Blakley Colgrove & Paradox Cat • Photo by Kristin PitzerThe temperature may be over 100 degrees in Fort Worth, Texas, but riders in the Will Rogers Coliseum kept their cool during the Amateur and Unlimited Amateur finals at the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Summer Spectacular. The day was full of good performances by talented horses and riders vying for winner’s checks and bragging rights.
Blakley Colgrove started out her performances in the amateur events by scoring a 220 in the Derby Unlimited Amateur aboard her 4-year-old Paradox Cat. Though many would try to top that score, the next closest would be Danny Jones, who marked a 215 on his Cal and Debbie Sanders-bred stallion, Sweet Metallic Sugar (Metallic Cat x Morias Little Sugar x Eatin Out). Jones would take away the Reserve Championship, worth $6,007, while Colgrove earned the Championship and a $6,270 paycheck.
This was the second year in a row that Colgrove won a championship at the Summer Spectacular. Last year, she won the Derby Amateur on Sassy Lil Sue. If it weren’t enough for Colgrove to again win a championship this year, she went into the next class, the Classic/Challenge Unlimited Amateur, and won that one, too. She said it felt “really good” to win both classes.
