horse chasing a cow
Reysin Kittens & Bonnie Martin. • Photo by Molly Montag.

All Heart: Reysin Kittens & Bonnie Martin Victorious At PCCHA Futurity

Bonnie Martin admires many things about Reysin Kittens, there’s one thing characteristic of her homebred gelding she loves the most.

It’s his heart, which gives him the ability to do things in the cutting pen only some horses can.

“That goes with all those horses,” said Martin, of Las Vegas. “I mean, you watch them, [and] they can all go right and left and they can all stop, but there’s some horses that have a different way of doing what they do. And you can see that they want to be in the correct position, but it’s their eye appeal and that look that gets the judges on the edge of their seat.”

Reysin Kittens (Dual Rey x Kittens x High Brow Cat) and Martin did that twice at the Pacific Coast Cutting Horse Association (PCCHA) Futurity show in Las Vegas, marking a 221 to win the Classic/Challenge Non-Pro Championship on Thursday, Oct. 11 and then returning the next night to take the Classic/Challenge Non-Pro Intermediate Championship with a 225. They also made the finals of the Classic/Challenge Unlimited Amateur on Saturday, Oct. 13.

Martin, who has earnings of more than $1 million, said the wins meant a lot because Reysin Kittens has always been special. The horse always gives her confidence going to the herd.

“Because he wants to be there and he wants to hunt the right spot if you just stay out of his way. His mother was the same way,” she said. “You always have to try to ride your horse to that spot that’s gonna stop the cow and, but he wants to go there and that’s a cow horse. That’s a true cow horse and his mother was like that.”

His dam, Kittens, is a daughter of High Brow Cat out of Starlights Liz (by Grays Starlight) who earned $286,248 in the show pen. She’s been an even better broodmare, producing nine earners of more than $516,000. Reysin Kittens — who entered the PCCHA Futurity show with $140,764 in earnings — is her leading earner.

Horse chasing a cow
A day after winning the Classic/Challenge Non-Pro title, Martin and Reysin Kittens struck again in the Classic/Challenge Non-Pro Intermediate Championship. They bagged their second title with a 225. • Photo by Molly Montag.

Martin said the wins in Vegas were thanks to the help she’s gotten not only at the show at the South Point Hotel, Casino and Spa, but throughout the year. Jaime Snider started the horse, and Grant Setnicka was a major help to Martin on the road this year. She also thanked the Lord for helping her find cutting in the first place, and blessing her with a husband, Frank, who understands and supports her passion.

“This is one sport that it is not about a one-man team out here. You’re not by yourself,” she said. “I just want to give a major shoutout to my help, which was Adan Banuelos and Monty Buntin and of course TJ Good, and Grant. They’ve just been the dream team.”

The Classic/Challenge Non-Pro Intermediate Reserve Championship was a tie between two teams that marked a 215: Julie McBurney and Playing For Tips (Metallic Cat x Spooky Cash x Miss N Cash) and Laura Fenimore and Reymaniscent (Dual Smart Rey x Tangy Starlight x Grays Starlight).

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