Sam Smith

Smith and Roper are longtime friends, and when Roper asked the reining trainer to find a horse for his daughter, Indy, to show in National Reining Horse Association non-pro competition, Smith relied on his instincts. At the 2010 NRHA Futurity, he was stalled across the aisle from Andrea Fappani, Scottsdale, Ariz. He watched a video of Fappani’s assistant, Arno Honstetter, riding Rancho Oso Rio’s Chicsdundreamin, who’s pretty palomino head he had seen peaking from the stalls, and talked to some other trainers who had ridden the horse. He had a gut feeling about Chicsdundreamin, skipped out on a test ride and arranged a deal for Roper just hours before the Futurity finals.

That evening, Chicsdunreamin and Honstetter won the Level 3 Intermediate Open Championship and finished fifth in the Level 4 Open for a total of $72,618, confirming Smith’s instincts.

Since then, in the Level 3 Open, Smith has ridden the horse to third place at Gordyville and the Wimpys Little Step Derby and fourth at the National Reining Breeders Classic, where they also won the Prime Time Open Championship. Indy Roper has also guided Chicsdundreamin to Derby Level 3 and Level 2 Reserve Championships at the Ariat Tulsa Reining Classic. Chicsdunreamin has more than $100,000 on his Equi-Stat record, and now, he’s an AQHA World Champion!

Placing second in the Junior Reining were SL Lenas Chick (Lena Spark x Dual Chickadee x Duap Pep), a 2006 mare owned by Roxanne Koepsell, Aubrey, Texas, and show by Tom McCutcheon, Aubrey. They scored a 218.5. Third place went to Lost In Tinseltown (Jacs Electric Spark x Dun It In Tinseltown x Hollywood Dun It), a 2006 mare owned by Timothy Anderson, Milbank, S.D., and show by Craig Schmersal, Overbrook, Okla.