NCHA News

Metallic Rebel, ridden by Beau Galyean. Hart Photography.

Metallic Rebel, ridden by Beau Galyean for Thomas Guinn, marked 231 Thursday evening to win round three of the Open division of the Mercuria NCHA World Finals in Fort Worth’s Watt Arena.

World Champion-to-be Deluxe Checks marked 228 with Austin Shepard for second in the round.

Metallic Rebel, who is also NCHA Horse of the Year for 2017, was bred by Alvin Fults by Metallic Cat out of Sweet Abra. The 5-year-old stallion’s career earnings have topped $400,000 in the course of the World Finals.

This has been a banner year for Metallic Rebel, with limited age championships at the NCHA Super Stakes Classic, Brazos Bash, Abilene Spectacular, Pacific Coast Futurity Classic, Pacific Coast Derby Classic and Arbuckle Mountain. He was also reserve champion at the NCHA Classic Challenge, Idaho and West Texas.

He has moved up from fourth to third in the World Standings, with one working round and a non-working finals to be decided on Saturday.

Round three saw Deluxe Checks move closer to the all-time World Championship earnings record of $142,346 established last year by Special Nu Baby. Through round three, Deluxe Checks has $139,494, and enjoys a six-point lead in the cumulative score which determines the non-working finals payouts. Go-round payouts range from $6,035 for first down to $966 for eighth.

Lauren Middleton of Weatherford, Texas, took no prisoners in the third round of the  Mercuria NCHA Non-Pro World Finals as she and Sweet Reyvenge marked 228 for a seven-point win over Cade Shepard on Gini One Time.

Lauren Middleton on Sweet Reyvenge.

Middleton’s 228 equaled April Widman’s first-round high score of the event, and it gave her successive wins in the second and third rounds.

Sweet Reyvenge was bred by Bobby and Francie Butler and is owned by Middleton’s parents, Dr. Robert and Debbie Middleton. The 9-year-old gelding is by Reys Dual Badger out of Sweet Camille, by Chicks Achy Braky.

This year, Middleton and the gelding have won Mercuria NCHA World Series events at Houston and El Rancho, and placed second at the Pacific Coast Derby. Middleton also rode Cake By The Ocean to a reserve championship at the Ike Hamilton Derby.

Kylie Rice on Dual Lights marked 220 to split 3/4 with Paula Wood on Donas Suen Boon in the third round, while April Widman and Woodys Baby placed eighth in the round with a 215.5. That gave Widman an unbeatable lead of $114,650 to Rice’s $100,999 in the race for the World Championship, with one working round and a non-working finals left.

This is just the fourth time in the history of the NCHA Non-Pro World Championship that the top two competitors have both earned more than $100,000 for the year.