NCHA News

The first round of four divisions of the Mercuria NCHA World Finals was held in the Watt Arena Wednesday, as year-end races draw to a close. The $25,000 Novice, $35,000 Non-Pro, $5,000 Novice Non-Pro and $2,000 Limit Rider contestants rode to the herd. The second round and a non-working finals in those classes will be determined Thursday.

Yall Count Me In, ridden by Todd Gann. Hart Photography.

Yall Count Me In, ridden by Todd Gann for Jerry Gann of Leighton, Alabama, marked 224 to the lead the first round of the $25,000 Novice. Little Jackson Cat, ridden by Les Bates for Dawn Chapman of Grandview, Texas, marked 219.5 for second. Louis The Cat, who has an unbeatable lead for the World Championship, placed seventh with a 216. Casey Crouch rides Louis The Cat for Amy and Mike Delange and Rick Dubay of Fort Gratiot, Michigan.

Yall Count Me In is a 6-year-old gelding bred by Robert Norton by Im Countin Checks out of $225,000 earner Holly Is Smooth. He has career earnings of more than $70,000, including a fourth-place finish at the Breeders Invitational under Michael Cooper. He came into the World Finals wiht $13,754 from the regular season.

Mia Webster on Lean This Rey.

In the $35,000 Non-Pro, Mia Webster of Portland, Oregon, marked 225 on Lean This Rey for a three-point win over Emily Meyer of Jackson, California on Rubys CD Legacy.

Bred by Linda Holmes, Lean This Way is a 9-year-old gelding by Dual Rey out of Miss Smart Rey Jay, a million-dollar producer whose babies include three-time Open World Champion Dual Rey Me ($812,942). Lean This Rey won the 2011 NCHA Non-Pro finals with Kade Smith, and was a $35,000 Non-Pro and $50,000 Amateur finalist at the NCHA Scottsdale Nationals this year with Webster.

Webster’s first-round win in the World Finals will move her up a notch in the standings to fourth place. Brian Pearse of Sturgeon County, Alberta, placed fifth in the round with a 214.5 on Reyd to tighten his grip on the World Championship.

Stylish Swagger, ridden by Michelle Barnes of Lewiston, Idaho, and Wild Kate, ridden by Sherry Stryker of Loomis, California, both marked 220 to split the win in the first round of the $5,000 Novice Non-Pro.

Stylish Swagger is a 7-year-old gelding by Stylish Rey out of Carolena Moon, bred by Matt and Megan Miller. Carolena Moon earned $76,150 and has produced earners of more than $655,000. He has career earnings of more than $113,000 and is safely in third place in the World Standings with $31,613. Barnes rode him as a limited age finalist at the Pacific Coast Futurity Classic and Idaho Classic last year, and in this year’s NCHA Scottsdale Nationals.

Wild Kate was bred by Butler Cutting Horses by Wilds My Thing out of Katys Satin Lady. The 7-year-old mare has earned over $146,000, including a reserve championship with Brent Erickson in the 2013 Idaho Futurity.

Sherry Stryker, who was $15,000 Amateur reserve champion at the Scottsdale Nationals on Boot Scootin Bonnie, will move up a notch into fourth place in the World Standings.

Kits Little Headlinr, ridden by Ron Davis, has an unbeatable lead in the $5,000 Novice Non-Pro standings with earnings for the year of $44,991.

Jameson Grimes on Cyndi Cat.

Jameson Grimes of Templeton, California, extended his unbeatable lead in the $2,000 Limit Rider division by winning the first round with a 220 on Cyndi Cat. Nikki Kuklo of Shingle Springs, California, marked 219 on Good Times Roll for second in the round.

Cyndi Cat was bred by Jerry and Melinda Black and is owned by George Dorros. The 10-year-old mare is by WR This Cats Smart out of Dox Little Cindy, and she has career earnings of more than $172,000. Grimes teamed up with the mare at the NCHA Scottsdale Nationals to win the $2,000 Limit Rider finals this year.

After round one of the World Finals, he has $12,934, nearly $4,000 ahead of his nearest rival for the World Championship, Hailey Schafer.