The Breeder’s Invitational (BI) kicked off May 12 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and the Classic/Challenge Open finals, held May 15, hosted a field of 23 horses. One five-year-old superstar had to wait for 22 of them to make their runs before he could spar for the championship as the last draw of the second set. Two-and-a-half minutes later, Hashtags marked a 224.5, naming himself and Equi-Stat Elite $1 Million Rider Tatum Rice, of Weatherford, Texas, the Classic/Challenge Open Champions!Hashtags appears to enjoy the anticipation – during the 2017 National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Super Stakes Open finals, he brought home the title from the Will Rogers Colisieum as the second draw of the second set. As a 4-year-old, the son of Metallic Cat also won Derby Open championships at the West Texas Futurity, Idaho Cutting Horse Association Futurity & Aged Event and the El Rancho Futurity & Foothill Fiesta. He wrapped up the year as runner up in the race for the 2017 NCHA Open Horse of the Year.This year, Hashtags and Rice have taken the Augusta Futurity 5/6-Year-Old Classic Open Reserve Championship and the Bonanza Cutting 5/6-Year-Old Open Championship. Hashtag’s BI win earned $21,707 for owner Hashtags Ventures LP, pushing the blue roan’s lifetime earnings well over $327,000. The stallion out of Dual Rey Tag (by Dual Rey) was bred by Jim Haworth, of South West City, Missouri.
Tic-Tac-Tie in the Super Stakes Non Pro
Tic-Tac-Tie in the Super Stakes Non Pro
Posted on April 22, 2018 by Julie Bryant
In a field thick with potential winners, it was no surprise that two rose to the top. “Cutting with the Stars” would have been an apt description of Sunday night’s Lucas Oil National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Super Stakes Non-Pro finals.
Among the 21 finalists were 2017 NCHA Futurity Non-Pro Champions Chad Bushaw and Bittersweet, as well as Megan Miller and Carolena Reyn, who won the first go-round, composite and Non-Pro semifinals. Both teams scored a 222 to share in a well-earned victory in Fort Worth, Texas, and take home $36,319 each.
Bushaw stepped up first when he rode Bittersweet (out of Miss Sea Rey x Dual Rey) onto the sandy stage of Will Rogers as the eighth to work. With more than $62,000 in earnings to her credit, Bittersweet essentially made her first return to the arena since last December. The dark red roan daughter of Metallic Cat was clearly ready to make her reappearance memorable.
“I felt that we got the three best cows that were in there, my help was great as always and the girl who gets her ready was great, as always, so we just got it done,” Bushaw said. “She had kicked herself when I was working her in February trying to get her ready for the spring events and had developed a little bit of cellulitis. But she’s been working great this past month and it worked out.”
Bushaw was quick to thank his business partner, Alana Chalmers, whose support allows him to take the time he needs to compete, as well as Crystal Hensley, who prepares the horse for competition.
“She is so devoted and is a special girl. We’re very lucky to have her on the team. The four guys helping me, they’re all close friends and are guys my boys can look up to, good family men.
“My boys and my wife mean the world to me and the fact that I am able to share this sport and this hobby – this passion for horses – with them means everything,” he continued. “I used to take it too serious, but now I am just thankful to be here. I take a lot more pride in seeing the boys do well than myself.”
Oh, Brother!
The first go of the NCHA Super Stakes Open continued on Friday with eight sets of horses and riders. Michael Cooper and Matt Miller turned in the highest scores of the day – a 222.
Miller set the pace late in the second draw on Metallic Mister, owned by Holy Cow Performance Horses. Metallic Mister, also known as “Brother,” was an open finalist earlier this year with Miller at the Ike Derby and the Cattlemen’s Derby. The flashy red roan by Metallic Cat is out of Smart Crackin Chic, the 2006 NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity Champion that went through the NCHA Futurity Sales as a yearling and then to Singleton Ranches through the Snaffle Bit Sale as a 2-year-old. Metallic Mister got his nickname early on as he is a full brother to Metallic Mistress, earner of almost $150,000, and Mistresssis, earner of $165,000. Cooper, who topped day one of the first go as well on Pharrel, spurred his way to another high score on Friday when he showed Judgement Day, also owned by Rose Valley Ranch. Both horses are out of Bet On Houston, by Peptoboonsmal. They currently serve as the mare’s No. 4 and No.5 top money earners. Bet On A Cat leads that group with $386,577 in winnings. Judgement Day is sired by High Brow Cat and Pharrel is by Metallic Cat.
An NCHA Open Futurity finalist, the Judgement Day possesses earnings just shy of $50,000.
Tour De Force – Metallic Cat Style
From the looks of things, it appears that Metallic Cat is working toward yet another record-breaking season. Last weekend, his foals dominated at two of the performance horse industry’s richest events, earning Open championships at both the Lucas Oil/National Cutting Horse Association Super Stakes in Fort Worth, Texas, AND the National Reined Cow Horse Association Stallion Stakes in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Over just a few days of those shows, Metallic Cat offspring posted a nice $177,164 and broke an all-time score record in the process.
At the NRCHA Stallion Stakes, Metallic Train and Clayton Edsall clinched the top spot after marking a 215 in the herd work, 214.5 in the reined round, and wrapping up with a hair-raising 227 down the fence. The 656.5 composite earned the Open and Intermediate Open Champion’s checks totaling $46,309 for owner Beverly Vaughn. Metallic Train, a mare, is out of Sparking Train by Shining Spark. That combination was also a hit in the Non-Pro division where Tammy Hays rode her gelding Metallic Sparks (out of Shine Smartly by Shining Spark) to the Championship and $8,481.
Yet another Metallic Cat foal – Metal Cat – finished first in the Limited Open class with Clark Brendon. This gelding is out of Topofthestar by Grays Starlight, and he collected $7,779 for the win. That was just one more success that played a part in making Metallic Cat the NRCHA Stallion Stakes’ No. 1 sire with total earnings of $90,139.
On April 1 – Easter Sunday – it was Stevie Rey Von who stole the headlines. This 6-year-old stallion and Beau Galyean worked second-from-last in the NCHA Super Stakes Classic Open finals, marking a tremendous 231 to win the division and $26,216. This is the highest score ever marked in the NCHA Super Stakes Classic. Stevie Rey Von, owned by the Fults Ranch, is out of Miss Ella Rey by Dual Rey. This latest win brings the stallion’s lifetime earnings to $397,342, which includes having won the prestigious NCHA Futurity Open Championship in 2015.
Kattalyst, a 6-year-old mare also by Metallic Cat, worked to an impressive 226 score to finish Reserve in the Classic Open with Adan Banuelos. That placing paid $23,576. Kattalyst, owned by 10/27 Ranch, is out of Hotness by Spots Hot.
“This Super Stakes was just amazing!” said Bobby Patton, owner of Rocking P Ranch in Fort Worth, Texas. (Rocking P Ranch owns both Metallic Cat and Spots Hot.) “To say it was a big day for our breeding program is an understatement. We couldn’t be more gratified.”
Six Metallic Cat offspring graced the elite field of 29 Classic Open finalists, adding up to a total take of $87,025. One of those finalists, Hashtags, won the Open Stakes at the 2017 Lucas Oil/NCHA Super Stakes – an event where Metallic Cat shattered records when 69 of his foals won more than $831,500 across multiple divisions, which still stands as the highest single-show payout in NCHA Super Stakes history.
As for this year, there are nearly three more weeks of Super Stakes action. The show concludes on April 22 with the Open Stakes finals. Dozens of Metallic Cat offspring are performing, so it’s possible for yet another record-breaker. Metallic Cat’s owner, Bobby Patton of Rocking P Ranch, Fort Worth, Texas, is keeping his fingers crossed.
“Last weekend was a huge one,” Patton said happily. “We were extremely pleased that Metallic Cat’s foals had such a magnificent showing. Plus, we were thrilled by his success at two very different shows – one cutting and the other reined cow horse. Once again, it demonstrates the remarkable consistency of Metallic Cat across multiple disciplines, also proving his mind and ability carries over with a variety of mares of diverse bloodlines. We’re excited about what’s happening right now and in the future.”
One of those future opportunities is right around the corner at the NCHA’s next Triple Crown event in July. The 2018 Metallic Cat $100,000 Incentive, a bonus available to everyone who owns a Metallic Cat 4-year-old and has a 2018 contract to breed to Metallic Cat. For those who qualify, the program guarantees a $100,000 check to the highest advancing Metallic Cat offspring in the 4-year-old Open finals at the Metallic Cat/NCHA Summer Spectacular.
“We’re hoping someone wins it!” Patton said. “The 2018 show season has been amazing so far, and we’d really love for the owners of Metallic Cat’s foals to share in the stallion’s success. It’s our way of saying ‘Thank you’ to the mare owners who believe in Metallic Cat.”
Metallic Cat is on his way to becoming one of the biggest sires in cutting history. Right now he has $18 million in offspring earnings. In 2016 and 2017 he was NCHA Sire of the Year, thanks to foals that earned $10 million in just those two seasons. With $637,711 in lifetime winnings, Metallic Cat won the 2008 NCHA Futurity with Beau Galyean and then showed for a few months in the 2009 season. Even with limited showing, Metallic Cat was 2009 NCHA Horse of the Year and was inducted into the NCHA Hall of Fame in 2010. Now, with just five crops of show age, Metallic Cat is among the top 10 of the cutting industry’s all-time most successful sires.
Elizabeth Quirk leads way to Classic Non-Pro Final
Elizabeth Quirk, Denham, La., scored 221 points riding Kattalyst on Wednesday to win the second go-round of the NCHA Super Stakes Classic Non-Pro, and claim the top cumulative score with 437 points.
Madalyn Colgrove, Boligee, Ala., who won the first go-round with 221 points, posted a cumulative score of 436.5 points riding Sweet Baby Marie, and Steve Anderson, Victoria, Tex., ranked third with 435.5 points on Littlemak.
Quirk, the NCHA Non-Pro Hall of Fame earner of $689,528, most recently won the 2018 NCHA World Series Mane Event with Cat Sheree LTE $179,988. She also placed as reserve champion of the Ike Hamilton Futurity 4-Year-Old Non-Pro on Catillac Reys LTE $60,718.
Six-year-old Kattalyst LTE $117,710, a Metallic Cat daughter bred by Alvin and Becky Fults, claimed the reserve championship of the NCHA Super Stakes Classic Open on Sunday, April 1, under Adan Banuelos.
Stevie Rey Von ties Triple Crown record with 231-pt win
2018 Lucas Oil NCHA Super Stakes – April 1, 2018 – Fort Worth, Tex.
Stevie Rey Von and Beau Galyean rewrote the NCHA Record Book with a 231-point win in the NCHA Super Stakes Classic Open Finals. The score was the highest ever marked in the Super Stakes Classic and tied for the Triple Crown all-time record, set in the 2001 Super Stakes by Sunettes Dually and Matt Gaines. Galyean held the old Super Stakes Classic record with 229 points aboard Metallic Rebel in 2017.
Six-year-old Stevie Rey Von, NCHA Horse of the Year and winner of the 2015 NCHA Futurity, also scored 231 points last month to win the Cattlemen’s 5/6 Classic Open under Galyean for new owners Alvin and Becky Fults, Amarillo, Tex. The Fults’s, who purchased Stevie Rey Von in February, had owned his sire Metallic Cat, the 2008 NCHA Futurity champion and NCHA Horse of the Year shown by Galyean, as well.
Stevie Rey Von brought career earnings of more than $370,000 into the Super Stakes Classic finals.
Until Stevie Rey Von eclipsed the field, as draw 28 from 29, Kattalyst, bred by Alvin and Becky Fults, was the horse to beat and became the eventual reserve champion. Shown by Adan Banuelos, the 6-year-old Metallic Cat daughter scored 226 points late in the first set of cattle. Her closest challenger was Somethingtobelievein with 223.5 points, under owner Brett McGlothlin, for third place.
Kattalyst LTE $94,134, owned by Ten/27 Ranch, Denham Springs, La., made her debut as a 2015 NCHA Futurity Open Semi-Finalist with Sean Flynn and has been a consistent finalist in limited age events, including non-pro competition with Ten/27 Ranch owners Todd and Elizabeth Quirk.
Edsall Hits $85,000 Jackpot In NRCHA Stakes
Clayton Edsall earned his first NRCHA premier event title — and a heck of a lot of money — in the NRCHA Stallion Stakes, which he won aboard Metallic Train.
Photo by Primo Morales.
Molly Montag
What happens when you win $85,000 in Las Vegas?
Ask Clayton Edsall.
The Oakdale, California, trainer scored a massive haul with a memorable win Saturday night aboard Metallic Train in the National Reined Cow Horse Association (NRCHA) Stallion Stakes. He and the mare marked huge 227-point fence score to win the Open and Intermediate Open titles.
That wasn’t all. Edsall also won the Open Novice Horse and the Intermediate Open Reserve championships, riding four horses in the Open finals. Overall, his horses earned more than $85,000 in the NRCHA Stakes finals and preliminary rounds.
Even after accepting his awards, Edsall was still trying to process the night’s events.
“It means a lot. I just don’t think it’s sank in,” said the trainer, surrounded by family and friends in the main arena at the South Point Hotel, Casino and Spa. “I mean, all the horses were really great and so I think it’s going to take a little bit to just process.”
Edsall’s biggest wins of the show were on horses owned by Beverly Vaughn: Open Champion Metallic Train (Metallic Cat x Sparking Train x Shining Spark) and Novice Horse Open Champion Bet Hesa Boon (Bet Hesa Cat x Flo N Blu Boon x Pretty Boy Boon).
Bet Hesa Boon, the Intermediate Open Reserve Champion, also placed seventh in the Open. Metallic Train’s half brother, Bet He Sparks (by Bet Hesa Cat) carried Edsall to an eighth-place finish in the Open. His fourth Open final qualifier was Shining CD Light (by CD Lights), who scratched after the herd work.
Metallic Train won $46,309 in the finals. Bet Hesa Boon earned $17,321 in the finals and roughly $3,700 from the Open Novice Horse title in the preliminary rounds.
“You know, when we got four in the finals, I told [his fiancé] Chelsea, I said ‘You know, there’s a chance something like this could happen’, but you know…How do you know,” said Edsall, who has lifetime earnings of roughly $500,000. “So, it’s just all pretty special, for sure.”
Edsall’s big fence score in the NRCHA Stakes Open finals came just after Equi-Stat Elite $2 Million Rider Corey Cushing set the crowd on fire with a sizzling 224.5 run on DMAC Reydar (by Dual Smart Rey). Cushing’s run was, up to that point, the high mark of the cow work, just eclipsing the 223 that Kelby Phillips marked in the first set with 2016 NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity Champion Duals Lucky Charm (by Dual Smart Rey)
Riding Metallic Train out of the arena after his run, Edsall knew his score had to be at least 227 to catch Phillips. Although Phillips and Sarah Dawson each had a 656.5 composite, Phillips had the higher cow work score, which is used to break ties, so the lead was his alone.
“Kelby was a [2]23, Corey was a [2]24.5 and then I felt like, [with] my two turns and…circles, I wonder what they’re gonna mark me,” he said. “And then as soon as I rode out the gate, and then they announced my score and I told the back gate guys — ‘Oh My God, I just won the Stakes, didn’t I?’ — and, they’re like, ‘Yep’.”
The run put him at a 656.6 composite (215 herd/214.5 cow/227 cow), but his high-scoring fence run broke the tie to give Edsall his first NRCHA premier event championship.
Up in the stands, Chelsea was crying and fielding congratulations. She and Edsall, who have two children – Weston, 2, and Rylee, 15 months – plan to wed in April.
“Just to see him finally get some recognition in an aged event on such a great horse, it means everything,” said Chelsea, who thanked the cow horse community for its support. “It’s so amazing, because he works so hard and he loves his horses and it’s just nice to see. I’m so proud of him.”
The Open Co-Reserve Championship went to Phillips and Duals Lucky Charm (out of TRR Ms Pepcid Olena, by Pepcid) and Dawson and Travelin Miss Jonez (by Travelin Jones x Playin With Rubies x Lectric Playboy). They each won $23,803.
Big Heart: “Midget” Wins NRCHA Stakes Non-Pro Championship
Tammy Hays made the most of her chance to ride Metallic Sparks in the NRCHA Stakes Non-Pro on Saturday, March 31, in Las Vegas. • Photo by Primo Morales.
Tammy Hays is thrilled Metallic Sparks is so short.
If he was much bigger, she probably wouldn’t have gotten the chance to win the National Reined Cow Horse Association (NRCHA) Stallion Stakes Non-Pro Championship with him.
“Oh, my gosh! I’m so excited, because that’s the first one out of that mare I’ve ever gotten to show,” said Hays, who co-owns his dam, Shine Smartly, with her father, Walter Greeman. “She’s 19 years old and I’ve never gotten to show one, because they’re all good enough to show as open horses, or we sell them or and [her husband] Shawn shows them -and he’s too little!”
Nicknamed “Midget,” the 2014 gelding by Metallic Cat carried Hays to a winning composite of 640 (209 herd/213.5 rein/217.5 cow). They earned $8,481, doubling his lifetime Equi-Stat record to roughly $17,000.
Going into the cow work, Hays’ best shot at victory appeared to be Hat Six Keep Sparkin, a son of Dual Spark out of Hat Six Little Paws (by Peptos Stylish Oak) she rode to the 2017 NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity Non-Pro Championship. She and the buckskin were leading the competition going into the cow work, but a 199-point score erased any hope of finishing with the leaders.
“[Hat Six Keep Sparkin] just didn’t feel like himself and I kept telling myself, you made a couple little tiny mistakes, but the big problems that went wrong were because he wasn’t feeling like himself,” she said.
Although disappointed, Hays put the poor score out of her mind and focused on what she could do with Metallic Sparks. The sorrel gelding gave her confidence almost immediately. Their 217.5-point run topped the herd work.
“I knew as soon as that cow came out [and] he was bright and quick,” Hays said. “And, when he’s like that he’s usually going to be really good.”
Hays said the championship would’ve have been possible without the help of God and her husband, Shawn.
“I always do a lot of praying before I go and I feel like [God] gives me peace and confidence,” she said. “Of course, I thank my husband, because he gets my horses ready [and] takes good care of me.”
Consistency Key For Clark And Metal Cat At NRCHA Stakes
Metal Cat and Brendon Clark just keep on trucking.
The Metallic Cat gelding and Clark knocked out another premier event title Saturday night with the National Reined Cow Horse Association (NRCHA) Stallion Stakes Limited Open Championship in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Clark, of Hollister, California, said he’s learned a lot from the dependable young horse, who he previously piloted to the 2017 NRCHA Derby Limited Open Championship.
“I’m pretty happy with him. He was pretty solid all the way through, and he always is,” Clark said. “He’s not typically the horse that’s gonna blow everyone away during the rounds, in the prelims, but he’s always there at the top.”
They took the NRCHA Stakes Limited Open Championship with a composite of 632 (209 herd/212.5 rein/210.5 cow). The title paid $7,779, boosting the horse’s lifetime Equi-Stat record to more than $20,000.
Nicknamed “Banjo,” the gelding is owned by Clark’s friends from Australia, Quinton Kersch and Sandy Kersch, and Las Vegas restaurateur Jonathan Fine.
Clark, who posted his first cow horse earnings to Equi-Stat in 2015, said Banjo’s consistency has helped him as he’s started his career as a trainer. The Australian native switched to horses after a bull-riding career that included time on the Professional Bull Riders tour.
“He’s always gonna give you what you need to do. And, you know, he’s always been a pretty good fence horse,” said Clark, whose Equi-Stat record has surpassed $40,000. “He circles good and you kind of put him in position and then when it’s time to drop the hammer, you just say ‘Go’ and he does it.”
Bred by Bill Coburn, of Redding, California, Metal Cat is one of 8 money earners from the mare Tipofthestar. The daughter of Grays Starlight now has a produce record of approximately $170,000.