LesleyDay BuenoChexMadi

PCCHA Futurity Wraps Up with Final Champions

LesleyDay BuenoChexMadiLesley Day & Bueno Chex MadiThe final day of the Pacific Coast Cutting Horse Association (PCCHA)/Holy Cow Performance Horses Futurity, held in Paso Robles, California, dawned chilly, but competitors laid down scorching runs to keep the audience on its toes. While several of the finals originally scheduled ended up taking place earlier in the week because of low entries, those who did compete on Saturday made it a day to remember.

The Futurity Amateur and Unlimited Amateur finals were two that were held earlier in the week. While that may not have been part of the original plan, it did not throw off Hannah Gamble, of Othello, Washington. She piloted Elizabeth Para’s Peptos Stylish Foxy to a 219 to win both the Futurity Amateur and Unlimited Amateur Championships only two days after the mare won the Futurity Open with Grant Setnicka.

Peptos Stylish Foxy (Peptos Stylish Oak x Smart Quixote Nus x Smart Mate) was bred by Linda Anne Helo, of Crowley, Louisiana. For her latest two Championships, she and Gamble earned a total of $7,221. With the additional $35,000 the mare earned with Setnicka, she brought home more than $42,000 from the PCCHA Futurity.

Bend, Oregon, resident Emily Clark earned the Reserve title in both the Amateur and the Unlimited Amateur. She and Cool Cat In Shades marked a 215 to amass $3,502 for the Unlimited Amateur Reserve Championship, and for the Amateur Reserve Championship, she and the gelding (WR This Cats Smart x Jasons Little Pepto x Peptoboonsmal) marked a 216 to gain an extra $2,396.

Stakes Amateur & Unlimited Amateur

The Stakes Amateur and Unlimited Amateur finals were also originally scheduled for Saturday, but they were moved to Thursday, Oct. 29. In the Unlimited Amateur, Debbie Day, of Reno, Nevada, rode Moooy Bueno to a 216 from the 13th draw, sealing the Championship and the $4,433 winner’s check. Her gelding (Cats Moonshine x Tangy Moo Cha Cha x Tangys Classy Peppy) was bred by Art and Sandy Haskins, of Clements, California.

“This show is the first time I’ve ever shown him,” Day said. “I let Brent [Erickson] keep him through his 3-year-old year and most of his 4-year-old year, and in fact, I came down here not even expecting to ride! But I had some slots land in my lap. I finally went, ‘You bet. I’m going for it!’”

Rick French and Russ and Janet Westfall-bred Adrenalynn Rush (CD Royal x Trouble Lynn 495 x Smart And Trouble) were close behind with a 215, giving them the Reserve Championship. The pair took home $3,746.

Doris Koehne and Pudden Olena competed twice during the finals – once in their Amateur slot, and later in their Unlimited Amateur slot. In the Amateur slot, they came from the fourth draw to mark a 216 and ultimately win the Stakes Amateur Championship. Koehne, of Winters, California, owns the gelding with her husband, Ron Koehne. The duo took home $2,735. Koehne believed that her run could not have gone more perfect.

“I had a great draw; I drew fourth in the first set of the $50,000 Am. We went in and we had our cattle picked out. Brent and I watched cattle and just ended up on that first cow. All three cows we cut we had picked,” she said.

Pudden Olena (CD Olena x Smart Pudden x Smart Little Lena) was bred by David Hartman, of Whitesboro, Texas. He now boasts earnings of $5,385, according to Equi-Stat.

Linda Thuman, of Pleasanton, California, rode Dear Rey (Dual Rey x Dear Little Pepto x Peptoboonsmal), who was bred by Linda Holmes, to a 214, receiving the Reserve title. Thuman and her gelding added $2,388 to their bankrolls.

Classic/Challenge Amateur

The first to work on Friday were the Classic/Challenge Amateur riders, and from the sixth draw, Lesley Day, of Bend, Oregon, and her mare Bueno Chex Madi marked a 223 that topped the previous high score of 221 earned by Tracey Teixeira-Woodward and Absolut Pepto. Day’s 223 held for the win, giving her and “Madi” the Championship. The duo added $1,976 to their lifetime earnings, which include the Classic/Challenge Amateur Championship at the 2014 Idaho Cutting Horse Association (ICHA) Futurity.

“I’m really excited, because it’s her last show,” Day said of Sunrise Ranch LLC-bred Madi (High Brow CD x Bueno Chex Dually x Dual Pep). “She’s 6 years old, so she’s out of the aged event. It’s so exciting for her.”

Teixeira-Woodward and Absolut Pepto (Peptoboonsmal x Absolutely Stunning x Smart Little Lena) took home the Reserve Championship and a check worth $1,748. The mare was bred by Jackson Land and Cattle LLC and belongs to Teixeira-Woodward.