NCHA News

Gavin Callahan on Time N Tequila. Hart Photography.

Riding Time N Tequila, Gavin Callahan of McConnels, South Carolina, topped the second and third round, plus the non-working finals to win the Junior division of the NYCHA World Finals with 14 points Friday evening at the NCHA/Metallic Cat Summer Spectacular.

Jade Mitchell of Perrin, Texas, placed second with 8 points on Miss Stylish Cat. Faith Farris of Midway, Texas won the first round of the World Finals to strengthen her lead in the year-long World Championship race with 150 points.

The NYCHA Junior World Finals was the first major win for Callahan, 14, who earlier this year was an NCHA Super Stakes Classic Amateur finalist on Calico Spots, and who placed third in the Junior Youth at the NCHA Eastern Nationals. He’s also been a Non-Pro finalist at the All American QH Congress Classic, and a $15,000 Amateur finalist at the NCHA Eastern Nationals.

His World Finals mount, Time N Tequila, is an 8-year-old gelding bred by Matthews Cutting Horses by One Time Pepto out of Nu She Wood, a full sister to NCHA Hall of Fame Horse and million-dollar producer Nu I Wood. The gelding, owned by Garret and Shannon Callahan, has earned more than $166,000 with a long string of Non-Pro and Amateur limited age paychecks for earlier owners Ashley Snider and Mike Schraeder, respectively.

Gavin Callahan placed third with a 215 in the first round of the World Finals, behind Faith Farris’ pace-setting 218. He dominated the next two rounds with a 220.5 and a 224, to win the pencil finals by more than 12 points with a 659.5.

Jade Mitchell on Miss Stylish Cat. Hart Photography.

Consistency counted for Jade Mitchell, who earned points in every round of the World Finals, including second-place finishes in the third round and the pencil finals. Mitchell, who is the daughter of Hall of Fame Rider John Mitchell and Non-Pro Hall of Famer Hope Mitchell, rode Miss Stylish Cat, a 7-year-old High Brow Cat x Peptos Stylish Miss mare bred and owned by Glade Knight, and shown by John Mitchell as an NCHA Futurity and Derby finalist.

Faith Farris on Smooth Serena Rey. Hart Photography.

Last year, World Champion Faith Farris won the Junior Youth at the NCHA Scottsdale Nationals on Reytheon, and the AQHYA championship on Quite The Fat Cat. This year, she was a Junior Youth finalist at the NCHA Eastern Nationals on her World Finals mount, Smooth Serena Rey.

Smooth Serena Rey is a 7-year-old mare by Smooth As A Cat out of Margaret Rey, bred by Toddy and Amanda Pitard and owned by Jimmy Farris. She was a $35,000 purchase at the 2015 Western Bloodstock NCHA Futurity Sales, and she has earned more than $61,000.

During the point year, Farris also earned points on Ginger Pepto, Quite The Fat Cat and Reys Cupid, Rumorhasit.

Chance Cerny, whose mother, Jodie Cerny, was 1995 NCHA Youth World Champion, took the Reserve World Championship with  124 points.