The first horse and rider duo to earn a 2021 NRCHA Stallion Stakes champion trophy were Im So Stunning (Metallic Cat x Absolutely Stunning x Smart Little Lena) and Erin Taormino in the Open Two-Rein Spectacular. With a 662 composite (221 herd/218 rein/223 cow), the 2015 roan gelding and Erin Taormino topped the 33-horse Open Two-Rein Spectacular field by a point and a half.
Taormino has trained the roan since late in his 2-year-old year. Prior to this win, the horse had earned $28,466 in reined cow horse competition.
“We’ve made finals and he’s never won anything big but has been a steady horse,” Taormino said. “We gelded him this winter and he really loves the gelding life.”
When she learned of the win, Taormino was all smiles.
“He’s a really fun horse to train,” she said. “The two rein class, the competition in it is incredible. The horses are amazing and the riders are amazing. To win [this class] in such a fabulous group is just an honor.”
Owner Jennifer Ostenson earned $5,520 for the win.
The Open Two-Rein Spectacular wasn’t the only thing Taormino and Im So Stunning won in Vegas. In the Open Two-Rein horse show class, held concurrently with the Open Two-Rein Spectacular, the duo were second which earned another check for $2,144.
In addition to the purse, the champion received a C.R. Morrison NRCHA trophy, a one-ear headstall with rawhide and silver buckles from Dennis Moreland Tack, a Platinum Performance gift certificate, and an UltraCruz prize pack from Santa Cruz Animal Health. For Reserve in the Open Two-Rein horse show class, they won a pair of Classic Fit Boots from the NRCHA.
Reserve Champion
Reserve Champion Clayton Edsall and Stylish In Socks (Metallic Cat x Stylish In Stockings x Peptoboonsmal), owned by Beverly Servi, scored a composite 660.5 (223 herd/215 rein/222.5 cow). They won $4,320 and prizes that include an UltraCruz prize pack, a saltwater spa session from Oklahoma Equine Hospital and a pair of DyNo Turn Fleece Bell Boots from NRCHA.
The top two finishers in the Open Two-Rein Spectacular both hail from prestigious female families.
The second dam of Stylish In Socks is the late Stylish And Foxie, a great cutting mare who as of her death earlier this year had foaled the winners of more than $850,000. Stylish And Foxie’s daughters had foaled the winners of more than $1.5 million.
Im So Stunning’s second dam is the illustrious Autumn Boon, who foaled the earners of more than $1.9 million. Autumn Boon also is the mother of Equi-Stat Elite $6 Million Sire Im Countin Checks, Equi-Stat Elite $3 Million Sire Once In A Blu Boon and Equi-Stat Elite $1 Million Sire Boon A Little. Her produce record also includes the stallion Wild Thing DNA, who has sired the winners of more than $621,000, and young sire A Tale Of The Cat.