Hashtags Proves It Ain’t Over ’til It’s Over


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.