Homegrown mare Im Countin Dreams marched through the go-rounds at the Ike Derby and Classic to advance to the Derby Non-Pro finals with Blakley Colgrove Simoneaux at the helm.
When the heat was turned up in the finals on Friday morning, “Tootsie” delivered Simoneaux a winning 218 worth $10,000.
“She’s a very easy horse to get along with. You can put her any place you want to put her. She loves her job so that always makes it easy for us,” Simoneaux said.
The win at The Ike was the mare’s first EquiStat earnings, and she also pulled a $2,662 check in the Limited Open Derby with Chet Simoneaux.
“She did really good. We had to show her three times that day that I showed her in the first go. I think she got better and better every run. We couldn’t have asked her to do any more; she gave it her all every time,” Simoneaux said.
Tootsie is sired by EquiStat Elite $6 Million Sire Im Countin Checks and is out of Desires Nu Catillac, a daughter of all-time leading Western performance horse sire High Brow Cat and out of millionaire producer Desire Some Freckles (by Freckles Playboy).
According to Simoneaux, Desires Nu Catillac gave her some of her first big wins in the cutting pen. Throughout 2012, Simoneaux and Desires Nu Catillac earned more than $40,000 together as they hauled for the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) World Finals.
“Desires Nu Catillac was like [Tootsie], she was easy to show and was always a good horse for us,” Simoneaux said. “[Tootsie] is a good, solid horse. She wants to do her job every time she’s in the show pen.”
“We bred and raised her from a baby. My husband started her and he’s ridden her since she was a 2-year-old. She’s always wanted to get along and be good-minded.”
Simoneaux plans on continuing to show keep Tootsie and breed her in the future.
Reserve Champions in The Ike Non-Pro Derby were Pep Talkk (Smooth Talkin Style x Spoon My Desire x Hes A Peptospoonful) and Sandra McBride. The team marked a 216 worth $7,200 in the finals.
