Snaffle Bit Futurity Championship

Ridden by Doug Williamson, Bakersfield, Calif., Doc At Night turned, fenced and circled his cow for a 227 score in the final fence work that, when added to his 437.5 total from the herd and reining, added up to a spectacular 664.5 cumulative. This is one of the, if not the, highest earned in NRCHA World Championship Snaffle Bit Futurity history.

Apparently, that dark magic works well for Williamson. Co-owned by the trainer and Sandie Braden, Terrebonne, Ore., Doc At Night is the son of Mr San Olen, the black Peppy San Badger stallion Williamson rode to the 1992 Snaffle Bit Futurity's Open Championship. Back then, the title was worth $25,000 and a 641 cumulative score took first.

This year, it took 650.5 just to make it back into the Open finals. Once there, 26 horses competed for a portion of the $464,500 payout that included $335,000 divided among the top-10 places.

"This is the toughest Snaffle Bit Futurity I've been to," Williamson said. "It just don't get no better than this!"

The 2002 NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity got off to a start in Reno, Nev., on Wednesday, Sept. 25 and lasted through Sunday, Oct. 6. Futurity entries were up in all divisions except the Non-Pro, which decreased because the Amateur became its own division with 65 entries. Before this year, the Amateur class was considered part of the Non-Pro.

The Big Story

The Open preliminary herd work started off with Lovable Lena and Brad Buttrey tying RSP Smart Remedy 399 for first with twin 222 scores. Those two were followed by Deltas Color ridden by Boyd Rice along with Instant Paloma and Sandy Collier, both situated at second with 221.5 marks.

Former NRCHA and NRHA Futurity Champion Todd Bergen sizzled through his reining pattern on Reminic Moon Shine to score a very impressive 227.5 that when added to his 216.5 herd score, lifted him to first going into the fence work. Bergen heated the scoreboard again with a 225.5 on Play Sugarman that put the horse at 15th after the two go-rounds.

Coming into the fence work, nine points separated the top 25 competitors.

That's when Oak Ill Be and Buttrey, fresh from their Fresno Futurity Open Championship, worked a cow to a definitive 226 result. Added to the pair's 218.5 herd score and 221.5 dry work, the cow work tallied to a 666 cumulative that topped the preliminaries. Deltas Color finished the prelims in second with a 661 total.

For Sunday's Open finals, it all started over.

Rice, a Texas cutter with over a half-million in NCHA earnings, let the dirt fly in the herd work with a 223.5 mark that put him and Deltas Color into the lead after the first round. Light N Fine and Avila were next in line with a 221 and Spark Master and Avila was third with a 220.5 score.

As is usually the case in working cow horse competition, the order juggled as a rider came from the hinterland to take the lead after the second round. After marking a 219 for a sixth-place tie in the herd, Ken Wold won the dry work with a 222.5, which positioned him and Rooster Lee at the top with a 441.5 total. Deltas Color and Rice held strong just a half point behind while Light N Fine was in third and Spark Master at fourth.

But until that last cow is circled, a cow horse contest is far from over.

Just hoping for a good, clean run in the fence work, Wold came up against a sticky heifer that simply would not turn. As he struggled to get the critter gathered in the middle, Wold felt all hope of winning the Futurity drain away. The resulting 199 mark wound up tying Rooster Lee and Wold for 15th place.

"I'd like to take that cow home and have it for dinner!" Wold's wife, Ramona, said afterward.

Spring N Plain and John Ward, who went immediately before Wold, fell and walked out with a zero. Then Shining Dancer and Benny Guitron, the pair working after Wold, also went to the ground. A hush fell over the audience as it looked as though Guitron, a cow horse legend and former Snaffle Bit Futurity Champion, was hurt. But after a minute or so, he lifted himself and left the arena in the midst of a standing ovation.

The crowd quieted as Doc At Night and Williamson strode to the far end to receive their cow. Destiny came in the form of a black beast that looked as though she was in very big hurry. Williamson pushed his stud horse up to the challenge. A few turns in the box and the rider could tell the cow was ready to line out down the fence.

"When I got to his head, he turned," Williamson said. "That's when I just got behind the cow and drove him down the fence." Two turns on the rail, circles to the left, circles to the right - Doc At Night made it look easy as that. Williamson exited the arena patting his horse for a job well done. The trainer thought he'd probably marked a 225. The judges thought it looked more like a 227.

The horse's co-owner, Sandie Braden, never imagined Doc At Night could move from fifth place into the lead.

"It was a thrill!" she said happily. "It was a perfect work."

Still, there were 20 horses to go. A 224 score would steal the show and there were several horses capable of that or even more.

Braden and her daughter, Tonni, rested a little easier when Delta Colors and Rice ended up with a 212 posting. Right after that, Light N Fine and Avila drew a terrible cow that cooperated only enough for a 210 score.

By the time the third set began, the only pair that could touch Doc At Night and Williamson was Spark Master and Avila. And that would take a 227 score.

"You never want Bob Avila coming after you," said Tonni Braden. "If anybody could ever do it, it would be Bobby and he was pretty determined."

For this two-time Snaffle Bit Futurity Champion, the 2002 title was not to materialize. A decent heifer gave Spark Master enough fire to mark a 222, which added up to a 660 cumulative and the Reserve Championship.

When Williamson showed his other finalist, Mr Snip Olen, in the fence work, the two became the third pair to fall and leave without a score. Rice concluded the Open competition in sixth place, which paid a $25,000 purse.

Avila finished 12th on Light N Fine and came in 14th on his other finalist, Chic Kachina Olena. The three placings earned the California trainer $89,000 in finals money. Bergen, who rode Boonlight Dancer to last year's Snaffle Bit Futurity's Open Championship, closed the day in fourth on Reminic Moon Shine, earning a $40,000 check.

For Oak Ill Be and Buttrey, Open preliminary winners, the final round was a pretty big disappointment. They lost a cow in the herd work and were forced to scratch from the fence work because the mare was too sore to continue.

Probably the saddest guy at the show was Ted Robinson. A six-time Snaffle Bit Futurity Open Champion, the trainer brought nine horses and didn't make the finals with one. It was the first time in 18 years that Robinson wasn't included in the last round.

"My horses just didn't fire here," he said. "I thought I had the best horse I'd ever had but I just never got clicked off. It was tough."

The Rest of the Story

Limited Open

Done with the Limited Open fence work, Lena Spark went straight to the barn. It wasn't long before the horse's rider, Robbie Schroeder, Gainesville, Texas, learned the palomino had won the Limited Open Championship and its $7,500 purse.

It had been quite a day for those two. Lena Spark worked to a 217 in the herd work and blazed past fellow competitors with a 227 performance in the reining. The 444 cumulative put Lena Spark and Schroeder five points above Deltas Color and Boyd Rice, the pair that won the cutting portion with a 223.5 and followed with a 215 dry work for a 438 total.

Third to go in the fence work, Lena Spark summoned enough cow to earn a 216 that built a 660 cumulative. Then he went to his stall.

Schroeder knew that Rice, who had won the Limited Open preliminaries, could mark a 222.5 and take the lead. It was quite a score but Rice was quite a cowboy. It could happen and if it did, Schroeder didn't care to watch. Not this time.

At the close of the Limited Open finals at the 2001 Snaffle Bit Futurity, Schroeder and Shine By The Bay handily held the lead with a 656 total. Every horse that was within reasonable scoring distance had gone and it looked as though the game was up. With just a few horses left, Jake Gorrell and Smart Nu Penny finessed a cow to a 225 that took the Limited Open Championship.

"Believe me, I remember that," Schroeder said. "This time, I left because I knew the horse had worked well and I was really happy with him - no matter what ended up happening."

Going from the fifth draw, Deltas Color and Rice bumped up against a wily cow that left the pair's fence score dangling at 207. Their 645 total was 15 points shy of the lead, good enough for third place.

Actually, the Limited Open's big surprise came when Topsails Rein Maker and Russell Dilday blew into the cow work for an extremely powerful run that earned a 224.5 and the Reserve Championship. This title came on the heels of the Limited Open first place Topsails Rein Maker and Dilday won at the Fresno Futurity.

Non-Pro

Making the Non-Pro finals just a half-point above the bubble, Laurie Ward, Kingsburg, Calif., worked a revived Justa Hot Chic to a 658 finals score for the $40,000 Non-Pro Championship.

Having been sick in the preliminaries, Justa Hot Chic advanced to the finals just a half point above the bubble. A couple days of rest, plus a good dose of holistic treatment, left the mare feeling better and ready to work.

Ward and Justa Hot Chic started with a 216.5 in the finals herd work, which put the pair in third behind Anne Reynolds on No Sense Smokin and Dema Paul riding Primos Bob Acre.

After the reining, the order adjusted as Paul stood in the lead with a 438 total, Reynolds in second with a 435.5 and Ward just a point behind in third. As usual, the cow horse contest came down to an exciting fence work finish.

Paul drew up third for a rather disappointing 216.5 that gave the former Snaffle Bit Futurity Non-Pro Champion a 654.5 cumulative. Reynolds, also a previous Non-Pro Champion, went next and posted a 215 that tallied up 650.5 points.

Ward, who had competed at the Snaffle Bit Futurity but had yet to top a division, was 13th to go. She and Justa Hot Chic were presented with a good cow that cooperated enough for a 223.5 score.

Not only did Paul go home with the Non-Pro Reserve Championship, but this Arizona rider and Primos Bob Acre also placed fifth in the Open Division. That win earned her another $30,000, bringing Paul's total take to $57,500.

Reynolds ended up with two horses in the top four of the Non-Pro. Along with her fourth place on No Sense Smokin, the Idaho rider finished third on Hickory McLain after riding the stately bay stallion to a 226 in the fence work. Reynolds and Hickory McLain also tied for 11th in the Open finals for an additional $11,500 check.

Last year's Non-Pro Champion, JoAnne Carollo, ended up tying herself for fifth with a 646 cumulative. Riding Have A Plan, she made dual 219.5 marks in the reined and fence works but was dealt a 207 blow in the cutting. On her other horse, TF Montalena, Carollo marked a 211 in the herd along with a 216 in the reining and a 219 on the fence.

After winning the Non-Pro preliminary round on Playboys Buck, Mike Miller finished his final herd work with a 215 but scored a regrettable 207.5 in the reining. The 220 Miller made in the fence work computed to a 642.5 total and seventh place in the overall standings.

Limited Non-Pro

What got off to a very slow start, sped up quick and earned Bubba Petty, Madera, Calif., and Shiners Buenonic the $2,400 Limited Non-Pro Championship. It was his second time to show at the Snaffle Bit Futurity.

After scoring a 204 in the initial herd work, Petty came back in the reining preliminaries for a 220 that gained him third in the round and placed him within striking distance of the finals. A 214 cow work was enough to earn Petty fourth for the Amateur, sixth in the Limited Non-Pro, plus it squeaked him to the Non-Pro finals atop the 638-point bubble.

Joe Putnam, Woodside, Calif., burst through the preliminaries, topping the go with a 645.5 cumulative comprised of 213 points in the herd, 215.5 for the reining and 217 down the fence. He wound up 10th in the finals.

Consistency was Petty's game plan as he rode Shiners Buenonic to a 214 in the herd, a 214.5 in the reining and rounded out his performance with a 211 in the cow work. Not only did he top the Limited Non-Pro, but he also wrapped up an eighth placing in the Non-Pro. Between the three divisions, Petty won $13,900 in finals paybacks.

Amateur

It was his first time at the big show. And while Terry Christiansen, Snohomish, Wash., admitted to being nervous in the beginning, he rode TC Lena to not only the $7,500 Amateur Championship, but made both the Non-Pro and Limited Non-Pro finals as well.

He may have been a little edgy riding into the early herd work round but Christiansen emerged with an acceptable 213 that positioned him toward the middle of the Amateur class. He was 5 1/2 points off the lead, held by Michelle Strickland and Tejons Nu Cash.

A very impressive 221, that's what Christiansen and TC Lena marked in the reining and it sent the pair straight to the top of the Amateur and Non-Pro divisions.

A 210 result in the cow work kept Christiansen at the top of the Amateur and in third for the Limited Non-Pro. It also advanced him and TC Lena to the Non-Pro finals six points above the bubble.

Since the three scores from the preliminary rounds determined the Amateur Champion, Christiansen was already a top dog going into the finals. In the last round of the Non-Pro, he marked a 212 out of the herd and worked to a 217 that kept him ranked high going into the last fence work. Then it came undone. A sorry draw gathered steam and forged straight ahead, leaving Christiansen with a 193 consequence. When added together, the scores earned TC Lena a 13th in the Non-Pro and eighth place in the Limited Non-Pro. For all his wins, Christiansen took home $18,220 in finals money.

Laurie Richards Ward left the arena a Snaffle Bit Futurity Non-Pro Champion, Ronnie Richards was right there with a great big hug, the kind only a proud father can give.

On Justa Hot Chic, Ward rode to a 658 score to clinch the $40,000 Non-Pro Championship. It was the closing of a reined cow horse circle that began at least two decades ago.

With a cow horse trainer for a father, Ward had everything she needed to come up a winner as she showed through her 20s. Then in the 1980s, Richards retired and a recently divorced Ward moved to Southern California where she worked retail jobs to support herself and her daughter, Bo.

Ward kept a couple ot horses at the Orange County Fairgrounds and occasionally showed in reining classes.

"I almost felt like it was over," she said about showing cow horses.

Ward (then Richards) often visited with John Ward, a cow horse trainer she'd known for years. They'd been friends since they were 12 - she the daughter of Richards and he the son of Greg Ward, another legendary cow horse trainer. During a Halloween party at the 1993 Pacific Coast Cutting Horse Association Futurity, John asked her to dance. A few months later, the two were dating.

In September 1994, John won the Open Snaffle Bit Futurity on Masteroani. The next year, Ward showed Dandy Geraldine, a horse owned by Greg and Laura Ward, at the NRHCA Futurity. It felt good to be back.

Every year thereafter, Ward was a consistent finalist at major cow horse and reining events. In 1999, she and John were married and by then, she had accumulated nearly $73,000 in cow horse earnings.

Bred and raised by the Wards, Justa Hot Chic was by Ward Ranch stallion Just Plain Colonel. With over $50,000 to his cutting credit, the Colonel Freckles son has sired offspring that through 2001 had earned $1.2 million in performance winnings. The dam was Reminics Bar Girl, an accomplished cow horse by Reminic.

Ward had also shown Colonels Hot Chic, a full sister to Justa Hot Chic, to an eighth-place tie at the 1996 NRHA Non-Pro Futurity, plus the pair won the Non-Pro at the 1997 NRCHA Snaffle Bit Stakes and NRCHA Derby along with finishing Reserve at that year's Hollywood Charity Reining. Between Laurie and John, Colonels Hot Chic earned nearly $40,000 in the cow horse pen. Ward referred to the sisters as "carbon copies."

Justa Hot Chic progressed fine until early last summer, when the mare ran into problems. Her coat dulled, she developed raw skin rashes and she was constantly sore, so much so that Ward was rarely able to ride her for more than a few days at a time. Finally, at the Fresno Futurity in September, the mare broke out in a severe case of scratches and could hardly walk. A vet determined Justa Hot Chic was suffering from a case of sub-clinical tying up.

The mare was taken off alfalfa, given special supplements and rested. Preparation for the Futurity came as it could, a couple days at a time. Then, Justa Hot Chic colicked a week before the Futurity began. Even though it looked as though the mare would not be ready for Reno, she recovered just in time to make the trip.

In the preliminaries, Ward coasted the mare just enough to make the finals. Desperate to see her mare healthy again, Ward tried the holistic approach, having acupuncture administered and feeding herbal fused supplements. Within a couple days, the mare seemed to respond.

"She just started feeling better," Ward said. "By Thursday, before the finals, she was back to her old self. John doesn't think that that stuff works, but I do!"

After she marked a 216.5 in the finals herd work, Ward needed a good reining score to keep in the hunt.

"When I went in the reined work, John told me to show her like she was Colonels Hot Chic," Ward said. "It worked!".

Coming out with a 218, Ward advanced to the fence work 3 1/2 points under Dema Paul. As 13th to go, Justa Hot Chic worked a testy cow that gave just enough for a high 223.5 score. This time, Ward felt like the mare could give all she had.

"After my first turn, I thought, 'I can do it!' " Ward said. The cow stayed on the fence and turned good one more time. "When I went to circle, my mare kind of wanted to give out but I kicked her and she jumped right up there."

Ward, 41, planned on resting the mare and then showing her in next year's aged cow horse events. Ward has one daughter, Bo Davis, 21, who also shows cow horses.