Nic It In The BudFoals by Nic It In The Bud and Dual Rey have broken the seven-figure earnings mark in the reined cow horse arena, making them the 13th and 14th horses to achieve National Reined Cow Horse Association (NRCHA) Million Dollar Sire status.
Nic It In The Bud (Reminic x Genuine Redbud x Genuine Doc), a 1997 stallion owned by Silver Spurs Equine LLC, of Scottsdale, Arizona, is a versatile performer with accolades in both reined cow horse and reining. Trained and shown by NRCHA Million Dollar Rider Todd Bergen, Nic It In The Bud made his debut in Reno, Nev., at the NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity qualifying for the Open finals in 2000. Less than three months later, he traveled to the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Futurity in Oklahoma City, again earning a berth in the Open finals.
In 2001, as a 4-year-old, Nic It In The Bud added to his NRCHA résumé by winning both the Stakes and Derby Open championships under Bergen’s saddle. He also was an American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) World Championship Show finalist in Junior Reining that year.
When he advanced into the bridle in 2003, Nic It In The Bud proved he could go the distance, earning the World’s Greatest Horseman Reserve Championship with Bergen aboard, and making the top 10 at the AQHA World Show in Senior Working Cow Horse. He retired with lifetime earnings right at the $149,000 mark.
As a sire, Nic It In The Bud quickly established his credentials, becoming an NRCHA top 12 and NRHA top 30 leading sire in 2009. He climbed higher still in both associations’ rankings in 2011, becoming a top 10 reined cow horse and reining sire.
Nic It In The Bud’s reined cow horse performers have earned a combined $1,001,722. His top five NRCHA money-earning foals are:
$116,124 Nics Black Diamond (out of Shinersdiamondjackie x Shining Spark)
$ 77,525 Nic It Smartly (out of Shining Smartly x Shining Spark)
$ 73,641 Peppy Nicolena (out of Chelsea Lean x Tejons Peppy Doc)
$ 69,826 Lenas Buddy Nic (out of Dual Lena x Lethal Lena)
$ 49,627 Kickback Nic (out of Desire A Chic x Smart Chic Olena)
Dual Rey
The other new NRCHA Million Dollar Sire, Dual Rey, has been firmly established in the cutting horse industry for more than a decade. Since 2005, he has been ranked as the No. 1 or No. 2 sire in the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA), and his foals have earned in excess of $26 million in the cutting arena.
Now, with total NRCHA offspring earnings of $1,001,696, Dual Rey (Dual Pep x Nurse Rey x Wyoming Doc), owned by Linda Holmes, leaves no doubt about his versatility as a sire.
The 1994 stallion began his performance career at the NCHA Futurity, where he tied for sixth place. Some of his cutting accomplishments beyond his 3-year-old year included the NCHA Super Stakes, where he split fifth place, and the Memphis Futurity, where he won the 4-Year-Old Open Championship. Dual Rey retired from the competitive arena with $105,038 in earnings.
His sparkling sire career has countless highlights. In 2009, a Dual Rey foal won both the NRCHA Futurity Open and the NCHA Futurity Open championships. The NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity Champion was Reymanator, out of the Doc’s Hickory daughter Savannah Hickory, shown by Zane Davis for owner John Semanik. On the cutting horse side, Rockin W (Dual Rey x Boon San Kitty x High Brow Cat), shown by Tony Piggott for breeder/owner Alice Walton, won the coveted NCHA title.
Dual Rey’s top five NRCHA money-earning foals are:
$175,549 Reymanator (out of Savannah Hickory x Doc’s Hickory)
$143,529 Dom Dualuise (out of Smart Little Xx x Smart Little Lena)
$62,653 Reygans Smart Lena (out of Smart Fancy Lena x Smart Little Lena)
$56,973 Desire Rey (out of Playguns Desire x Playgun)
$52,105 Play Dual Rey (out of Hiccup N Play x Doc’s Hickory)
