Holly Francois & Smart Dual Kat • Photo by Hannah HarrelWith just a few champions left to be crowned at the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Super Stakes, the Limited Non-Pro finalists took to the arena on April 14, following the Open semifinals. Out of 12 horse-and-rider combinations, Holly Francois and Smart Dual Kat emerged victorious.
Clint Allen, pictured aboard Pharaoh And James, was the only rider to qualify three horses to the Open finals. • Photo by Kelsey PecsekFive sets of talented 4-year-old cutting horses battled challenging cattle all afternoon in the Will Rogers Coliseum on April 14 in the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Super Stakes Open semifinals. When the last of 56 horse-and-rider teams completed their run, the bubble sat at 214.5.
Mike Miola (left) & Lorenzo Vargas • Photo courtesy of Mike MiolaWimpys Little Step, Shiners Voodoo Dr and Wimpyneedsacocktail have a new owner, but they won’t be leaving Oklahoma. On April 13, it was announced that Xtra Quarter Horses' headliner stallions, as well as the facility they stand at and everything on the property, were purchased by Silver Spurs Equine.
CD Lights • Photo courtesy of Danny MotesAnother elite stallion has joined the National Reined Cow Horse Association (NRCHA) Million Dollar Sire ranks. Offspring of CD Lights (CD Olena x Delight Of My Life x Grays Starlight) officially passed the seven-figure earnings milestone in the reined cow horse arena, winning a combined $1,033,877. CD Lights is the 17th stallion to achieve NRCHA Million Dollar Sire status.
$51,000 seller Super Sarahs Boon • Photo by Stacy PigottResults of the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Super Stakes Sale, held April 8 in Fort Worth, Texas, showed a strong demand for trained cutting horses. Sixty horses – 77 percent of the 81 head offered – sold for $669,300. The net average was $11,155; the top 10 sellers averaged $20,250.
Inferno Sixty Six and Franco Bertolani drew a lot of attention when they tied with Shesouttayourleague in the finals of the 2015 National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Futurity Level 4 Open. The tie necessitated a runoff, and when the dust settled, they were the Reserve Champions. Since then, Inferno Sixty Six and Bertolani have been multiple aged event finalists, that is, until they scored a 228.5 in the Lucas Oil Derby Level 4 Open at the Cactus Reining Classic. The Championship netted $13,788 for the horse's Italy-based owner, Slide Or Die LLC. Heading into the National Reining Breeders Classic (NRBC), Inferno Sixty Six's total earnings are $185,056.
Wimpys Little Chic & Shawn Flarida • Photo by Waltenberry
Wimpys Little Chic (Wimpys Little Step x Collena Chic Olena x Smart Chic Olena) is the National Reining Breeders Classic's (NRBC) No. 1-ranked money-earning open horse with show earnings of $252,329. Bred by Double Run Farm, of Leland, North Carolina, and owned by Arcese Quarter Horses, of Weatherford, Texas, the 2004 mare and Equi-Stat Elite $5 Million Rider Shawn Flarida won the 2008 NRBC Level 4 Open. In 2009, they were the Level 4 Open Reserve Champions, and they tied for the Level 4 Open Reserve Championship in 2010. Flarida and the mare, nicknamed “Lexi,” won the NRHA Futurity Level 4 Open in 2007 and the NRHA Derby Level 4 Open in 2008. Wimpys Little Chic’s lifetime Equi-Stat record stands at $539,244.
Doctor Wood & Bill Glass • Photo by Gary Willis
When collegiate basketball player Larry Jeffries moved from Illinois to Houston, Texas, in the 1970s, he not only established a successful office cleaning business, he also caught the “cutting horse bug.”
