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Joel Colgrove Wins Unlimited Amateur At NCHA Futurity

one-catty-cupidJoel Colgrove & One Catty Cupid • Hart PhotosJoel Colgrove, of Boligee, Alabama, has competed with and cheered on his granddaughters in the Will Rogers Coliseum, but on Dec. 11, the family patriarch, who is affectionately called “Bear” by the grandkids, was picking up the hardware as the Unlimited Amateur Champion at the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Futurity in Fort Worth. It was his first win in the historic arena.

Colgrove and One Catty Cupid (One Time Pepto x Arc Catty Dual x Dual Pep) marked a 218 as the 11th to work in the 30-horse final and picked up the champion’s check for $9,194 of the $228,611 purse.

On Dec. 8, Colgrove and One Catty Cupid finished third in the Amateur finals while his 13-year-old granddaughter Blakley Colgrove won the class on Paradox Cat (High Brow Cat x Thimblerey x Dual Pep).

Colgrove introduced his granddaughters to the sport and said he was rooting for Blakley to win the Unlimited Amateur when she rode Wendels Grace in the second set. At 13, Blakley is the youngest rider ever to win an NCHA Futurity championship and has won 10 major championships this year.

“It’s a good horse, and I was along for the ride,” Colgrove said of the roan filly he purchased from Arthur Noble about a month before the Futurity.

Colgrove laughed as he relayed that his help’s advice going into the pen was to kick and stay on the cow.

Ryder Carpenter, of Silverton, Texas, capped an impressive week with Reserve Champion honors on Smooth Miss Trona (Smooth As A Cat x MK Miss Trona X Little Trona). The pair marked a 215 as the first team to work, and they earned $8,934 for the effort.

Carpenter, who is 21 years old and attends college at Tarleton State University, purchased Smooth Miss Trona last July from Lindy Northcutt. On Tuesday, Carpenter marked a 225 to win the Limited Non-Pro.

“We drew up first and I wasn’t real enthused about our draw, but somebody’s got to do it,” Carpenter said. “That’s where we were and we just had to make the best of it. She’s super smart. I won the Limited on her so she’s plenty capable, but I just wanted to get through a clean run today.”

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