In the Money

Melting Snow sold for the second time as a 2-year-old. • Photo by Stacy PigottThe National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Super Stakes Open finals on April 15 featured some of the best 4-year-old cutting horses in the industry, several of which have a past that includes the sale ring. Seven of the 21 Open finalists were former sale horses, including the Champion and Reserve Champion.

PS Mega Shine Chic brought $280,000 at the 2015 NRHA/Markel Insurance Futurity Prospect Sale. • Photo by Stacy PigottOn Saturday, Dec. 3, all eyes in the reining world will be focused on Oklahoma City, where the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Futurity Open finals will begin at noon with Section 1, immediately followed by Section 2 and the Lucas Oil Level 4 Open Futurity finals. The road to the Futurity can be long and arduous, with hopefuls hailing from all over the United States and, indeed, the world. The paths of some horses led them through various sale rings, as one-third of the Level 4 Open finalists are previous sale horses.

Amanda Stargun, pictured with Mary Ann Rapp, earned $92,261 before retiring to the broodmare band. • Photo by Don ShugartElement SelectionSince 2006, one mare has seen her foals sell more than 30 times at major horse sales in the Western performance horse industry. Twenty-five of Amanda Stargun’s foals have sold a total of 32 times since 2006 at leading cutting and reined cow horse sales.

Metallic Babe sold for $55,000. • Photo by Stacy PigottMore yearlings sold at the National Reined Cow Horse Association (NRCHA) Snaffle Bit Futurity Sales than any other age group, as 131 of the 195 horses through the ring were born in 2015. High Brow Cat played a major role in the pedigrees of nearly half of those yearlings, as either their paternal or maternal grandsire.

Smart Twinkeltown and Ruben Vandorp were the Level 2 Open Champions in the Tamarack Ranch Futurity at the High Roller Reining Classic. The horse was a $9,000 sale yearling in 2014. • Photo by Alex Lynch

Seventeen horses (including ties) took home money in the Tamarack Ranch Futurity Level 4 Open finals at the High Roller Reining Classic on Sept. 15 in Las Vegas. Of those money-earners, four were sale horses in 2014 and all could now be considered relative bargains. Only one of the four horses was a repurchase at $8,000, while the other three sold for prices ranging from $9,000 to $37,000.

NCHA Non-Pro Triple Crown Champion Armando Costa Neto and family homebred Watch Me Whip • Photo by Kristin Pitzer

Armando Costa Neto’s Triple Crown-winning horse Watch Me Whip never set foot in a sale ring, but several members of the mare’s maternal family, including her dam and granddam, have throughout the years.

Miss Reycine, the dam of 2013 NCHA Non-Pro Horse of the Year Reyzin, sold for $170,000 in April. • Photo by Kelsey Pecsek

At the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Super Stakes Sale produced by Western Bloodstock Ltd., cutting horse trainer Phil Rapp stepped up into the auctioneer’s booth and settled in to help sell some horses. Rapp was there to provide the color commentary that breaks up the auctioneer’s call as each horse sells. As the sport’s all-time leading money-earning rider and a top breeder and owner, Rapp used his knowledge of bloodlines and horses to point out interesting facts about each horse, often adding personal recollections of related horses or the trainers involved.

Zirconia With A Twist (PT), pictured at the NRHA Derby, sold for $13,250 as a yearling. • Photo by Alex LynchGood non-pro horses can be hard to find, but four of the horses in Friday’s National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Derby Non-Pro finals went through a sale ring at some point in their lives. Two of them sold to new owners, while two were repurchased by their consignors.