Sneak A Smoothie & Todd BimatThe 3-year-old futurity classes provide a place for riders to showcase their younger horses’ talents, and the Futurity Open at the Idaho Cutting Horse Association (ICHA) Futurity and Aged Event did not disappoint. A class of 18 horses competed together with many satisfactory runs. It was Sneak A Smoothie and Equi-Stat Elite $2 Million Rider Todd Bimat, however, who scored a 220.5, dominating the class and receiving the Championship.
Bimat was very happy with how well Sneak A Smoothie (Smooth As A Cat x Sneakin Cee x Maxi Lena), a mare owned by J Five Horse Ranch Management, did in Idaho.
“She’s still a little green, but she’s supposed to be a little green right now,” he said. “She handled all three rounds really good for me.
“She’s so cute on a cow, anyway,” he added with a smile.
The duo earned $12,049 for the win, pushing Bimat to within $67,622 of the $3 Million Rider mark as of Sept. 1. This was not Bimat’s first successful ride in Idaho. Last year, he and Peptos Chic Olena won the Mercuria Open at the Idaho Futurity.
Coming from the last draw, Gracious Halreycious (Halreycious x Lola Starlight x Grays Starlight) and Neil Roger proved the adage that “It’s not over till it’s over” when they marked a 218.5, earning the Reserve Championship. The stallion is a homebred belonging to Lachlan Perks, of Weatherford, Texas. Gracious Halreycious and Roger received a $9,800 check for second place. Roger, who has $942,619 in lifetime earnings, is approaching $1 Million Rider status.
Derby Open
Classy CD Cat & Adan BanuelosEqui-Stat Elite $1 Million Rider Adan Banuelos rode two horses in the Derby Open finals. The first, Pedel To The Mettall, marked a 215 from the seventh draw in the 14-horse finals, after previously marking a 225 during the second go. The 215 would place the duo seventh. It was with Banuelos’ second horse, however, that he would take the championship.
Classy CD Cat (High Brow Cat x Classical CD x CD Olena) and Banuelos marked a 225 from the 11th draw, topping their first and second go-rounds where they scored a 217 and 219, respectively. The score ousted the current leaders, Maid of Metal (Metallic Cat x Pretty Smart Kitty x Smart Lil Ricochet) and Equi-Stat Elite $1 Million Rider Morgan Cromer, who had marked a 220 from draw 10. Banuelos earned $10,379 with Classy CD Cat and $15,129 overall from his two performances, and Cromer took home $9,100 for the Reserve Championship with the Beau Galyean-bred mare for owner Bitterroot Spring Ranch.
Classy CD Cat is a homebred belonging to Dottie St. Clair Hill, of Glen Rose, Texas. Banuelos said it felt “awesome” to win and that the mare did a great job navigating the herd of tough cattle.
“Phil Hanson trained her, and this mare’s taught me a lot,” Banuelos said. “I’m real fortunate to have the opportunity to ride a horse this good. You can’t write enough about Phil Hanson and how good of a job he did on her.”
Hanson and the mare won the NCHA Futurity Open last year, and the mare currently has $216,991 in cutting earnings.
“Her biggest assets are that she’s well-trained, a big stopper, and she’s a cow horse,” Banuelos finished.
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