NCHA News

CR Dualin Out Tuff, owned by Julie Beasley, Montgomery, Ala., and shown by Austin Shepard, scored 225 points on Saturday to win the 2019 NCHA Eastern National $5,000 Novice Finals. GCH Mistah Cat, owned by Ronnie Griffin, Pioneer, La., and shown by Mason Griffin, scored 220.5 for the reserve championship, while Blu Laney Bird, ridden by Guy Woods, and Getting Hott In Here, with Ryan Moore, tied with 220 points to split third and fourth.

Five-year-old CR Dualin Out Tuff LTE $86,424, by Woody Be Tuff, also placed third with Shepard in Friday’s $25,000 Novice Finals. In 2018, Julie Beasley showed CR Dualin Out Tuff in the finals of the NCHA Non-Pro Futurity. The pair also won five amateur titles in 2019. Shepard, an all-time leading NCHA Hall of Fame earner of over $8.2 million, has won a record nine NCHA Eastern Nationals Open championships, including his first, in 2002, when he showed Widows Freckles LTE $113,522, who also carried owner Lauren Middleton to win the Non-Pro title that same year.

Eight-year-old GCH Mistah Cat LTE $36,360, bred by Ronnie Griffin and sired by Smart Morias Cat, was a finalist under Mason Griffin in the 2019 NCHA World $25,000 Novice Finals, as well as in the 2017 NCHA World $5,000 Novice Finals. 

Mason Griffin, the NCHA earner of $89,477, also showed GCH Mistah Cat to place in the Top 15 World standings of the $25,000 Novice division, and Smart Quixote Boon, to place in the Top 10 World standings of the $5,000 Novice.

Blu Laney Bird LTE $11,786, owned and bred by EE Ranches, Whitesboro, Tex., came to Jackson following a win with Guy Woods in the Arbuckle Mountain Futurity Open Limited. Sired by Once In A Blu Boon, 4-year-old Blu Laney Bird is out of a full sister to Cat Ichi LTE $238,691, sire of the earners of over $6 million. Woods, the NCHA Open Hall of Fame earner of $2,710,059 million, has won 16 NCHA Eastern National  championships riding EE Ranches bred and owned horses.

Six-year-old Gettin Hott In Here LTE $32,447, by Hottish, was bred by Beechfork Ranch and is owned and shown by Ryan Moore, Birch Tree, Mo. Gettin Hott In Here and Moore also placed in the finals of the $25,000 Novice Finals on Friday. Last year, the pair placed third in the Eastern Nationals $5,000 Novice and seventh in the $25,000 Novice, and they were third and seventh, respectively, in last year’s finals of the NCHA Western Nationals $25,000 and $5,000 divisions. 

Ryan Moore, the NCHA earner of $364,105, showed his own horse, Pepsi Boon LTE $66,996, to place in the 2018 NCHA Open Futurity and Futurity Open Limited Finals. Ryan and the Once In A Blu Boon son also placed third in the 2019 NCHA Super Stakes Open Limited.

The 2019 NCHA Eastern National Finals continue through Saturday, March 14. To read more from Sally Harrison, visit her blog at sallyharrison.com.