Custom Cash Advance, Duane Latimer Capture Open Championship At Tulsa - Quarter Horse News - The News Magazine of the Performance Horse Industry

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Custom Cash Advance, Duane Latimer Capture Open Championship At Tulsa

Written by Susan Morrison

Duane Latimer

The last two riders in the John Deere Futurity Open and Intermediate Open finals stole the show at the Ariat Tulsa Reining Classic on Saturday, Sept. 5, in Tulsa, Okla. A tie for the lead was broken when Custom Cash Advance was ridden by Duane Latimer to a 225 in the next-to-last draw of the evening. The stallion (Custom Crome x Cash In Roan x Topsail Cody) is owned by Luga LLC, Ardmore, Okla.

The final horse and rider of the evening also made a big impression on the judges. Eyed Be A Royal Chic (Smart Chic Olena x Eyed Be A Princess x Eyed Be Impressive), a colt owned by Lee Snyder, Franklin, Pa., was shown by Sam Smith to a 223.5. The score was good for the Open Reserve Championship and the Intermediate Open Championship.

Four 221.5 scores had been recorded and were leading when Latimer rode into the pen. The trainer said he wasn’t thinking about beating that score, but simply about marking the 75’s that he believed his horse could do.

Custom Cash Advance was bought for $46,000 at the 2007 NRHA Breeders Showcase Sale, where he was consigned by breeder Steve Simon. Latimer began riding the colt in the spring of his 2-year-old year.

“He’s been very, very easy, and a lot of fun to train the whole time,” he said.

This was the first show for Custom Cash Advance, and Latimer said the next stop will be Oklahoma City in November at the NRHA Futurity.

“He showed me that he could show and take some pressure. We’ll give him a bit of a break and then go to some schooling shows, and then show at he NRHA Futurity,” he said.

Sam Smith

Eyed Be A Royal Chic was raised by clinician Clinton Anderson and started by Deon Locke, a friend and neighbor of Smith’s in Marietta, Okla. The trainer liked the colt from the beginning.

“He stopped in May of his 2-year-old year just like he did tonight,” Smith said. “He’s wonderfully minded, very intelligent and a super athlete.”

The Intermediate Open Reserve Champion with a score of 219 was Whiz It A Chic (Who Whiz It x Chic Out Mamma x Smart Chic Olena), shown by Todd Sommers, Whitesboro, Texas, and owned by Stoney Russell, Longview, Texas.

Saturday night’s finals were preceded by the popular Slide Zone, which always draws a crowd to Tulsa’s Expo Square. It included a freestyle reining, which was won by Pete Kyle, Whitesboro, Texas, riding Whizs Bronze Star (West Coast Whiz x The Bronze Star x Rollin With The Flow), owned by Kaitlin Townsend, Argyle, Texas. Dressed as Elvis Presley, Kyle rode the bay gelding to “Burning Love.”

The morning featured a clinic by leading trainer Andrea Fappani, San Marcos, Calif. A highlight of the day was Fappani’s appearance in the Slide Zone with Big Chex To Cash (Nu Chex To Cash x Snip O Gun x One Gun). After the event, he signed autographs on the Breyer model horses that were given to the first 100 children through the door.