BadgersSmartShiner KMcbeath

Katy Mcbeath Shines in Novice Non-Pro Bridle Finals

BadgersSmartShiner KMcbeathNovice Non-Pro Bridle World Champions Katy Mcbeath & Badgers Smart Shiner • Photo by Kelsey Pecsek

Besting a field of determined Novice Non-Pro Bridle horse-and-rider teams on Wednesday, Feb. 17, in the 10-horse finals of the National Reined Cow Horse Association (NRCHA) Celebration of Champions, it was Katy Mcbeath riding Badgers Smart Shiner who rose to the top.

Badgers Smart Shiner is sired by Smart Shiner and out of Badgers Ote Miss 198, by Dynamite Badger. The 2006 palomino mare, bred by Jim Cole, of Towanda, Kansas, carried her owner to a score of 428.5 (217.5 rein/213 cow) and a $2,938 paycheck.

“She is 10 years old now and I’ve had her since she was 2, so we’ve done almost all of the training ourselves with her,” said Mcbeath, who works full time as a financial specialist in the clinical research department of a hospital. Ever since making the decision focus more seriously on the reined cow horse discipline two years ago, Mcbeath, who lives near Wichita, Kansas, has commuted to train with Don Murphy.

“It’s about a four-hour drive to Mr. Don’s, so it’s not too bad, but it is challenging sometimes,” Mcbeath said. “I have a full-time job that keeps me really busy, so that makes it a bit more difficult. We didn’t start doing cow horse on this horse until she was about 6, and then didn’t get really serious about it until about two years ago.”

Mcbeath won the Novice Non-Pro Bridle preliminaries and she finished second in the prelims of the Intermediate Non-Pro Bridle to easily make the finals, which will take place on Thursday.

“I’ve had the highest scores I’ve marked, so it’s been a really good week,” said Mcbeath. “It’s very exciting. She stayed really good in the reining for me today. She stopped good, she turned good and then on the cow she boxed really well and her turns were really good. That cow kind of sucked back so we got another turn and I didn’t get circled as good as I wanted, but we got it done. My horse is really tired because this is my third run on her.”

Quick to give credit to her support system, Mcbeath is tuned up and ready to go for a second World championship on Thursday.

“I want to give a lot of thanks to Mr. Don Murphy because without him I wouldn’t be here, and my fiancé, Oscar Thomason, for his help and support. Also my parents, Tom and Susie Mcbeath, and the good Lord, and all my friends and family because it’s a team effort to get here.”

The Novice Non-Pro Bridle Reserve World Championship went to Shine Di Light (Boonlight Dancer x Shining Di x Shining Spark), ridden by Gianna Hansen to a composite score of 423.5 (214.5 rein/209 cow). Hansen won a Gist trophy buckle donated by Smart Boons/Eric and Wendy Dunn, Rios of Mercedes Boots, a notebook donated by Classic Equine and a commemorative NRCHA World Finals jacket sponsored by Holy Cow Performance Horses and Shady Lil Starlight.

Non-Pro Two-Rein continued on page 2