Yesterday marked the end of the cow work preliminaries inside the John Justin Arena, bringing an exciting close to one of the most competitive phases of the show. It took a composite score of 638.5 or higher to qualify for the Non Pro Futurity Finals, where Tammy Jo Hays and Smart Talkin (Smooth Talkin Style x Dulces Smart Chet x Smart Little Ricochet) led the composite with 653.5 points (R: 220.5/H: 215/C: 218).
Alongside the Non Pro Futurity cow work preliminaries, we also saw strong performances in the Open Two Rein and crowned two champions, details below.
The evening wrapped up with the NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity® draw party, where riders, owners and fans came together to celebrate all of our 2025 NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity® finalists. A huge thank you to everyone who joined us and to the sponsors who made it all possible!
Today, all eyes turn to the Cowboy Class, presented by the 6666 Ranch, in the John Justin Arena, and the herd work finals for the Non Pro and Open Futurities in the Watt Arena, setting the stage for an action-packed day in Fort Worth.
Non Pro Futurity Cow Work High Score
A tie for the high score in the Non Pro Futurity cow work resulted in shared honors for Tammy Jo Hays and Shannon Haskins. The two cowgirls each marked a 218, stamping their tickets to the Non Pro Futurity finals slated to start this morning in Watt Arena with the herd work, and the reined work and cow work taking place Thursday in the John Justin Arena.
Both aboard personally owned horses, Hays rode 2022 gelding Smart Talkin (Smooth Talkin Style x Dulces Smart Chet x Smart Lil Ricochet) and Haskins piloted 2022 mare Just A Stylish Boon (Bet Hesa Boon x Justa Lil Stylish x Playin Stylish) to the top.
“I bought her as a 2-year-old,” Haskins said of Just A Stylish Boon. “I love this mare. She’s a team player and a really neat little mare. If you could describe her in two words they’d be grit and grace. She’s very forgiving and super trainable.”
While Haskins isn’t a rookie in the reined cow horse world, competing in the southwest—and especially at the 2025 NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity®—is relatively uncharted territory for her.
“This is so exciting to me,” Haskins said. “This is the first time I’ve come out to Texas to show at the NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity®. It’s such a tough group, and I hadn’t even planned on coming to show. At Reno, she was really good; at Las Vegas, she was really good; and so everybody was like, ‘You need to take her.’ Very last minute I got a slot, and here we are.”
While this year marks Haskins’ first trip to Texas for the Futurity, Hays is well acquainted with success in the Non Pro division at the NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity®, particularly aboard Smooth Talkin Style’s offspring. She finished fourth in the 2024 Non Pro finals riding Tik Talker (Smooth Talkin Style x Zacks Fifth Avenue x Smooth As A Cat), a paternal sibling to Smart Talkin.
“They suit me,” Hays said. “We have another one potentially for next year. We’re kind of seeking them out for me. They’re really smart on the cows. The ones we’ve started have big stops. They’re pretty predictable in how they work, so it makes it nice.”
True to form, Hays fits Smart Talkin like a glove, and while the gelding may be small in size, he makes up for it in try.
“I bought him sight unseen at the 817 Sale,” Hays said. “He was really little. We started him out with our others. He started really coming around last fall and really started blossoming. You don’t really have very many bad days. He’s fun, he’s easy to get along with and he likes his job.”
With a composite score of 653.5, Hays qualified in the driver’s seat for the finals, thanks to her 218 yesterday in the cow work, along with a 220.5 in the reined work and a 215 in the herd work.
Haskins qualified in the sixth spot for the finals with a composite score of 648. Beyond her 218 cow work score, she marked a 215.5 in the reined work and a 214.5 herd work to help propel her near the top in standings. She also clinched the Limited and Intermediate high score titles.
Both Hays and Haskins plan to take bits and pieces of their prelim runs into Thursday’s finals. And while both cowgirls are aiming to make their biggest mark yet in the Non Pro finals, the impressions they’ve already made at the 2025 NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity® have firmly declared their places among the top non pro riders, as well deserved.
Rounding out the Non Pro division, Kelsey Delaplaine Fulmer and She Raised The Bet (Reyzin The Cash x Bet Shesa Jule x Bet Hesa Cat) earned the Level 1 High Score of the cow work, marking a 217 to land at the top of the field.
Level 1 Non Pro Snaffle Bit Futurity Champion
Two champions were crowned yesterday—one being Kelsey Delaplaine Fulmer and She Raised The Bet (Reyzin The Cash x Bet Shesa Jule x Bet Hesa Cat) in the Level 1 Non Pro Futurity.
Fulmer and her 2022 mare snagged the high score of a 217 in the cow work to secure the championship title. Their composite score of 647.5 was also built on a reined work score of 217 and a herd work score of 213.5.
Heading into Thursday’s finals, the pair has already earned $8,000 from their Level 1 Non Pro win alone and are in a strong position to add to those earnings before the week concludes.
Select Non Pro Futurity Champion
In the Select Non Pro Futurity, Jayson Fisher and Trashin (Gunnatrashya x Camilla The Cat x WR This Cats Smart) claimed the championship with a composite score of 645.
The pair earned a 217.5 in the reined work, 213.5 in the herd work and 214 in the cow work. The 2022 stallion is owned by Jayson and Teresa Fisher and has proved steady across the board in all portions of the Futurity, with one more opportunity to display that consistency in the finals on Thursday.
Open Two Rein Champions
A dominating performance by Mere Royalty (One Time Royalty x Mereyda x Dual Rey), owned by Richard Bell and shown by NRCHA Hall of Fame trainer Ron Ralls, claimed the Open and Intermediate Open Two Rein titles. With a reined work score of 147 and a cow work score of 144.5, the dynamic duo marked a composite score of 291.5, sealing their win.
Tornado Jonez (Stevie Rey Von x Missi Jonez x Travelin Jonez), owned by Top Fuel Ranch and shown by Travis Fisher, marked a 137 in the reined work and a 140.5 in the cow work for a composite score of 277.5, landing the pair the high score in the Limited Open Two Rein.
