NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity® Non Pro Champion
Myles Brown and Painted Shadows (Scooter Kat x Miss Scarlets Cat x Metallic Cat) continue to deliver in every setting. From the precision of reined work to the intensity of cow work, they’ve shown they can post the kind of scores that put them in championship contention.
The 2022 stallion has proven to be versatile in all matters of the game under the steady hands of Brown, and last night, it showed in the works of a Non Pro Futurity Championship.
“I've wanted this for so long,” Brown said. “It's been a goal of mine to win the Non Pro Snaffle Bit Futurity, and I wasn't gonna breathe until the last horse went. I didn't care what the math looked like.”
Rising to the occasion of the finals was no issue for Brown, who scored a 216 in the herd work, a 218.5 in the reined work—capturing the high score—and a 221 in the cow work to seal their championship title worth $50,000.
The homegrown futurity standout is owned by Brown and has become an integral part of their successful family breeding business. But he isn’t the first horse to wear the coveted NRCHA Snaffle Futurity® neck wrap beneath Brown, as his dam has claimed the title as well.
At the 2017 NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity®, Miss Scarlets Cat (Metallic Cat x Bee Miss Scarlet x Lenas Busy Bee) and Brown took home the Level 1 and Limited Open Nom Pro Futurity Championship titles and made the Open Futurity finals. The opportunity to not just compete, but win, on an own son of the remarkable mare is what the family’s dreams are made of.
“It's surreal,” Brown said. “My wife and I, my family and all the people that have supported me, we've talked about it and said it [a Non Pro Futurity Championship] was gonna happen, and sometimes it didn't feel like it was gonna happen. To do it on one out of Scarlet…she's still so special to me every time I see her, every time I pet her. It’s phenomenal.”
Beyond the genetic legacy at the NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity®, the similarities between Painted Shadows and Miss Scarlets Cat are easy to spot.
“They have such a willingness to be good,” Brown said. “They like to work, they want to do their job…any limitations that they have, it feels like it's my limitations, not theirs. It makes you feel like a really good hand.”
Brown and Painted Shadows qualified for the finals with a composite score of 650.5, thanks in large part to their high score of 221 in the Non Pro Futurity herd work prelims. In the reined work, they marked a very respectable 220, followed by a 209.5 in the cow work. It wasn’t necessarily the cow work Brown had envisioned, but he easily re-strategized for the finals.
“Don’t weaken and don’t safety up,” Brown said of his plan leading up to his finals runs. “And don’t think my way into a problem. I’ve been in that situation before, trying to outsmart the system, and it didn’t work. I wasn’t going to do that this time. I was just going to go in, trust that my horse was ready and that we’d get a cow we could win it on. And fortunately, we did.”
With a livelihood as deeply rooted in the cow horse industry as the Browns’, this win represents more than a big check to hang on the wall or a buckle to put on the shelf—it represents a life devoted to the horse and the community above all else.
“It’s our life,” Brown said. “We love it—we love the culture, we love the sport, we love the horses we get to be around—and we’re just grateful. We're grateful to get to do this, and we can do it as a family.”
Not far behind Brown was Shannon Haskins, winning the Limited and Intermediate Non Pro Futurity, as well as the Non Pro reserve championship, aboard 2022 mare Just A Stylish Boon (Bet Hesa Boon x Justa Lil Stylish x Playin Stylish). The pair marked a 213 in the herd work, a 214 in the reined work and turned in the highest score of the cow work with a nail-biting 225, bringing Haskin’s composite score to 652 and earnings just shy of $40,000.
Open Bridle Division Champions
Two Open Bridle champions were crowned this afternoon. In the Limited Open, Riley Friesen rode Bet Hesa Turnin (Bet Hesa Cat x Stoppin And Turnin x Clays Little Lena) to victory with a total score of 285.5 (R: 140.5/C: 145).
Claiming the Intermediate Open title was Robert Chown aboard Smart Nicholas (WR This Cats Smart x Secrets Lil Liz x Lizzys Gotta Player), marking a combined 293.5 (R: 144.5/C: 149).
Both horse-and-rider teams showcased exceptional runs, setting the tone for an exciting stretch of Open Bridle competition at this year’s NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity®.
