Sean Flynn with his daughter Madison and his wife Ashley

Flynn’s 296.5 composite edged reiner Abby Mixon, Marietta, Okla., and Tiger Lilly’s 295 as the two horse and rider duos provided the night’s highlights while competing back-to-back from the No. 8 and No. 9 draws.

Bill and Michelle Cowan, Ardmore, Okla., own Reward Me Please (Chic Please x Reward Me Peppy x Remedys Reward) and talked Flynn into riding her at the crowd-pleasing and free event. It took place in conjunction with Kalpowar Futurity and Faith Performance Horse Open and Non-Pro Futurity and Derby Open cow horse events that concluded Sunday, Aug. 22, in Ardmore. The Cowans compete with cow horses and cutters and they have sent horses from both disciplines to train with Flynn the past two years.

“He’s a horseman,” Michelle Cowan said. “He can do just about anything. He had my 3-year-old cow horse for about three months, working on the cutting part of it. He played around quit a bit spinning him and changing leads and stuff. He really was getting into it. He [Flynn] always wanted to do it [compete with a cow horse]. He just didn’t have enough time to do it. I told him ‘Okay. We’ve got a horse for you. You’ve got to do this.”

Flynn, 42, a native Australian, as were three of six cutters competing in the event, rode cow horses often while growing up in his home country. “I used to show these horses quite a bit, but I haven’t done it for quite a long time,” Flynn said. “It’s actually been 12 or 15 years since I’ve shown one.”

Earlier in the week, Flynn practiced with his partner Reward Me Please at the Cowans’ ranch in Ardmore. “I rode her the other night and practiced on her and didn’t do too good,” Flynn said. “I thought about a few things and it worked out good tonight.”

Abby Mixon & Tiger Lilly Reward

“I actually got my NRCHA [National Reined Cowhorse Association] membership this week,” Mixon said. “I hope in the future, I can show a little bit. I’ve been getting some pointers from Don Murphy [a legendary cow horse trainer and showman] and I couldn’t have done it without him. And Eric Storey was nice enough to let me borrow his mare. She was phenomenal and really easy to show.”

Other participants in the second-annual event, which started with reiners last year and expanded to include cutters this year, included reiners Marco Formentini, Todd Sommers, Gunny Mathison, Shawn Flarida and Jerod LeClair and cutters Matthew Budge, Craig Morris, John Mitchell, Clint Allen and Roger Wagner.

While a cutter, Flynn, won the individual title, the reiners took home bragging rights as team winners based on combined scores of each participant. The event attracted big names and a large and enthusiastic crowd. That was the plan, according to event organizer Todd Crawford, well known for his success in both the cow horse and reining disciplines.

“It’s a fun thing for most of the guys, but it kind of opens their eyes to the event,” Crawford said. “Hopefully, someone will come and actually start competing later with cow horses.”

Event Champion Flynn said he’s busy training cutting horses right now, but there’s a good chance he’ll eventually compete at a regularly scheduled cow horse event.

“I enjoy this a lot,” Flynn said. “Maybe when I can slow down a little bit, I can do some of this. I’d sure like to. You will definitely see me at some time in the future.”