Two riders tied with 217 points on Sunday, Dec. 8, the final day of the 2019 NCHA Amateur/ Unlimited Amateur go-round. Paula Overstreet, Weatherford, Tex., scored 217 on Blu Aint My Color, by Once In A Blu Boon, to top the Amateur go-round and lead the way to the Amateur Semi-Finals, where 85 riders with scores of 210 or higher will compete for draws to the Amateur Finals.
Gary Barker, Madill, Okla., showing Metallic Concho, by Metallic Cat, scored 217 to tie with the fourth-highest score among Unlimited Amateur riders. Michelle Reichart and R Maximillion Kat, by High Brow Cat, won the go-round with 219 points.
Gary Barker, the NCHA earner of $657,092, was a 2010 NCHA Futurity Non-Pro Limited finalist on One Stylish Spot, by Spots Hot, and a 2012 Futurity Non-Pro finalist on Our Grey Goose, by Peptoboonsmal. Metallic Concho, Barker’s homebred 2019 Amateur mount, is a half-brother to 2016 NCHA Futurity Open champion Second Spot LTE $448,723, bred and owned by Gary and Shannon Barker out of Reycy Moon LTE $209,363, by Cats Moonshine.
In 2019, Gary Barker showed Second Spot to place fourth in the Brazos Bash Unlimited Amateur Classic, as well as Exs N Ohhs LTE $104,684, a half-brother by Kit Kat Sugar to Metallic Concho, to win the Arbuckle Mountain Unlimited Amateur championship.
Paula Overstreet is the NCHA earner of $63,178. In 2018, she was an NCHA Super Stakes Classic Unlimited Amateur Semi-Finalist and Cotton Stakes Classic Amateur finalist riding Metallic Vigilante, by Metallic Cat. Blu Aint My Color, her 2019 Futurity Amateur mount is out of the Smooth As A Cat daughter Smooth As A Twist LTE $147,928, the dam of six NCHA money earners.
The 2019 Amateur Semi-Finals will be held at 8:00 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 10, followed by the Amateur Finals at 5:00 p.m. The Unlimited Amateur Finals start at 7:00 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 11, with the Finals on Friday, Dec. 13 at 4:00 p.m.