Beth Rockey started her fall run with a bang at the Idaho Futurity in Nampa, Idaho aboard “opinionated” mare Thin Mints.
With two go-rounds and a pencil finals, Rockey and the Hannah Gamble-bred horse brought home the $3,212 first-place check in the Non Pro Futurity.
“My runs were pretty soft. I don’t want to downplay [the win], but this early in the non-pro division it’s survival of the fittest. It’s more strategy than horsepower I think,” Rockey said.
Scoring a 214 and 211 in the go rounds, Rockey tried to put Thin Mints in the best spots possible for her current training.
“This early on it’s about putting her in a good situation and let her do what she knows to do at this point in her career,” Rockey said.
Thin Mints is sired by Reyzin The Cash and is out of Peppermints Patty (by Smooth As A Cat). According to Rockey, the mare’s breeder, Gamble, came to the Idaho Cutting Horse Futurity to meet Rockey and husband, Justin.
“[Thin Mints] has been a great relationship builder,” Rockey said. “She looks a lot like her mom Peppermints Patty. She’s still showing — Dallas Moore is showing her in the [$50,000 Amateur] this year, so sometimes we’ll be at the same shows and we cheer for each other.”
In the barn, Thin Mints’ name is “Karen.”
“She came to us named Karen and she definitely lives up to it. She’s gritty, she’s a show horse but she can be quite opinionated,” Rockey said.
In addition to her Futurity Non-Pro victory, Rockey won the Classic Challenge Non-Pro riding Cats All The Rey (Dual Rey x Catjumpedovertheboon x High Brow Cat) and the Way Out West Non Pro Championship riding Dureyngo Kid (Reys Dual Badger x Hissy Cat x High Brow Cat).
In all, her Idaho haul came to $15,104.
Reserve Champion in the Futurity Non-Pro was Kimberly Thorne and Boon Times (One Time Royalty x Ichin Ta Dual x Cat Ichi). The pair marked a 210 and 207 to nab the $2,000 Reserve Champion check.
