Non Pro Bridle Champions
Dynamic duo Debbie Crafton and SJR SumKindaRockstar (Smooth As A Cat x SumKinda PinkCadillac x Peptoboonsmal) earned the championship title for the Non Pro Bridle with an impressive composite score of 295 points. Their high score of 149.5 in the cow work paired with a strong 145.5 in the reined work helped them make their way to the top of the leaderboard and added another Non Pro Bridle win to the talented stallion’s list of accomplishments.
Taking both the Intermediate and Level 1 Non Pro Bridle champion titles were Adam Williams and Dirtyy Little Secret (Woody Be Tuff x Catmas x That Sly Cat) with a composite score of 289.5: 142 points in the reined work and 147.5 in the cow work. In the Select Non Pro Bridle, Oteka Gibson and Rey Of Suspicion (Catty Hawk x Reychel x Light N Lena) were crowned as champions with a total score of 284 points: 140 in the reined work and 144 in the cow work.
John Swales Rides for Sister Veronica at 2025 NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity®
From genetics to parents to childhoods, very little is off the table for siblings to share. In the horse world, where countless hours are spent in barns and at shows, siblings often grow up sharing not just time and interests, but a livelihood itself.
Veronica and John Swales are a brother-sister duo who grew up sharing the saddle in the frigid air and steep slopes of Alberta, Canada. And while both of them swinging a leg over the same horse isn’t unfamiliar territory, catch-riding for the other on the grand stage of the NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity® is.
Back in August at the National Stock Horse Association Pre-Futurity in Las Vegas, Nevada, Veronica was badly injured, preventing the successful cowgirl from following through on her plans to compete in this year’s Futurity. As a result, her brother—NRCHA Million Dollar Rider and two-time World’s Greatest Horseman® Champion John—swiftly stepped in.
“She’s getting around good,” John said. “She’s back home in Texas and in rehab. She seems almost back to normal, but obviously not able to ride here.”
The encouragement and support shown by the NRCHA community over the past couple of months toward the Swales family has been nothing short of continuous and overflowing.
“She has a number of really good friends who stood by her through the whole thing,” John said. “They stayed there in Las Vegas when they had plenty of horses to ride at home and things to do. There's been a number of GoFundMe pages and auctions to raise money and support for her to get through this.”
South Point Hotel in Las Vegas also played a crucial role in helping the Swales throughout Veronica’s monthlong stay during her initial recovery.
“They paid for the rooms for people who were staying to be with her,” John said. “I went and saw her, and they looked after my room. They helped comp meals and flights for our mom to visit. They were really amazing.”
A testament to the cow horse family as a whole, John plans to carry on that reinforcement by honoring Veronica’s futurity prelim entries: Bowie Nights (Metallic Cat x Lil Bit Reckless x CD Royal) and Its Jelly Time, (Bama Jelly x Ultra Time x One Time Pepto). Both mares are owned by Bar One Land & Cattle LLP.
“Clay [Volmer, Veronica’s husband] asked me after the accident if I could ride them here, and I didn't know if I could at the time or not,” John said. “Luckily, I was able to get some stuff organized at home and it worked out.”
While Veronica lives in Texas, John still resides in Alberta, making the logistics for catch-riding on such a grand stage tricky.
“The first time I rode her horses was last week and this week,” John said. “It’s been challenging to coordinate riding her horses and mine with all the things I have going on.”
Despite the logistical setbacks, John was determined to show these horses on Veronica's behalf, even with the added complications of crossing borders.
“She’s my sister,” John said. “I felt like I needed to make it work. She's done an excellent job of training them. It's just a matter of trying to get them shown just like you trained them yourself.”
Prior to the decision to pilot Veronica's futurity hopefuls, John didn’t think the NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity® was in the cards for him. And while Veronica’s accident was undoubtedly tough on his family, the opportunity to ride behind her is one he holds close to his heart.
“I’m glad I can do it for her,” John said. “They're both really nice horses, and I hope I can show them the way they deserve to be shown for her.”
Heading into the herd work of the Open Futurity prelims, John is sitting nicely on both mares after marking a 218.5 on Bowie Nights and a 217.5 Jelly Time.
From the Horse’s Back to the Forefront of the Western Art Industry
Shannon Lawlor, a premier equine artist within the Western performance horse industry, has always known her life would revolve around horses. What she didn't know was that her passion for both the equine and art industry would lead her thousands of miles from her roots in Manitoba, Canada, to Fort Worth, Texas, to share her work at the 2025 NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity®.
“I've never known my life without horses,” Lawlor said. “They've always been a part of my life, and they've been engrained in me since before I can remember. They’ve unequivocally shaped my entire life.”
As a young girl, Lawlor grew up riding and showing horses. But when the harsh Canadian winters hit, she’d translate her passion for the horse from pencil to paper in the comfort of her warm home.
“I was just a kid who loved horses and loved to draw,” Lawlor said. “That's where it started, and when I grew up, I still pursued the desire to draw and emulate horses in that way.”
When Lawlor completed school, she set out on an equine-focused career: starting colts, assisting at an equine veterinarian clinic, riding pens at a feedlot and much more.
“I wore a lot of different hats in the equine industry,” Lawlor said. “Looking back, I feel like that’s the foundation of my artwork. It’s my hands-on education that I now carry forward into my art. It wasn't intentional; it's just how my life unfolded. There's a major element to that that you can't learn in school.”
After spending nearly 20 years in the equine industry, Lawlor sought change and chose a career as a full-time artist, despite never having received any formal art training.
“I've been a bit of a risk taker my entire life, so transitioning from one career to another didn't feel intimidating at the time,” Lawlor said. “There was just a desire to do well and be good at what I was doing.”
And that she did. In her now 20-year career as a professional fine artist, Lawlor has been recognized numerous times for her unique style and dedication to preserving the legacies of horses and the Western lifestyle.
“My career has actually gone farther in places that I never realized it would,” Lawlor said. “Sponsoring NRCHA, for example, and becoming part of the NRCHA community—this is literally like my extended family, and I never in a million years could’ve imagined this as a silver lining to my career.”
Lawlor was also recently chosen to produce the commemorative poster and original paintings for The American Performance Horseman, which you can see on display at her booth during the NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity®.
“I truly feel like I belong here in the Western culture,” Lawlor said. “Part of the Western culture that inspires me are the fine people I’ve come to know. A lot of clients of mine over the years have become near and dear friends, and at the root of it all are the horses that are responsible for bringing us all together.”
Lawlor has also donated one of her original pieces of art, named “Soul Collector” (pictured above), to benefit the NRCHA Foundation at this year’s NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity®. The stunning painting will be auctioned off before the Western Bloodstock Yearling Sale on October 18 in the Watt Arena. Every dollar raised will go directly toward supporting the NRCHA Foundation’s mission of preserving the legacy of the reined cow horse, funding educational and youth programs and helping reined cow horse members in crisis.
To learn more about Shannon Lawlor, visit her booth located at the front of the Brown Lupton South Trade Show or visit her website shannonlawlor.com.
