Horse spinning in a circle.
Laurie Richards and Got Kisses marked a 211 in the rein work en route to their Reno Snaffle Bit Futurity Non-Pro Championship. • Photo by Molly Montag.

Lightning Strikes Again for Laurie Richards & Family At Reno Snaffle Bit Futurity

Breeding horses can be a frustrating pursuit, but every so often horse owners hit the jackpot with a family line that produces generation after generation of futurity champions.

Laurie Richards and her parents, Ronnie and Karin Richards, have cultivated such a family in the maternal line tracing back to Sen’s Me, Laurie’s childhood horse. The past four generations of foals from the 1969 mare by Mr Sen Sen out of Poco Vino (by Poco Bueno) have included many winners over the years, and they were joined by another winner when Richards rode Got Kisses to the Reno Snaffle Bit Futurity Non-Pro Championship.

People standing by a horse
Laurie Richards, right, celebrated with her mother, Karin, and father, Ronnie, after winning the Reno Snaffle Bit Futurity Non-Pro with Got Kisses. • Photo by Molly Montag.

A great-great granddaughter of Sen’s Me, the 2015 palomino mare by Gotta Go Get It out of Kiss Me A Little (by Smart Little Pepinic) took the title on Friday, Sept. 14, in Reno, Nevada, with a composite of 644 (219 herd/211 rein/214 cow). They earned $10,000 for co-owners Richards and her mother.

“She does everything and she has no holes,” Richards said after the win. “She was great in the show pen. She’s just really blossomed.”

The win didn’t come easy. Richards and Got Kisses tied for the composite with Hope Miller, who also earned a 644 with Just Call Me Earl. However, Richards had the high cow work score and, thus, took the victory.

Click here for full results from the 2018 Reno Snaffle Bit Futurity Non-Pro.

The plan is to take Got Kisses to the National Reined Cow Horse Association (NRCHA) Futurity Non-Pro in Fort Worth, an event where Richards has already achieved much success with the mare’s ancestors. She was second in the Futurity Non-Pro with the mare’s mother, Kiss Me A Little, and in 2015 won that prestigious event with Kiss Me A Little’s daughter, Kiss Me A Lot (by Master Getta).

Ronnie Rice earned the 1981 NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity Reserve Championship with Got Kisses’ third dam, Me O Lena (Doc O Lena x Sen’s Me x Mr Sen Sen).

The common thread running throughout the family line is grit, Richards said.

“They’re pretty gritty. Real gritty,” she said. “And cowy –  real cowy – and just sweet horses.”

Reserve Champions Miller and Just Call Me Earl (Once In A Blu Boon x CP Peekn Sneakn Blue x Peeka Pep) earned $6,500.

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