PRF Spoonful O Gold, pictured at the 2012 NRCHA Derby as the Open Novice Horse Reserve Champion, is one of three Open finalists for Corey Cushing at the NRCHA Stakes in Las Vegas.The Open finalists have been determined for Saturday’s clean-slate finals at the National Reined Cow Horse Association (NRCHA) Stakes at the South Point Equestrian Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Corey Cushing’s composite 654.5 aboard Tonettes Playgun (Playgun x Peppys Tonette) tops the 20 Open finalists. In the Non-Pro, Tammy Jo Hays and Two Kitties heads a field of nine qualifiers for Saturday’s clean-slate finals.
Cushing marked 217.5 in the herd work, behind Todd Crawford’s high score of 220.5 aboard Russ Mothershead’s Oh Cay Meriah (Light N Lena x Meradas Oh Cay). In the rein work, Cushing’s score of 221.5 was only one-half point behind Todd Bergen’s 222 riding Pamela Bailey’s This One Time (One Time Pepto x Katie Starlight). Cushing’s 215.5 in the cow work – behind Brandon Buttars’ high score of 222 on Davis Bros. Performance Horses LLC’s High Roller Rey (Dual Rey x Peptos Royal 001) – contributed to the highest composite heading into Saturday’s finals.
Cushing qualified a total of three horses for the Open finals. He will also ride Frank and Cathy Corrigan’s PRF Spoonful Of Gold (Hes A Peptospoonful x Sons Miss Sprat) and Allan Kaplan’s Onetimeatbandcamp (One Time Pepto x Shorty Rooster).
It took a score of 646 or better to advance to the NRCHA Stakes Open finals. The complete list of Open finalists can be found here.
Twelve riders will return for the Intermediate Open finals, headed by Matt Koch and SDP Blue Blood (Laredo Blue x I Got Good Genes), owned by K & H Performance Horses, and Marjie Robinson and her Smart Circle Cat (WR This Cats Smart x Circle N Show Girl, who both marked 646. It took a composite score of 635.5 and above to qualify for the Intermediate Open finals.
Robinson also leads the three riders who will return for the Limited Open finals. Robinson’s score of 646 was nearly 10 points higher than Kelby Phillips, who qualified Shes Wright On (Hes Wright On x Sue C Shiner) and Fancy Boots N All (Peptoboonsmal x Smart Fancy Zan) with scores of 635.3 and 633.5, respectively. Both horses are owned by Garth and Amanda Gardiner.
The complete list of Open, Intermediate Open and Limited Open finalists can be found here.
Hays Heads Non-Pro Finalists
Tammy Jo Hays and TwoKitties. Photo by Stephanie Duquette.Tammy Jo Hays and Two Kitties (Smooth As A Cat x SR Jaguar) tied for the top score of 217 in the herd work with Stuart Bozeman and his Merada In Style 09 (Cats Merada x Stylish In White). Bozeman returned to win the rein work with a 214.5, while Hays marked 212. And in the cow work, Hays’ 217 was only one point behind top scorer Kathy Wilson riding her Chex Out My Tomcat (Tomcat Chex x Freckles Award).
The Non-Pro finalists are:
Tammy Jo Hays riding Two Kitties (646), Stuart Bozeman riding Merada In Style 09 (639.5), Tyler Burkey riding Survive These Lips (638), Heather Livingston riding Ooh La La Soula (631), Kathy Ferguson riding Cats Bandito (630.5), Deborah Wise riding Get It Master (630), Amanda Gardiner riding Hoo Talks Money (628.5), Debby Sanguinetti riding Call Me WR (626.5), and Cynthia Bias riding Nu Sand Dollar (624.5).
Bozeman also leads the lists of finalists for the Intermediate Non-Pro and the Novice Non-Pro. A complete list of finalists for those classes can be found here.
The NRCHA Stakes runs through Saturday, March 30. The schedule and draws can be found here.
Subscribe to Quarter Horse News to read the complete story in our print edition.
