NCHA News

In 1978, Gary Bellenfant qualified for and showed in his first NCHA Futurity Finals. The horse was Docs Linda, owned by Neil and Linda Mussallem. Forty-one years later, on Tuesday, November 22, 2019, the NCHA Hall of Fame Rider and 1995 NCHA Futurity champion scored 225 points to top the second day of NCHA Futurity Open go-round competition. He was riding Metallic Rey Mink, sired by Metallic Cat and bred and owned by the historic Los Jaboncillos Ranch, Premont, Tex.

Two horses tied with Tuesday’s second-highest score, 222 points – Hottish-sired Calientee, shown by Cullen Chartier for Circle R Cutting Horses LLC, Ocala, Fla., and Metallic Cat daughter Pipe Bomb Dream, shown by Geoffrey Sheehan for Beechfork Ranch, Weatherford, Tex.

Metallic Hill, sired by Metallic Cat and bred and owned by Rocking P Ranch, Fort Worth, Tex., earned 221 points, the days third-highest score, under Jesse Lennox, while Hot Whittle Kitty, by Hottish, and Cookie Banuelos marked 220.5 for her owner and breeder, Paula Gaughn, Las Vegas, Nev.

The banner day also included two 220-point scores, earned by Metallic Cat daughter Little Naked Dancer, shown by Nate Miller for her owner and breeder Lannie Louise Mecon, Avondale, Colo., and Rosa Del Pepto, sired by One Time Pepto and ridden by Zeb Corvin for Stella Swanson, Midland, Tex.

Something about 225
What might have been a massacre for another horse and rider turned into a triumph for Gary Bellenfant and Peptoboonsmal in the storied 1995 NCHA Futurity. Working last in the first set of the Finals, Peptoboonsmal earned 225 points with a 40-second siege that was a perfect counterpoint to his 225-point Semi-Finals run.

I had no idea how long he could last on a cow like that,” Bellenfant admitted. “Stay with it until I heard the whistle was all that occurred to me.”

By the time the whistle blew, the roar of the crowd drowned out its sound and Bellenfant hung with the feisty heifer for another few seconds.

Bellenfant’s 2019 mount, Metallic Rey Mink, carries Peptoboonsmal on the top side of his pedigree through Chers Shadow, Metallic Cat’s dam, bred by Lindy Burch/Oxbow Ranch out of Shesa Smarty Lena, the 1995 NCHA Open World Finals champion, shown by Burch. Metallic Rey Mink’s dam, Dual Rey Mink, by Dual Rey, qualified for the 2014 NCHA Futurity Open Semi-Finals under Bellenfant, with the fourth highest score, but went out with an injury and never returned to competition.

For updates and complete list of scores go to visit the NCHA Futurity page on the NCHA website. To read more from Sally Harrison visit sallyharrison.com.