In the largest finals of the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Summer Spectacular so far, the Classic/Challenge Amateur was an exciting class that featured dynamic runs. In a show of girl power, Jennifer Rector and Bella Anderson bested their rivals to share the Championship.
Rector, of Rogersville, Missouri, may have been nervous walking to the herd first out of 34 competitors, but she didn’t let that stop her from piloting Smooth Reyn (Smooth As A Cat x Ruby Reyn x Dual Rey) to a stellar 218.
From deep in the first bunch at draw 12, Anderson and The Reyl Mccoy (Dual Rey x Cool The Engines x Smart Little Lena) gave it their best shot and matched Rector’s score with their own 218. No other riders were able to catch the pair, and they ended the day as Classic/Challenge Amateur Co-Champions.
“I’m very, very excited,” 13-year-old Anderson said about winning on her family’s 5-year-old stallion, who also made the Classic/Challenge Open finals with trainer Tate Bennett. “He’s a very, very good horse, and an easy horse to show.”
“I don’t think it’s actually set in yet that we just won this,” added Rector, who is in the roofing business with her husband. “I was terribly nervous because I did not want to go first. She [Bella] had a really nice run there, and apparently I did, too.”
The Reyl Mccoy, owned by Anderson Cattle Co., of Victoria, Texas, and Anderson picked up a $7,350 check for the title, as did Rector and Smooth Reyn, a 5-year-old mare.
The Classic/Challenge Unlimited Amateur finals, which will include several horse-and-rider repeats from the Amateur, are scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. July 28.
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