Mark Parsons and Destinas Dual LenaParsons, who has ridden with Swales for years, said he felt he rode as hard as he could. “I got a real good cow that matched my horse, we managed to come along and get just a good, solid score, which in these events, just a good steady score will win you as much as the big, high scores.”

A cattle rancher, Parsons also owns two professional hunting businesses.

A tied score of 183 determined the Limited Open Bridle Reserve Championship. Smart Lil Boonlight (Boonlight Dancer x Bodocs Highbrow x Smart Lil Highbrow), an 11-year-old stallion bred by Rudy Hostetler, of Sedalia, Missouri, and owned and ridden by Kent Williamson, of Bragg Creek, Alberta, co-shared the title with 10-year-old Jacs Lil Barbie Lena (Hes A Bueno Jac x Kings Smartest Pep x Smartest Little Pep), a mare bred by Lorie Engbrecht, of Lacombe, Alberta, owned by Clint Swales, of High River, Alberta, and ridden by Tyler Albrecht, of Trochu, Alberta.

Non-Pro Bridle

John Murphy and Pepto PeppermintJohn Murphy, 21, of Wetaskiwin, Alberta, won the Non-Pro Bridle Championship aboard 7-year-old Pepto Pepermint (Surely A Pepto x Haidas Pepermint x Haidas Little Pep), a stallion bred by Sunrise Ranch LLC, of Fayetteville, Arkansas, and owned by Murphy’s parents, Eugene and Maria Murphy, also of Wetaskiwin. They tied for third place in the preliminaries with a 283 cumulative score, then returned to score a 289 in the finals and claim the title with a 571 aggregate score.

Murphy, who would like to be a professional trainer one day, said Pepto Pepermint is a little tougher to show because he’s a stud. “But once you get him figured out,” Murphy said, “he’s got a lot of heart, and he’ll perform for you. He’s a gritty horse.”

Another Swales client, Keri Hudson-Reykdal, of Ashern, Manitoba, Canada, finished as the Non-Pro Bridle Reserve Champion riding her 11-year-old gelding Don Quejana (Quejanaisalena x Little Squallita x Rum Squall), bred by Leatherman & Sons Farms, of Millsap, Texas. Reykdal was all smiles on Thursday, when she rode Don Quejana to the Novice Non-Pro winner’s circle with a cumulative score of 292.5 that also tied them for a second-place finish in the Non-Pro Bridle preliminary round.

Reykdal, who is a veterinarian, has only owned the horse since last September.

“He’s an awesome, all-around horse,” she said. “He did a great job.”

Dancin Angel (Boonlight Dancer x Hickorys Angela x Doc’s Hickory) an 8-year-old mare bred by Tom Chambers, of Scottsdale, Arizona, and owned and ridden by Jacelyn Brochu, of Calgary, were the Novice Non-Pro Bridle Reserve Champions with a cumulative score of 278.5