sheridan-clark

Sheridan Clark and Meradas Puddy Cat Pick Up Another Limited Non-Pro Championship

sheridan-clarkSheridan Clark and Meradas Puddy CatEveryone loves Fridays, but Sheridan Clark had 10,101 extra reasons and dollars to like Aug. 1. Riding her NCHA Futurity Limited Non-Pro champion Meradas Puddy Cat, Clark marked a 225 to repeat as Summer Spectacular Derby Limited Non-Pro champs.

There was one part that the 14-year-old didn’t enjoy about the win – the interview. “This is my least favorite part,” Clark said as the group of reporters approached.

Clark received Meradas Puddy Cat (Athena Puddy Cat x Meradas Beauty Bars x Freckles Merada) as a birthday present last year. But she’s not asking for anything this year. “I told my dad (Jason Clark) that I don’t want another Futurity horse because I don’t want to sell her so I said nothing,” she said.

“It was awesome,” Clark said of her winning run as the ninth draw in the 14-horse finals. “It built as it went on. It ended up working out better than I thought it was going to. The cows were good, she was awesome, and everything just kind of fell into place. They were fast and I just tried to be smart and not kick her too hard or kick her past the cow and it all worked out.

“We cut good cows,” Clark added. “They weren’t too fast; they didn’t do too much; it was just the right amount of being challenged but not over the top. When a cow gets in front of her she blocks it with her head. She sticks her neck out. At the Futurity, she wasn’t as strong as she is now. She’s gotten a lot stronger. She can do most of it on her own now. She’s definitely getting better as she gets older.”

In addition to picking up the $10,101 winner’s portion of the $81,606 purse, Clark was excited to win her first saddle.

Ashley Galyean and Sweet Metallic (Metallic Cat x Sweet Abra x Abrakadabracre) were the fifth to work in the finals and marked a 218, earning reserve champion honors. The pair earned $9,444.

“She is so much fun to ride,” Galyean said. “She loves to go fast so I knew when we were watching cows and my husband (Beau Galyean) was talking about the one running across the pen that I was about to go pretty fast. I would say, ‘Are you sure we want to cut that cow?’ But he was like, ‘Your mare can hold anything. Just go show with confidence.'”