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NRBC Non-Pro Finalists Announced

NRBC LogoIt took two full days of preliminary competition, but the second largest National Reining Breeders Classic (NRBC) Non-Pro division has been narrowed from 176 contestants in the preliminary round to 35 that will compete in the clean-slate finals on Friday, April 18.

Tish Fappani, of Scottsdale, Ariz., set the bar high on the first day, piloting Hot Rockin Chick to a 221 – a score that wouldn’t be surpassed. Fappani and the stallion, by Smart Spook out of Hot Rockin Badger, are coming off a big win at the Cactus Classic, where they won the Protect the Harvest Non-Pro Derby.

Shannon Rafacz and Lenas Whizabelle (West Coast Whiz x Sugarmans Belle) marked a 219 for the high score of the Intermediate Non-Pro, and the second high score of the Non-Pro.

Melanie Schuckers, Mark Bradford, and Shaunda Rai Ruckman all scored a 218.5 to tie for the high score of the Limited Non-Pro in the preliminary round. Ruckman, a former NRBC Non-Pro Champion, was riding Valentino Tag, by Whiz N Tag Chex out of Kachina Oak Olena.

Schuckers, riding Custom Banjo (Banjo Whiz x Custom Bobbie) and Bradford, aboard Chicks Smokingun (Colonels Smoking Gun x Dun It By Chic) also tied for the Non-Pro Level 1 high score.

Stoney Russell and Gotta Get Er Done (Spooks Gotta Gun x Zan Hickory Girl) topped the Non-Pro Prime Time preliminaries with a 220.

The top 30 plus ties in the Non-Pro Level 4 and the top 20 plus ties of the other four Non-Pro divisions advance to the finals.

It took a 214.5 to make it back in the Non-Pro Level 4 and 214 in the Non-Pro Level 3. In the Non Pro-Level 2, the magic number was a 212.5, and in the Non-Pro Level 1, contestants needed a 210.5 or higher. Non-Pro Prime Time competitors with a score of 214.5 also earned finals berths.

The NRBC continues Wednesday with the first set of Open Classic Preliminaries in the coliseum arena of the Great Southwest Equestrian Center in Katy, Texas. Visit NRBC.com for a complete schedule of events, as well as up-to-date results from the show.