horse and rider and cow
Jordan Vaughn & Juan In A Million • Photo by Shane Rux Photography

Vaughn and Juan In A Million Collect Congress Classic Championship

Jordan Vaughn, of Forsyth, Georgia, rode Juan In A Million to the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Classic Non-Pro Championship at the All American Quarter Horse Congress on Oct. 7 when he and the gelding marked a 220. The duo earned a check for $3,919.

“He had been working good all week, so I knew if I could get showed and qualified to the finals that we’d have a good go,” he said.

When Vaughn walked into the herd during the finals, he was confident and pleased with drawing fourth to ride. All week he’d had late draws, and he was relieved to show earlier in the class and have the pick of the cattle.

“In the first go we drew kind of deep. The cows weren’t that terrible, but they weren’t great, so I was just trying to get him showed,” he said. “In the finals, the first cow was pretty good. For the second, I cut a little one off the top.”

For the third cow, Vaughn picked one that wanted to walk out of the herd, and the approach worked out well for the pair. He said his 5-year-old gelding by Spots Hot and out of Oh Miss Peacock (by High Brow Cat) has been coming on strong in the past six months, getting more and more comfortable in the show pen.

“He’s hit another level in his performance,” Vaughn said. “He’s able to do things that he just shouldn’t be able to do.”

Vaughn bought the gelding as a yearling at the 2014 NCHA Futurity Preferred Breeders Sale Session II for $9,000 and has done all the training on him since. His work has paid off in spades, as the duo has won more than $21,000 together, including $1,810 from winning the NCHA $25,000 Novice Horse Non-Pro with a 150 earlier in the week.

“He is big, strong and really gritty,” Vaughn said. “He has a lot of his dad in him.”

Priscilla Wilson won the Classic Non-Pro Reserve Championship with Yadayadayadatime, a horse she, husband, Trey, and father-in-law, David, own in partnership. Their 219 paid $3,152, boosting the son of One Time Pepto (out of Rio CD Yadayadayada x CD Olena) to earnings of $93,357.