Vanessa Lawrence had one wish while she waited expectantly for her beloved mare, Dun It For Cash, to give birth to her 2015 foal. The teenage mare had produced some nice foals, but Lawrence was hoping to get one just like Dun It For Cash.
“I prayed hard for a for a red dun colt that was the spitting image of her,” said Lawrence, of Paso Robles, California. “And, she popped out a red dun colt and he’s been special since day one.”
That foal, Nu Red Diamond, won his biggest event to date when he took the Reno Snaffle Bit Futurity Amateur Championship on Friday, Sept. 14, at the Reno-Sparks Livestock Events Center in Reno, Nevada. The gelded son of Nics Black Diamond and Lawrence marked a winning composite of 633 (211 herd/215 rein/207 cow).
The score also earned them the Non-Pro Intermediate Co-Reserve Championship, and placed them in a tie for fifth in the Non-Pro. In all, they took home $6,400 in prize money.
The horse is nicknamed “Silas” after a child Lawrence met while volunteering at her local church. The boy, Silas, had spina bifida, and a special place in Lawrence’s heart.
“He was a little redhead and I just fell in love with this kid and his name was Silas,” she said. “So I told this little boy, ‘If my red dun mare has a boy that’s a redhead that I’m going to name him after you.'”
In the years since, horse “Silas” has proven to Lawrence he’s a big stopper who doesn’t get fazed by anything thrown his way. He already stands out among his siblings.
“They’ve all been great, but this one, he’s just got a great personality. He’s so loving he’s willing [and] he can do anything,” Lawrence said. “He’s just one-of-a-kind horse.
In addition to Nu Red Diamond, Dun It For Cash has produced four earners of $21,931. Her leading performer in Equi-Stat is the gelding’s full brother, Cash For Diamonds ($9,581, by Nics Black Diamond).
Even though Nu Red Diamond has made a mark on his owner’s heart, she’s also excited about what else his mother might produce. The 19-year-old mare has a 2018 foal by Step To The Light and is bred back to the earner of $94,618 for a 2019 foal. Lawrence is especially excited about the mare’s youngest foals by the son of CD Lights, as she now owns the palomino stallion.
Step To The Light is currently brushing up on his cutting skills for a run at some aged events, and Lawrence said the plan also is to point the 5-year-old for some big National Reined Cow Horse Association events.
“He’s been the horse I dreamt of as a kid and never thought I’d own him,” Lawrence said.
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