CFR Centenario Wimpy carried Franco Bertolani to a 231.5 in a run-off for the Derby Level 4 Open Championship.The excitement at the Cactus Reining Classic in Scottsdale, Ariz., held March 5-9, was high during the Lucas Oil Derby Open finals. The Level 4 Championship came down to the very end, when CFR Centenario Wimpy and Show Me The Buckles ran off a 225.5 tie.
Show Me The Buckles, ridden by Jordan Larson for Wilton, Calif., owner Rebeca Martin, marked the first 225.5, putting him in the lead until minutes before the end of the class. Brazilian Franco Bertolani rode in aboard Slide Or Die’s CFR Centenario Wimpy (Wimpys Little Step x Miss Hollywood Whiz x Topsail Whiz) to tie. The riders opted for a run-off.
Larson, of Whitesboro, Texas, took the first ride, where he scored an impressive 228.5 in a strong effort for the win. But Bertolani and “Rio” returned to the pen sharper than ever. The duo marked a 231.5 to clinch the Level 4 Open win, as well as a paycheck for $13,832.
Larson and Show Me The Buckles (Wimpys Little Step x Sunset Whiz x Topsail Whiz) took home $8,420 with their Reserve Championship.
Level 3 Open
Sam Schaffhauser rode Gunners Tinseltown, owned and bred by Tolland, Conn., to a 224 to pick up the Level 3 Open Championship and a check for $6,105. The duo’s score was also good enough to tie them for fourth in the Level 4, worth an additional $5,112.
Gunners Tinseltown (Colonels Smoking Gun [Gunner] x Miss Tinseltown x Great Red Pine) earned the 2012 National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Futurity Open Reserve Championship with Tim McQuay aboard. The 5-year-old stallion has earned more than $175,000 in his career so far.
Dan Huss, riding Bravehearted Steps for Robert and Melissa Shearer, of Bonita Springs, Fla., marked a 220.5 to earn the Level 3 Reserve title and $3,716. The duo was also the winner in Level 2.
Level 2 Open
Bravehearted Steps (Wimpys Little Step x Lakota Quixote x Okie Paul Quixote), owned by Robert and Melissa Shearer, carried Dan Huss to the Level 2 win after marking a 220.5 in the division. The title was worth a $3,808 paycheck, bringing the duo’s show total to $10,531.
The Level 2 Reserve Championship went to My Chics Got Guns and rider Michael Boyle. The horse, owned by Menlo Park, Calif.-based Jill Ramleth, earned $2,318.
Level 1 Open
Wilfred Bosscha piloted Hot Smokin Pep to a 218 to win the Level 1 Open. The horse, owned by Leah Luprypa, of Cave Creek, Ariz., and Bosscha earned a $1,076 check for their win. Reserve Champions Mizzen Tag, owned by Bryan Ploch, and Tell Edgmon marked a 217 to take home $861.
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