With the cutting futurity season in full swing, Western performance horse enthusiasts are finally getting a look at some of the talented 3-year-olds from top bloodlines. At the Cotton Stakes, a pair of precocious youngsters tied for the victory.
When the last cow was cut during the 3-Year-Old Open finals on Sept. 7, Instant Rebel and Salvador “Chava” Cabral and The Big Badd Wolf and Austin Shepard shared the Co-Championship with a 219. Each earned $10,301 for the win.
Instant Rebel
Ridden by Salvador “Chava” Cabral, Instant Rebel (by Metallic Rebel) entered the Cotton Stakes off of an effort in the West Texas Futurity, one of the first big early futurities of the year. While the gelding owned by Randy Wicke, of Decatur, Texas, didn’t perform up to his potential at the show held last month in Amarillo, Texas, Cabral said gelding had been working really good in the weeks leading up to Cotton Stakes.
“They grow up a lot from one show to another, especially when they have a little talent,” he said.
Instant Rebel’s forward progression didn’t surprise Cabral, who said the horse has always had a lot of talent.
“He’s quick to the stop and he’s very cowy,” he said.
Cabral said next up for Instant Rebel is expected to be the Pacific Coast Cutting Horse Association (PCCHA) Futurity and the accompanying South Point Super Futurity slot event in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Bred by Charles Burger, of Chatsworth, Georgia, Instant Rebel is a red roan gelding out of One Stylish Doll (by One Time Pepto). His second dam is National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Summer Spectacular Derby Open Champion Stylish Baby Doll, a daughter of SR Instant Choice who has so far foaled the winners of more than $626,315.
The Big Badd Wolf
EquiStat Elite $10 Million Rider Austin Shepard was at the reins of The Big Badd Wolf, a son of freshman sire and 2017 NCHA Futurity Open Champion Dual Reyish. As a freshman sire, Dual Reyish’s oldest crop of foals are three years old this year and are his first crop of futurity-age foals.
The stallion is owned by Billy Wolf, who also owns Dual Reyish.
“Billy bought him as a baby and raised him there on his place and Wes Ashlock rode him as a 2-year-old. I got him at the [NCHA] Futurity,” said Shepard, who piloted Dual Reyish to the NCHA Futurity win during the horse’s show career “He’s very nice horse reminds me a lot of his daddy — real quick and cowy.”
The Cotton Stakes was the stallion’s second futurity effort. Like Instant Rebel, he was coming off a start in the West Texas Futurity.
“We just decided to try to take a nice Dual Reyish to the early futurities to kind of get them out there and let people go ahead and see them,” said Shepard, who plans to ride another Dual Reyish offspring in this year’s NCHA Futurity. “But, I didn’t have any luck in Amarillo. [The Big Badd Wolf] was very good in Amarillo, but didn’t have any luck and he was excellent here.”
As with Instant Rebel, The Big Badd Wolf’s future itinerary includes a planned stop at the PCCHA Futurity and it’s new Super Futurity.
Bred by C & C Equine, of Rollo, Missouri, The Big Badd Wolf is a stallion out of NCHA Futurity Open finalist Cats Peptolena. The daughter of EquiStat Elite $93 Million Sire High Brow Cat has produced more than $376,711 as a broodmare — most notably 2013 NCHA Futurity Open Champion Dual Smart Kitty (by Dual Smart Rey).
Click here for the full order of finish for the Cotton Stakes 3-Year-Old Open finals.
