As the first winter chill fell over North Texas, Heat Reyz still made his presence known at the Brazos Bash — putting on a sizzling display of control and athleticism to capture the Futurity Open Championship with Morgan Cromer in the saddle.
Cutting to a score of 222, the gelding bred and owned by Clarke Butte Ranch earned $22,000.
“With him, he’s always been a good athlete but the biggest thing has been [that] he’s always been a good thinker,” said Cromer, of Templeton, California. “The best thing about him is the way he thinks and it’s a really fun way to train one.”
According to Cromer, “Arlo” was always amongst her top picks for the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Futurity, but the gelding’s early maturity made her choose to take him to a slew of smaller futurities instead.
“He’s been really good for me all fall, I’m really happy with him,” Cromer said. “For a Dual Rey, he’s not really wild. They’re kind of known to be wilder horses and he’s been a good guy.”
Arlo is out of High Brow CD mare TF High Chex CD, who Cromer made the Open finals on in the 2014 NCHA Futurity and finished third on in the 2016 Breeder’s Invitational Classic Challenge Open.
“It’s fun to have that history there,” Cromer said. “He’s a very serious guy. He’s sweet, but he does his job every day.”
The pair navigated through the two go-rounds with scores of 218 and 216 despite Cromer’s apprehension.
Reserve Champion in the Brazos Bash Futurity Open was Nineteen 42 and Welsey Galyean, who marked a 220 and earned $18,000 for owners SMF Cutting Horses. The finish is an extra-sweet addition to the pairs’ The Run For A Million qualification they grabbed earlier in the week, where Nineteen 42 (Hottish x Lil Rattler x Dual Rey) was the youngest horse in the top eleven.
