With a 433.5 composite score (143 herd/145.5 rein/145 cow), Miller and “Sioux” earned four championships. Not only did they win the Hackamore Classic Non-Pro, Intermediate Non-Pro and Novice Non-Pro titles, but their rein and fence work scores also garnered the Non-Pro Hackamore horse show class win. Their total paycheck exceeded $12,000.
Miller started Dare To Sioux, bred by Carol Rose, when the horse was a 2-year-old. That gave her and the little horse a unique bond, she said, adding that she and Sioux both like to goof off and have fun.
With this win, Miller’s lifetime earnings surpassed the $85,000 mark. Sioux has earnings of nearly $60,000, according to Equi-Stat records. He is the leading money-earner out of Tari Darlin, who garnered merely $1,930 in her own career as a cutter.
The Amateur Champion was Jesse Spence, of Yamhill, Oregon, who guided A Stylish Spark (Stylish Rey Gay x Just A Sparknshine x Shining Spark) to a composite score of 423.5 (138 herd/144 rein/141.5 cow). They also placed in the Hackamore Classic Non-Pro, Intermediate Non-Pro and Novice Non-Pro divisions, as well as the Non-Pro Hackamore horse show class.
All told, Spence and the Don Murphy-bred gelding secured more than $4,000. While the young Oregon horseman admitted he will attend community college to earn a degree, he has his sights set on becoming a horse trainer like his father, Jim.
After winning the herd work and rein work rounds, and scoring well in the cow work, Jessica Draper held on to win the Hackamore Classic Non-Pro Limited division with a 425.5 composite (142 herd/141 rein/142.5 cow), taking home $1,215. She rode her gelding, Workin Mans Blues (Yellow Roan of Texas x Topi Chexx x A Cowboy At Heart).
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