Kelle Earnheart with her dad, Pat Earnheart

The Tunica Futurity and Classic wrapped up on Monday in Tunica, Miss. According to show organizers Don Bussey, Pat Earnheart and James Hooper, entry counts were up and the show went well. Kelle Earnheart, Weatherford, Texas, won the 4-Year-Old Non-Pro aboard A Spoonful Short and tying for Reserve on Dual With Style with fellow cutter Brett Johnson riding Second Timez A Charm.

Spoonful Short (Hes A Peptospoonful x Shorty Lou Lena x Shorty Lena) is a mare who was bred by Bryan and Anne Buchanan, Scottsdale, Ariz. She sold while still a foal to Brian Britton and then Earnheart purchased A Spoonful Short in November 2011. The pair competed at the 2011 NCHA Futurity and made the Non-Pro finals. The sire, Hes A Peptospoonful, won $72,951 in the cutting pen that included winning the two rounds and the semifinals prior to making the Open finals at the 2011 NCHA Futurity with rider Brad Vaughn. Foals by Hes A Peptospoonful have won $3.5 million, including Cherry Chex Dually ($253,450), Spoonful Of Cheerios ($236,344) and The Silver Spoon ($234,039). Shorty Lou Lena is the dam of A Spoonful Short and she won $28,063 and three of her foals have earned close to $80,000.

At Tunica, Earnheart was competing only a few miles from her hometown of Hernando, Miss., and not far from where she graduated with a degree in risk management from University of Mississippi in Oxford. Earnheart competed extensively as a youth rider and a few years ago she relocated to Weatherford, Texas. Clint Allen helps train her horses and to date her lifetime cutting earnings stand at $1.2 million.

Brett Johnson rode to second place aboard Second Timez A Charm (One Time Pepto x Wood Ya Belle x Zack T Wood), a mare bred by Dick Gaines, Byers, Texas. Gaines' son, Matt. purchased this horse as a yearling while Brett and Shaye Johnson, Hico, Texas, bouth Second Timez A Charm in December 2010.

4-Year-Old Non-Pro finals results

Monday’s rounds included three sets of finals, with Canadian cutter Eric Van Boekel riding Mister Boss Hog (CD Lights x Jae Bars Fancy Cat x High Brow Cat) to the 4-Year-Old Limited Non-Pro title. This gelding was bred by Crystal Creek Ranch, Fort Worth, Texas, and was purchased by Van Boekel in April 2011.

4-Year-Old Limited Non-Pro results

Buster Quirk, Denham Springs, Ala., and Spooked By A Cat (Cat Ichi x San Starlight x Grays Starlight) won the 5/6-Year-Old Classic Amateur division with a strong 220 for a $2,919 Champion’s check. This 6-year-old gelding was bred by Jeff Barnes from California., and Quirk purchased the horse in early 2011.

Classic Amateur results

In the 4-Year-Old Amateur, Brazilan Marcus Guimaraes wrapped up the final class of the 2012 Tunica Futurity and Classic with a win on NQH Spooky Lucy Too (WR This Cats Smart x Spooky Lucy x Grays Starlight), marking a 213 to claim the $3,280 check. This mare was bred by Jerry Nye, Bend, Ore., and was purchased as a late 3-year-old by Guimaraes. The pair made the Amateur finals at the 2011 NCHA Futurity.

4-Year-Old Amateur results

Rey N Style and Sean Flynn Top 4-Year-Old Open

Sean Flynn

See Rey N Style's winning run at Tunica

Weatherford, Texas, professional Clint Allen rode horses to Reserve and fifth place in the 4-Year-Old Open division. He was Reserve on Dual With Style (Duals Rey Badger x Moms Stylish Pepto x Peptoboonsmal), a mare owned by Kelle Earnheart, also of Weatherford. Allen was fifth aboard Moms Dual N Badger, who happens to be a full brother to Dual With Style. Jerry Durant of Weatherford bred both horses and he still owns Moms Dual N Badger.

The 4-Year-Old Open finals proved to be quite a challenge and after the first set it was Sid Smooth (Smooth As A Cat x Sheza Playboy x Freckles Playboy) and Matt Miller, Poolville, Texas, who led the way with a 217. That gelding, who finished third overall, is owned by Tommy Manion, Aubrey, Texas. Fourth was MK Chapman (Smooth As A Cat x Runnin Mate x Smart Mate), a gelding owned by Benny and Susan Scarberry, Clinton, Ark., and ridden by Oklahoma professional Tommy Marvin.

Style is a good way to describe Champion horse Rey N Style (Dual Smart Rey x Stylish Little Curly x Docs Stylish Oak), as this sorrel mare has a lot of chrome including a stocking on her hind leg that extends up to her gaskin. Sean and his wife, Ashley, refer to the mare as “Princess.” She was bred by Daryl Anderson, Ponder, Texas, sold in January 2011 to Wes and Lindy Ashlock and then sold again last September to Eddie and Barbara Young. Flynn said he got the mare last summer, right after the NCHA Summer Spectacular. Rey N Style and Flynn finished 16^th in the Open finals at the 2011 NCHA Futurity and made the 4-Year-Old Open finals at the Abilene Spectacular.

The mare’s sire, Dual Smart Rey is a 2002 Dual Rey son who finished his cutting career with $330,436. A nice $271,465 was earned during his 4-year-old season that included winning the NCHA Super Stakes, Bonanza and AQHA World Championship in Junior Cutting. The stallion is owned by Strawn Valley Ranch and was ridden throughout his career by Phil Rapp. According to AQHA records, this stallion fathered 12 foals in 2007 and 34 in 2008, the year Rey N Style was born. Equi-Stat shows that Dual Smart Rey has 18 money-winning babies and this latest victory tipped the stallion’s offspring over the $250,000 mark. The dam of Rey N Style is Stylish Little Curly, a mare who has two money-earning foals.

4YO Open finals results

Mary Ann Rapp

Toy Engine (Playgun x Cool The Engines x Smart Little Lena) is a 6-year-old gelding who was bred by Rapp and her husband, Phil. The horse is no stranger to success, as he had more than $125,000 in lifetime earnings coming into Tunica. He and Mary Ann started their career together at the 2009 NCHA Futurity where they finished third in the Non-Pro. Playgun is a 1992 stallion with $185,733 in cutting earnings and who has 427 foals that have won $7.5 million in multiple divisions. His honor roll is topped by Mr Beamon ($315,975) and Peppy Plays For Cash ($304,713). Cool The Engines is a 2003 mare and Toy Engine is her first money-earning foal.

5/6-Year-Old Classic Non-Pro finals scores

Arosesuchaclatter and John Mitchell Win Classic Open at Tunica

John Mitchell

The 5/6-Year-Old Classic Open at Tunica featured some of the most prominent and accomplished horses in the industry. Arosesuchaclatter (Smooth As A Cat x Mates Irish Rose x Smart Mate) is one of those, a 6-year-old mare who has so far worked her way to $266,447, showing in both the Open and Non-Pro divisions. She was bred by Rock Creek Ranch and was purchased as a 3-year-old by Brazilian owner Armando Costa Filho, who established Fazenda Barrinha Cutting Horses in Weatherford, Texas. Costa’s son, Armando Costa Neto, has been the one showing the mare in non-pro competition. In fact, Costa showed Arosesuchaclatter to Reserve in the 4-Year-Old Non-Pro at the 2010 Tunica Futurity, though this year this pair is not on the lineup.

Two other well-known horses tied for second in the 5/6-Year-Old Classic Open finals. Bet Hesa Cat and Alabama trainer Austin Shepard tied with Reycy Moon and Texas trainer Matt Gaines, each pair marking a 220 for $13,055 checks.

Bet Hesa Cat (High Brow Cat x Bet Yer Blue Boons x Freckles Playboy) is a 6-year-old stallion who sold to a syndicate as a yearling in 2007 for $400,000 at the Western Bloodstock Invitational Yearling Sale. Bred by Oxbow Ranch, Weatherford, Texas, Bet Hesa A Cat competed well as a 3- and 4-year-old, then performed strong last year to earn the NCHA’s prestigious Open World Championship. According to Equi-Stat, Bet Hesa Cat has $245,137 in lifetime earnings.

Reycy Moon (Cats Moonshine x Twice AS Reycy x Dual Rey) is a 5-year-old mare owned by Gary and Shannon Barker from Oklahoma. She was bred by Double Dove Ranch, Benbrook, Texas. This latest success tipped her earnings over the six-figure mark, coming in at $108,129. Reycy Moon has performed double time, in the Open with Gaines and in the Non-Pro with Gary Barker. She’s made many major limited-age event finals with both riders. At the 2011 Brazos Bash, the mare carried Barker to a Reserve Champion finish in the Non-Pro, just a short time after Gaines rode her to seventh at the NCHA Summer Spectacular. Also last year, Gaines rode Reycy Moon to win the 4-Year-Old class at The Cattlemen’s Derby & Classic, plus they finished third at the Arbuckle Mountain Futurity and tied for fourth at Abilene.

All eyes are on the 4-Year-Old Open, as several horses that debuted at the 2011 Borden Milk/NCHA Futurity are on tap for performances at Tunica. Duals For Amanda (Reys Dual Badger x Amanda Starkit x Kit Dual), a mare also owned by Gary and Shannon Barker, is one such example. Ridden by Clint Allen, Weatherford, Texas, this horse topped the first round of the 4-Year-Old Open at Tunica.

Duals For Amanda was bred by Neil and Allie Roger from Texas, and Neil showed the mare in the Open at the NCHA Futurity, where they marked 215 scores in the first and second rounds – missing the semifinals by just one point. Allie showed Duals For Amanda in the Non-Pro at the same show, finishing eighth in the finals. The Barkers purchased the mare privately in early December. To date, the mare’s earnings stand at $28,261, according to Equi-Stat.

5/6-Year-Old Open Finals results

4-Year-Old Open First Round results

Arosesuchaclatter and John Mitchell Top Classic Open Composite at Tunica

The finals of the 5/6-Year-Old Classic Open takes place on Wednesday, following the first round of the 4-Year-Old Open division.

Arosesuchaclatter (Smooth As A Cat x Mates Irish Rose x Smart Mate) made headlines before she ever hit the show pen. Jim Vangilder’s Rock Creek Ranch bred Arosesuchaclatter and the mare sold at that ranch’s dispersal sale for $200,000 to Brazilian owner Armando Costa Filho who eventually established Fazenda Barrinha Cutting Horses in Weatherford, Texas. The 6-year-old mare has a performance record worth $266,447, one that started at the 2009 NCHA Futurity with Costa’s son, Armando Costa Neto, finishing sixth in the Non-Pro and Bart Nichols placing fifth in the Open. Arosesuchaclatter won $102,521 as a 4-year-old and finished last season with $24,916.

Finishing second in the composite was Special Nu Baby (Dual Rey x Nu I Wood x Zack T Wood), a 6-year-old mare ridden by Weatherford, Texas, pro Matt Gaines. They worked cows to 217 in the first round and a 222 in the second go, for a 439-point total. This mare is no stranger to success at Tunica, as she and Gaines took Reserve in the 4-Year-Old Open at the 2010 Tunica Futurity. Special Nu Baby has $262,782 in lifetime earnings, a record that began at the 2009 NCHA Futurity with a 13^th-place finish in the Open with Gaines. The mare was bred by Crystal Creek Ranch and sold in March of her third year to Gary and Shannon Barker, Madill, Okla.

See the Classic Open Rounds 1 & 2 results

"Matts" Top First Round Of Classic Open

Matt Miller

The second round of the Classic Open takes place today with the finals wrapping up on Wednesday. The event runs through Feb. 6.

Holly Is Smooth (Smooth As A Cat x Holly N Zack x Zack T Wood), a 6-year-old mare, was bred by and is still owned by Kyle Manion, Aubrey, Texas. This horse won her first checks in 2010, starting out with a Reserve finish in the Futurity Open division at Augusta with Brad Mitchell riding. Also that year, she finished sixth in the Derby Open at the Pacific Coast Cutting Horse Association Futurity and seventh at the Brazos Bash – both with Miller in the saddle. During 2011, Holly Is Smooth cut to $42,873 that included winning the Classic Non-Pro at the PCCHA with Tommy Manion. With Miller in 2011, the mare tied to win the Classic Open at Abilene, made the finals at multiple events along with making the Classic Open finals at the NCHA Super Stakes and Classic Open semifinals at the NCHA Summer Spectacular. Said and done, the mare has $75,240 in lifetime earnings. As for Miller, his lifetime winnings stand at $1.6 million.

Looking a little deeper into the pedigree of Holly Is Smooth, her sire is Smooth As A Cat, a 1999 High Brow Cat stallion who has $500,038 in earnings, which included winning the 2003 PCCHA Futurity with Matt Gaines. Interestingly, Smooth As A Cat was the Champion of the 4-Year-Old Open division at the 2003 Tunica Futurity (then the Memphis Futurity). Smooth As A Cat has an offspring record worth $6.3 million, a list topped by Arosesuchaclatter, who happens to have tied for third in the Classic Open first round with John Mitchell riding. Holly N Zack, the dam of Holly Is Smooth, earned $47,431 and she has three money-earners that have won $86,397.

Finishing second in the first round of the Classic Open at Tunica was Light N Lily (Light N Lena x Meradas Oh Cay x Freckles Merada) and Matt Gaines. This 5-year-old mare arrived at Tunica with $37,096 on her performance record. Billy Martin, Millsap, Texas, bred Light N Lilly and he also owns her sire. Light N Lena won $165,076 during his show days in the cutting pen and so far his babies have posted close to $400,000. His list is topped by Laredo Montana, the horse that Martin’s daughter, Kaitlyn Larsen, rode to first in the Mercuria/NCHA World Series of Cutting Non-Pro at the recent August Futurity and Classic. Meradas Oh Cay won $11,096 in the cutting pen and she has 18 money-winning foals that have earned $392,711, a list topped by Smart Oh Cay ($115,722) and Sweet Hickory Merada ($104,431).

Classic Open First Round Results