On Jan. 14, Cass Tatum rode into the show pen at the Georgia National Fairgrounds in Perry, Georgia, on Look My Rey. As the first horse in the finals class, they set the tone for an outstanding evening of cutting and left the pen with a score of 222.
“So, my plan going into the herd was – the cows have been a little waspy – not to get them worried and just be real smooth,” Tatum said of the finals.
Being the first draw gave him a bit of advantage to use the tactic of staying relaxed. EquiStat Elite $10 Million Rider Austin Shepard helped hold herd for Tatum along with Casey Green, Brandon Dufurrena and Brady Davis. Cattle picking was a major factor in making a high scoring run at the Augusta Futurity in 2024.
A 2018 sorrel gelding, Look My Rey is a son of the late Dual Rey, an EquiStat Elite $54 Million Sire. His dam, SVR Look Cat Me (by Metallic Cat) has two earners in her EquiStat offspring record, both of them by Dual Rey. Look My Rey’s full sister, CP Dual Smart Look, began her reined cow horse futurity career last summer and earned more than $3,000 in two shows with Colorado trainer Andy Kurtz.
“He’s very cowy, very athletic [and] has a huge stop. He’s a super fun horse,” Tatum said of the 6-year-old gelding. “He can go fast. He hits big stops and in the middle, he crawls around. He’s been a fun horse to get the privilege to ride.”
Tatum and the horse are headed for The Ike Derby and Classic next, and the plan is to keep putting more earnings on the horse’s record. Before his win at the Augusta Futurity, he had won $113,874 according to EquiStat. They added $17,739 to each of their records on Sunday.
The earnings are important, but this win was extra special for Tatum. It was his first Open championship at such a prestigious show.
Tatum wanted to thank the horse’s owner, Susan Hanselman, for entrusting him with her horse, as well as his help at the show: his wife Chelsea, Carley, Lexi, Levi and Phillip.
Classic Reserve Champion
Not far behind, with a 221.5, Matt Gaines took the Open Reserve Championship aboard Extinguish (Hottish x That Catomine x High Brow Cat). The horse’s dam, That Catomine, is an EquiStat Elite $1 Million Dam with top earners such as Duramax Dually (by Dual Rey) and Reyckoning (by Reyzin The Cash).
The gelding by EquiStat Elite $15 Million Sire Hottish will add $15,359 to his and Gaines’ records for their accomplishments.
