Quarter Horse News

In the Money

In the Money: Sale Graduates at the NRBC

Not Ruf At All and Jason Vanlandingham won the NRBC Level 4 Open with a 231. • Photo by Kristin Pitzer

With nearly $500,000 on the line in the Level 4 Open finals at the National Reining Breeders Classic (NRBC), reiners brought their best 4-, 5- and 6-year-olds to compete in Katy, Texas, in April. Thirty horses qualified for the Level 4 Open finals, where it took a score of 231 to claim the Championship. Not Ruf At All and Jason Vanlandingham accomplished the feat for owner Vaughn Zimmerman, walking away with the winner’s check of $75,000. Ironically, that is the same amount that Zimmerman turned down for Not Ruf At All when he repurchased the stallion at the 2012 National Reining Horse Association (NRHA)/Markel Insurance Futurity Prospect Sale.

In the Stats

In the Stats: NCHA Western National Championships

Hickory Valentino (Doc’s Hickory x Connies Gail x Freckles Loverboy), a 1998 gelding bred by Sherry Wolfenbarger Cagan, of Portola Valley, California, and owned by Rhett and Lola Searle, of Vernal, Utah, is the leading money-earner at the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Western National Championships with $23,420 in show earnings. The gelding was ridden by Lola Searle to earnings of $20,276, which included a $4,929 paycheck for winning the $50,000 Amateur in 2005. Rhett Searle rode the gelding to earnings of $3,144. Hickory Valentino has $48,739 in lifetime earnings recorded in Equi-Stat. • Photo by Suzanne Forrest

In the Past

In the Past: 2006 Magnificent 7 Champion

Bob Avila and Light N Fine. • Photo by Darrell Dodds

Equi-Stat Elite $1 Million Rider Bob Avila, of Temecula, California, and Light N Fine (Grays Starlight x Lenas Fine Freckle x Doc O’Lena), aka “Polo,” deservingly won the 2006 Magnificent 7 Championship with high scores in both the herd and cow works.

The 1999 stallion, bred by Polo Ranch, of Marietta, Oklahoma, was owned at the time by Rhodes River Ranch in Arlington, Washington. He earned $12,432 for his win at the Magnificent 7, and capped his career with a victory in the World’s Greatest Horseman competition with Avila one year later when owned by Alan and Kay Needle.

In the Blood

In the Blood: Moms Stylish Player

The 2016 Lucas Oil National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Super Stakes Open will be remembered as the Kenny Platt and Moms Stylish Player show. Platt and the 4-year-old gelding won the first go and led the composite, then topped the semifinals and the finals. Moms Stylish Player also won the Gelding Open title and sent a total check of $100,137 home to owner Robert Tregemba, of Castle Rock, Colorado.

Industry Insider With SDP

The Start of Something New — With Shane Plummer

Content Sponsored by SDP Buffalo Ranch

Shane and Jane PlummerToday I am starting something new. Today I am officially a blogger! I’ve never blogged in my life, so bear with me. In order for this blog to be of value to my readership, please feel free to let me know any topics or points of discussion you’d like me to write about.

Reining Events

Not Ruf At All Adds New Jewel to Crown

Not Ruf At All & Jason Vanlandingham • Photo by Kristin PitzerWith stomping boots, clapping hands, whistles, cheers, whoops and hollers, the crowd at the Great Southwest Equestrian Center in Katy, Texas, cheered the 2016 National Reining Breeders Classic (NRBC) Level 4 Open Champion into the history books.

Reining Events

Sarah Locker Wins 2016 NRBC Level 4 Non-Pro Championship

Sarah Locker & Heavy Duty Chex • Photo by Kristin PitzerAlthough not unprecedented, attaining back-to-back National Reining Breeders Classic (NRBC) championships on the same horse is exceptional. With the steady influx of high-caliber horses each year, competition is always formidable.

Reining Events

Free Seminars and Clinics at the Wild Card Reining Challenge

Equi-Stat Elite $4 Million Rider Andrea Fappani will be one of the featured speakers at the Wild Card Reining Challenge. • Photo by Kristin PitzerThe Wild Card Reining Challenge debuts this spring in Las Vegas, bringing with it a 4-year-old futurity. The show, which runs over the Memorial Day weekend, May 25-29 at the South Point Equestrian Center in Las Vegas, is the newest of four major reining competitions presented annually by the Scottsdale, Arizona-based Brumley Management Group, LLC.

Tack Talk

The Secret to Cleaning and Conditioning Braided Rawhide

Like leather, sweat and dirt build up on rawhide and get absorbed into the fiber causing it to degrade over time. Additionally, rawhide will dry out and feel dry and rougher to the touch than usual. Check your gear regularly, especially the parts that are often against the horse’s hide. If you see sweat and dirt built up, or if it’s dry, it needs to be cleaned and conditioned.

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