Purple Reyn Dies at 7

Purple Reyn, pictured with breeder Brandon Dufurrena • Photo by Kelsey Pecsek

Purple Reyn, known for her grit and flair in the show pen, died the morning of May 23 due to complications associated with enteritis. The talented mare was 7 years old.

Bred by Brandon Dufurrena, of Gainesville, Texas, Purple Reyn was the highest-earning daughter of Equi-Stat Elite $12 Million Sire Metallic Cat with lifetime earnings of more than $360,000. She was out of the great mare Miss Ella Rey (Dual Rey x Huggs Olena x Smart Chic Olena), who amassed more than $372,000 in her career and won two American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) Amateur Cutting World championships.

Purple Reyn’s long list of limited-age accolades started with a trip to the Open and Non-Pro semifinals at the 2013 NCHA Futurity. In 2014, she turned in a third-place finish in the NCHA Super Stakes Non-Pro, and recorded wins at the El Rancho and Southern Cutting futurities.

But the stylish mare’s accomplishments didn’t stop there. During the 2015 AQHA World Show, Purple Reyn carried Dufurrena’s father, Ed, to the Reserve World Championship in Junior Cutting and won the Amateur Cutting World title with her breeder. It was a memorable moment that kick-started an incredible fall season that ended with the mare and Dufurrena winning the Mercuria NCHA World Finals Non-Pro Show Championship.

Following a standout season in 2015, which included a Reserve title at the Breeder’s Invitational, Purple Reyn was named NCHA Non-Pro Horse of the Year as a 5-year-old. A year later, she notched championships at the Arbuckle Mountain Futurity and Cotton Stakes. She again doubled up at the AQHA World Championship Show, carrying Dufurrena to the AQHA Amateur Cutting Reserve World Championship and Ed to a fourth-place finish in Senior Cutting.

As a full sister to 2015 NCHA Futurity Open Champion Stevie Rey Von, Purple Reyn held promise as a broodmare prospect. Though her time to fulfill that destiny was cut short, she does have a limited number of offspring that have some big shoes to fill.