Regan Plendl, Kingsley, Iowa, the second rider to work in the Metallic Cat NCHA Classic Challenge Non-Pro Finals, won the championship with 220 points riding Cats Lightning Rey, by NRR Cat King Cole. Megan Miller, Poolville, Tex., scored 219 points for the reserve championship on Carolena Reyn, by Dual Smart Rey, while Julie Jarma, Whitesboro, Tex., and Langston Pattillo, St. Elmo, Ill., tied for third with 217.5 points on Hott Heels and High Stylin CD, respectively.
Regan Plendl, the NCHA earner of $282,231, was a finalist in last year’s Classic Challenge Non-Pro riding Mr Metallic Rey LTE $154,343, by Metallic Cat. This year, in addition to the NCHA Classic Challenge win, Plendl and 5-year-old Cats Lightning Rey LTE $119,071 claimed the NCHA Western Nationals Non-Pro championship, as well as the Non-Pro Cutting Classic Amateur Unlimited championship.
Megan Miller, the NCHA Non-Pro Hall of Fame earner of $1,184,340, came into the Classic Challenge off of a championship win with 5-year-old Carolena Reyn LTE $243,038, in the NCHA Super Stakes Classic Non-Pro. The pair also won the 2018 NCHA Super Stakes Non-Pro Finals, and on Thursday, Matt Miller, Megan’s husband, showed Carolena Reyn as a finalist in the Classic Challenge Open Finals.
The NCHA Classic Challenge is the fourth Non-Pro working finals for Julie Jarma and 5-year-old Hott Heels in 2019. Hott Heels LTE $100,597, by Hottish, also placed third on Thursday in the Classic Challenge Open Finals with Lloyd Cox.
Langston Pattillo, the NCHA earner of $310,122 and 2018 NCHA Amateur Rider of the Year, has won three limited age event working finals aboard 6-year-old High Stylin CD $205,908 this year, including the Bonanza Non-Pro Classic, as well as the Bonanza Amateur Unlimited, and the Breeders Invitational Amateur Unlimited. Last year, Pattillo and his High Brow CD gelding won the NCHA Classic Challenge Amateur Unlimited and the Classic Challenge Amateur championship, and also claimed Classic championship wins in the Breeders Invitational Amateur and Unlimited Amateur, as well as the Bonanza Amateur.