$15,000 Amateur first-round leader McKenzie McBride on Indian Clay. Ted Petit photo.
McKenzie McBride, Fort Lupton, Colo., topped Wednesday’s NCHA Western Nationals $15,000 Amateur go-round with 219 points on Indian Clay, who also carried her as a finalist (9th) in the Senior Youth division, on Saturday, June 24. Israel Valles, Mesilla Park, NM, earned 216.5 points, the go-round’s second-highest score, while Kellie Porter, Morgan Utah, and Brooke Turner, Bushnell, Fla., each scored 216 points.
Last year, McKenzie McBride won the NCHA Denver Nationals $2,000 Limited Rider championship on RM Lightning Merada, and placed in the Senior Youth with Sleeper Cat. Nine-year-old Indian Clay LTE $32,380, by Hickorys Indian Pep, is owned by Paula Platt, Fort Lupton, Colo. McKenzie McBride is the NCHA earner of $5,913.
Israel Valles won last year’s NCHA Scottsdale Nationals $35,000 Non-Pro on Smokem Jo Lena, his mount this year in the $15,000 Amateur division. The 10-year-old gelding, sired by Joes Midnight Son and the earner of $64,651, also carried Valles as a finalist in the 2017 Mercuria NCHA $15,000 Amateur World Finals. Valles, who competed in the 2015 NCHA $2,000 Limited Rider World Finals on Justa Cat Sprat, is the NCHA earner of $34,793.
Kelle Porter, the NCHA earner of $4,545, showed Trix At Night, her $15,000 Amateur mount, in the finals (8th) of Tuesday’s $2,000 Limited Rider finals. Trix At Night LTE $38,067, a 13-year-old gelding sired by TR Dual Rey, won the 2011 Utah Futurity with Leann Wilson.
Brooke Turner, the NCHA earner of $16,231, placed third on Saturday in the NCHA Western Nationals Senior Youth riding Checkaleno, her $15,000 Amateur mount. She has previously placed in the finals of the NCHA Denver Nationals, the NCHA Eastern Nationals, and the NYCHA Scholarship Cutting in various divisions on Aristo Jazz, Pistol Packin Safari, and Im Countin On You, who carried Jessica Cauble to win Tuesday’s $2,000 Limited Rider finals. Both 5-year-old Checkaleno and 9-year-old Im Countin On You are sired by Im Countin Checks.