Futurity season is possibly the most exciting time of year for those in performance horse industries. Freshman sires are being proven by their first foal crops. New milestones seem to be met daily by breeders, stallions, riders and broodmares. And, most exciting of all, three-year-old horses get a chance to show the world what they’re made of.
The National Reined Cow Horse Association (NRCHA) Snaffle Bit Futurity poses these opportunities and more. The show started on October 6 and will crown a new Open Futurity Champion on Oct. 21. This year, the event will pay out $2.2 Million.
Freshman Sires
Possibly the most exciting part of the 2023 Snaffle Bit Futurity is seeing what freshman sires’ first foal crops will bring to the table.
Scooter Kat (Kit Kat Sugar x Scooters Daisy Dukes x Dual Smart Rey), the highest earning reined cow horse of all time, has seen his first offspring earn over $26,000 already at pre-futurity shows and futurities across the nation. His futurity entries include:
- Scootin Lil Lola (out of Wareable) owned by Eric Freitas, ridden by JD Johnson
- Boot Skootin (out of Bet Shesa Fancy Cat) owned by Eric Freitas, ridden by Jared Jones
- Scooters Daisy (out of Ill Be Rockin) owned by Richard Wright and shown by Justin Wright
- Scooter Five (out of Kat Five) owned by Scooter Kat Partners ridden by Justin Wright
- Mister Scooter Kat (Out of Buckle Up) owned by Eric Freitas shown by Randy Paul
Other freshman sires with offspring in the Open levels of the Snaffle Bit Futurity are Amarilobymorning (1), Cool N Hot (3), CR Gottcha Covered (3), Dual Reyish (1), Gringo Love (1), Metallic Chrome Cat (1), Ruf Lil Magnum (1), Stylish Metallica (1).
A Rollz Royce son out of Cat Never Lose (by High Brow Cat) was ridden by Jaylee Brown to the Level 1 Non Pro Boxing Futurity Championship and will move on to the boxing championships on Saturday, Oct 14.
Dam Highlight
A full sibling to Scooter Kat, Rein N Kats, would be able to push their dam, Scooters Daisy Dukes, over the $1 Million Dam milestone if she performs well enough. The mare is owned by Wayne A Miranda and ridden by Russell Probert. Rein N Kats and Probert set off to a great start, marking a 221 in the preliminary rein work.
Kitty Wilkins, Idaho’s Horse Queen
A Non-Pro Snaffle Bit Futurity entry, Kitty Wilkins (WR This Cats Smart x Miss Bella Blue x Frettin), shares her name with a historical horse trader. Kitty Wilkins, the woman, had a worldwide influence on horseflesh in the late 1800’s.
From her breeding operation outside of Glens Ferry, Idaho she sold – what is recognized as the largest single sale – 8,000 head – at one time- to a horse dealer in Missouri. The horses were destined for the British Boer War in South Africa according to a Bureau of Land Management blog posted in 2021.
Newspapers began to love telling her story and in one interview she said, “You understand we horse breeders must keep up with fashion as well as do milliners and dressmakers.” She wore victorian gowns and did not stray from the feminine dress of the times although her work would’ve probably been much easier in other clothing.
Bred, owned and shown by Carmen Buckingham, our modern day Kitty Wilkins won the Reno Non Pro Futurity and has earned a spot in the National Reined Cow Horse Association Snaffle Bit Futurity Non Pro Finals.
