they competed in not only the Non Pro, but
the Open, and, consequently made the finals, making a total
of 15 runs!
In 2002, Doug Williamson earned his second Snaffle Bit
Futurity Championship on Doc At Night - a son of his first
Snaffle Bit Futurity Champion, Mr San Olen. It's amazing
that the difference of a decade can cause such an increase
in purses. In 1992, Williamson and Mr San Olen earned
$25,000 for the Championship. Laurie Ward captured her first
Non Pro title on Justa Hot Chic. Entries were up for the
show, with 234 open riders, and the total payout was
$835,900.
The NRCHA Silent Auction raised an all-time high of $25,793
at the Annual NRCHA Hall of Fame Banquet. Benny Guitron
received the Vaquero Award, Carol Rose received the
President's Award, and Walter Wright was named the Stock
Horse Man of the Year. In 2003, the NRCHA Board of Directors
decided to add an additional day of competition, so it was
13 days of glory at the Reno Livestock Event Center. 25
years after his first Snaffle Bit Futurity appearance, Bob
Avila earned his third title on Chics Magic Potion. Anne
Reynolds earned her second Snaffle Bit Futurity title on
Legendary Colonel, a half-sibling to her first Champion.
The Select Yearling and Broodmare Sale recorded the highest
selling Quarter Horse performance horse broodmare ever to
sell at auction on the West Coast when Smart Vandalena sold
for $140,000.
The 2004 Snaffle Bit Futurity and Horse Show attracted over
800 entries competing for a total payout of over $902,000.
It was one of the most emotional Snaffle Bit Futurities when
Brandon Staebler - a first-time Snaffle Bit Futurity Finals
qualifier - earned the Open Championship on Starlight
Captain. Brandon's son, Zane, had been born with a heart
condition requiring immediate surgery, and bills were piling
up. When he was talking to the press after the Championship,
he noted that "For so long the Futurity was all that
mattered. Now we know what is really important."
Dema Paul took hom the Non Pro Championship honors with
Shiners Dulena, by Shining Spark. She also won the Reserve
Championship on Maggie Hickory, by Doc's Hickory.
Living up to its prestige and tradition, the 2005 Snaffle
Bit Futurity broke records, and awarded a record breaking,
Million Dollar Payout! Ted Robinson added to his record of
Snaffle Bit Futurity Championships, earning his seventh
title on Nu Circle Of Light. Nu Circle Of Light is a
grandson of the first horse Ted won the Futurity on - Nu
Cash.
Tying Jo Anne Carollo and Kathy Wilson for the highest
number of Non Pro Futurity titles was Anne Reynolds and More
Magic Please. The 2005 title was Reynold's third. For the
first time, ever, people all over the world had a chance to
view the Futurity live by webcast, thanks to Galloping Video
and Waltenberry, Inc.
Todd Crawford finally earned his first Futurity
Championship, and passed the million dollar mark in
earnings, in 2006 on Smart Crackin Chic, and Anne Reynolds
earned her record-breaking fourth Non Pro title on QR
Powderific. For the second year in a row, the show set
records with its payout - to the tune of $1.2 million.
The association's millionaires were honored during the Open
Finals. Ted Robinson, Bob Avila, and Jon Roeser were awarded
Carol Owens' bronzes. Smart Chic Olena, Shining Spark, and
Nu Cash were also recognized for being the association's
million dollar sires.
In true Snaffle Bit Futurity fashion, the 2007 show
celebrated the culmination of its ten years of $100,000
payouts in styles. From the NRCHA Hall of Fame members being
escorted by stretch limousine into the arena for a special
rings presentation, to the Ole Timers' Reunion, the Million
Dollar Decade was recognized in style. Ever-fitting, the
show paid out over $1.3 million throughout the competition.
Two first time Champions took top honors at the Snaffle Bit
Futurity. In the Open division, Boyd Rice and Oh Cay N Short
earned the title, while in the Non Pro, Michelle Cowan and
Wheres My Shine were crowned the Champions.
Todd Crawford and Anne Reynolds were recognized as NRCHA $1
Million riders, and two more $1 million stallions, Grays
Starlight and Reminic, were also honored. Shining Spark
became the Association's first $2 Million Sire after the Non
Pro competition, and was recognized during the Opening
Ceremonies of the Open Finals. |
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