Category: History

When Casey Deary and Americasnexttopgun won the Level 4 Open Championship at the 6666 National Reining Horse Association Derby presented by Markel, an incredible $75,000 was added to the lifetime earnings of both the horse and rider.

That meant that Deary, already an NRHA Two Million Dollar Rider, was elevated to the fifth position on NRHA’s Leading Rider list. With lifetime earnings of $3,058,233, he is one of only six riders to have won more than three million. That money was won on 161 horses, bringing his average earnings per horse to $18,995.

Interestingly, it was on Americasnexttopgun (Walla Walla Whiz x Americasnextgunmodel) that Deary surpassed two million dollars in lifetime earnings. That happened when Deary and the stallion, owned by Jody and Jolan Puno, won the 2020 Level 4 Open Championship at the National Reining Breeders Classic.

Deary has won the most money on Ten Thirty (Gunnatrashya x Dainty Little Step), his 2021 NRHA Futurity Level 4 Open Champion. The stallion, owned by Rancho El Fortin, and Deary have generated payouts totaling $369,069.

Deary’s fourth-leading earner, Shesouttayourleague (Walla Walla Whiz x Wimpys Little Chic), boasts $252,470 in lifetime earnings. In fact, it was Shesouttayourleague that gave Deary his first NRHA Futurity Open Championship, and that 2015 win was enough to make Deary a Million Dollar Rider for the first time.

One would be hard-pressed to write Deary’s story without including a chapter devoted to Americasnextgunmodel, who holds the third spot of Deary’s all-time leading horses and is the dam of Americasnexttopgun, who sits at second.

The flashy mare was the one who carried Deary to his first major victory – the 2012 NRHA Futurity Level 4 Open Championship. The talented athlete, owned by NRHA Two Million Dollar Owner Arcese Quarter Horses USA, and her offspring have been responsible for more than $900,000 of Deary’s earnings.

Deary’s Top 10 Wins 9 (as of 7/1/2022):

• 2021 NRHA Futurity Championship – $332,500- Ten Thirty
• 2012 NRHA Futurity Championship – $156,750 – Americasnextgunmodel
• 2015 NRHA Futurity Championship – $142,500 – Shesouttayourleague
• 2018 NRHA Futurity 3^rd Place – $96,764 – Americas Supermodel
• 2020 NRBC Championship – $75,000 – Americasnexttopgun
• 2022 NRHA Derby Championship – $71,250 – Americasnexttopgun
• 2020 NRHA Futurity 3^rd Place – $69,122 – Down Right Amazing
• 2014 NRHA Futurity 4^th Place – $59,690 – ARC Gunna Sparkya
• 2017 NRHA Derby Championship – $57,000 – Shesouttayourleague
• 2016 NRHA Derby Championship – $57,000 – Magnum Starlights

Casey Deary and his wife, Nicole, own and operate Deary Performance Horses in Weatherford, Texas, where they live with their four children. For more information, visit DearyPerformance.com

In 2020, Inferno Sixty Six’s first foals hit the show pen. Now, less than two years later, he has become the latest stallion to become a National Reining Horse Association Million Dollar Sire.

The flashy stallion, by NRHA Seven Million Dollar Sire Gunnatrashya out of Hall of Fame mare and Million Dollar Dam Snip O Gun, has been poised for success from the beginning.

When Inferno Sixty Six was born in 2012, owner Domenico Lomuto posted the newborn’s photo on social media with the caption “First step last night for the Futurity Champion 2015!”

That prediction was pretty accurate, as Inferno Sixty Six, piloted by Million Dollar Rider Franco Bertolani, tied for the high score of the 2015 NRHA Level 4 Open Futurity Finals. The pair were edged out of the championship in the run-off by a scant half-point, but that didn’t matter. Bertolani and the stallion accumulated lifetime earnings of more than $205,000 in just three years of competition.

Inferno Sixty Six’s highest-earning foal is 4-year-old Winding Inferno (out of Wind Her Up Chic), owned by Teton Ridge. The stallion has won more than $191,000, including a co-reserve championship at the 2021 NRHA Futurity and a reserve championship at the inaugural Invitational.

His second high-money earner is the 2021 NRHA Futurity Level 4 and Level 3 Non Pro Champion Surprizing Sixty Six (out of Dun With Surprizes) with $101,610. Rounding out the top three is Starfire Sixty Six (out of Wind Her Up Chic), who was ridden to a top-five finish at the 2020 NRHA Futurity.

According to Lomuto, this milestone is one of the most important steps of the stallion’s career. “To me, reaching one million so fast is something exceptional, and is an achievement that is unbelievable,” he said. “Since the beginning, I have worked together with Franco on the training side and Giorgia (Codeluppi) on the breeding side to create something special with him. I think he’s the only horse with a fashion brand under his name—it’s a worldwide sportswear brand.”

Lomuto had just gotten his start in reining when he decided he needed to purchase another horse. His first horse was a Nu Chex To Cash, so he began perusing Tammye Hutton’s Hilldale Farm website when a mare caught his eye.

“I contacted her to try to buy a mare I picked out from her website—Snip O Gun—but I didn’t know anything about the mare. Everything was a blank screen,” he recalled with a laugh. “She asked me, ‘Are you serious?’ and then explained to me what kind of mare Snip O Gun was.”

Hutton did, however, have an embryo out of Snip O Gun by Gunnatrashya, the 2009 NRHA Futurity Champion. “I didn’t even know who Gunnatrashya really was, but I knew that he was owned by Arcese and he’s an Italian guy. I said I would buy the embryo and that would become my reining horse,” he shared.

He laughed, and added, “I’ve ridden him a couple times, but Giorgia has not allowed me to show him.”

Inferno Sixty Six now stands at NRHA Global Event Partner Toyon Ranch, owned by John Tague, in Pilot Point, Texas. “I think they are great with him and are doing a fantastic job. John is a super person, and he handles things as I like from a managerial style,” he said.

Lomuto thanked his wife and co-owner of Inferno Sixty Six, Cristiana, and daughter, Giulia, for their support and patience, and Franco and Georgia for everything they’ve done for Inferno. He added a special thank you to Inferno Sixty Six’s vet, Marcelo Grilo, who has been with the stallion from the beginning.

“I also thank all the people who have believed in this horse and have trusted him. A global thank you to all of them is a must,” he said.

Inferno Sixty Six’s Top 10 money-earners are:

• Winding Inferno (Wind Her Up Chic) – $191,256
• Surprizing Sixty Six (Dun With Surprizes) – $101,610
• Starfire Sixtysix (Wind Her Up Chic) – $58,297
• Girlz On Fire (Gotta Git Ya Dun) – $53,331
• Simple The Best 66 (ARC Yellow N Lime) – $41,757
• Blue Inferno (Showtimes Lil Step) – $39,885
• Heza Frozen Inferno (Sailor Will Win) – $36,630
• Gunna Whoa (Whoawhiz) – $36,323
• Gangsta Sixtysix (Rush N Cat) – $36,212
• Smokin 66 (Nuthin Chic) – $35,466

There may be some movement in that list in the coming week as the 6666 NRHA Derby presented by Markel has 15 Inferno Sixty Six’s in the Open preliminaries and 13 in the Non Pro.

For more information about Inferno Sixty Six, visit Inferno66.com or toyonranchllc.com/infernosixtysix

Recent successes of George Bell owned and raised equines have catapulted the charismatic North Carolinian to membership in an exclusive club of owners whose horses have won more than one million dollars in National Reining Horse Association competition.

For Bell, the achievement is a wonderful recognition and made even sweeter because the majority of money won was on horses he bred and raised. “This means a lot. It’s been a long time coming, and I’ve worked very, very hard for it. Probably way more than I wanted to work,” he said with a low laugh. “I’m also now a million-dollar breeder, and to me, that’s even more special because anyone can buy a horse, but not everyone can breed a good one.”

Bell has owned horses all his life and got into reining after watching the 1979 NRHA Futurity Co-Reserve Champion compete. “I had never seen a horse that good and wanted one like it, so I went and bought some that were bred similar to her,” he recalled. “That got me going better than what I was doing because, at the time, I really didn’t own a horse that could beat anyone doing anything. I was honest with myself, and looked at my herd and knew I couldn’t win with what I had.”

Cee Blair Masota, by Blair Cee out of Lady Masota Star, was a full sibling to 1985 World Champion and future NRHA Hall of Fame inductee Miss Cee Blair. “I ended up with both Cee Blair Masota and Miss Cee Blair when their owner, Roland Beeson, passed away. He had willed her to me because I took care of her most of her life, and I kept her until she was 37. What Roland Beeson did for me was huge,” Bell recalled.

Now the lineage of those mares can be found in most of the foals emerging from Bell’s breeding program. “I’ve never changed because it’s working. We had a Miss Cee Blair daughter, Cee Miss Hollywood (by Custom Crome), forever, and her babies have won around $500,000, and they’re still winning,” he explained. Cee Miss Hollywood’s winningest foal is the 2015 stallion Mr Royal Hollywood, by NRHA Three Million Dollar Sire Hollywoodstinseltown, with earnings exceeding $150,000.

“We’ve bred these horses so long that when we have a foal, it’s not a surprise what it is. We know going in what it was going to be and how it was going to work,” he said.

While Bell has had plenty of success with mares that have had lucrative show careers, he finds a lot of enjoyment when mares like Cee Miss Hollywood, who barely broke $2,000 in lifetime earnings, turn into great producers. “Good mares make you a hero. That’s the truth,” he said. “But I like to have a mare who hasn’t won a dime, and turn her into a good broodmare.”

Bell is also an avid showman with lifetime earnings in excess of $128,000, and can still be found competing. However, he’s always made sure that his son, NRHA Two Million Dollar Rider Brian Bell, has always ridden the cream of the crop. “I was always in the car business and had to work 80 to 90 hours a week, so I didn’t have that much time to ride when I was younger. I gave all my good horses to Brian to help him with his career, and I still do. That’s alright with me because I want to help him and always have, so that’s what I do,” he said. “It means a lot to me to watch him be successful, especially on our horses.”

Bell and his wife, Carol, live in Smithfield, North Carolina, and can be found competing and spectating at reining events across the country. “Carol loves the horses, reining, and riding. She’s really, really good with them, and enjoys the breeding and the babies,” he said. “I especially thank God, my family, especially my son Brian because he won the most money on them, my friends and the NRHA.”

The Bells’ stallion, Mr Royal Hollywood, stands at Cedar Ridge Stallion Station. For more information, visit CedarRidgeStallions.com/Mr-Royal-Hollywood or find the stallion on Facebook at Facebook.com/MrRoyalHollywood.

On May 15, 2022, National Reining Horse Association Hall of Famer Dick Pieper passed away at the age of 82.

Dick was born on his family’s farm in Southern Ohio, where they raised cattle, sheep, and horses – both draft and saddle horses – that were used on a daily basis. Upon high school graduation, Dick attended Ohio State University and served a tour of duty in the United States Navy.

While life kept him busy, he still spent every spare moment riding and training horses. Early on, he turned to reining horses and held NRHA member number 113.

In 1977, he won the NRHA Futurity on Spanish Mountain, then returned two years later, in 1979, to take Co-Reserve Championship honors on Cee Blair Masota.

Between 1976 and 1995, Dick rode 23 NRHA Futurity finalists and was a top twenty money earner for many years following. In 1985, he showed Miss Cee Blair to the title of NRHA World Champion Open Horse, setting a record for money earned in one year that was not broken until 1994 when her son, Cee Blair Sailer, also trained by Dick, established an even higher record. In 1991, Dick showed Texas Kicker to American Quarter Horse Association World Champion Junior Reining Horse setting another record score of 228 in the finals.

Dick held judges cards for the NRHA, AQHA, National Cutting Horse Association, and the National Reined Cow Horse Association.

During his career spanning four decades, Dick won or placed in every major reining event on the North American Continent and several in Europe. His last recorded NRHA event was in 1996, and he held NRHA lifetime earnings exceeding $225,000.

Dick served the industry in a variety of ways, including a tenure as NRHA President. He was at the helm of the organization when the association adopted its judging system, as well as when it moved its marquis event, the NRHA Futurity, moved to Oklahoma City in 1986.

When Dick purchased cutting stallion Playgun in 1993, his attention shifted to NCHA, and he earned more than $350,000 in the sport. Playgun, an $8 million sire, and AQHA Reining World Champion Texas Kicker both made their home at the Pieper Ranch in Marietta, Okla.

Dick was a master horseman and well-respected in the industry. He shared his wisdom, insights, and techniques through books, videos, and with anyone who wanted to learn. Cheryl Cody, who co-wrote The Language of Horsemanship with Dick, said, “His love of horses, the horse industry and people defined him. Sharing his knowledge was as natural as breathing, and he was a master storyteller who never failed to see each new day as an opportunity for adventure.”

Services for Richard “Dick” Pieper:

Wednesday, May 18
5-6 p.m. – Visitation at Smith Funeral Home in Crowell, Texas.
6:30 – 8:30 p.m. – Fellowship and meal following at the Circle Bar Lodge.

Thursday, May 19
8 a.m. – Breakfast before services at 8 a.m. at the Cookhouse, across the road from the Lodge.
10 a.m. – Graveside service at Circle Bar Cemetery

For any questions, please contact Eugenie at 940-655-8065

Less than a year after becoming a Seven Million Dollar Sire in the National Reining Horse Association, Magnum Chic Dream has passed another milestone. It was at the 2010 National Reining Breeders Classic that the stallion first joined the elite group of NRHA Million Dollar Sires, so it’s fitting that this latest accomplishment was achieved at the same event.

Prior to the NRBC, held April 18 – 24 in Katy, Texas, Magnum Chic Dream, owned by Viola Scott, was less than $35,000 from $8,000,000 in offspring earnings. Throughout the week-long competition, Magnum Chic Dream progeny kept showing up in the results, and by the time the last run had been ran, the great stallion’s foals had won more than $70,000.

Magnum Chic Dream, by Seven Million Dollar Sire Smart Chic Olena out of Sailin Barbee, was the eighth leading sire for the 2022 NRBC Classic and was fourth on the leaderboard for sires in the ancillary classes.

Magnum Chic Dream’s leading foal at the NRBC was Onecoolchic (out of Skeets Red Dunit), who won the Classic Open Level 2 Championship and finished fourth in the Level 3 with Jimmy Van der Hoeven. All totaled, Onecoolchic earned $19,791 between the preliminary round and finals.

Magnum Chic Dream, born in 1996, was bred by Guy A Du Ponchel. The colt was purchased as a two-year-old in training with Patti Brownshadel by Viola Scott, who was looking for a new non pro horse to compete on. The plan had originally been to geld him, but his good nature and willing temperament kept that from ever happening.

As the 20^th century came to a close, Patti Brownshadel piloted him to the NRHA Futurity Open Level 2 and Level 3 Reserve Championships. The pair also placed in the Level 4 Finals. The next year the duo was the NRHA Derby Level 3 Co-Reserve Champions.

In 2002, Viola Scott finally took the reins of her stallion, racking up wins in Non Pro classes over the next couple years.

The stallion’s final recorded win was a big one when Casey Hinton showed him at the 2004 American Quarter Horse Association World Championship Show to win the Senior Reining title.

Although Viola and her husband, Jack, had numerous offers on the stallion, she said she never thought twice about keeping him.

Magnum Chic Dream’s first performing foal crop arrived in 2001, and as the stallion’s offspring excelled in the show pen, his popularity grew. He has now sired numerous champions of the NRHA Futurity, Derby, and NRBC.

Magnum Chic Dream’s Top Offspring (not including 2022 NRBC earnings):

• Chic Dreamin (Skeets Red Dunit) $242,272
• Taris Dreamer (Taris San Cutter) $194,311
• Msdreamy (A Gal With A Gun) $191,720
• Mega Maggie Mae (Cinco De Mega) $185,138
• Made By Magnum (Ready Make Cowboy) $176,484
• Chics Dream (First Ex Flame) $170,047
• Lil Magnum Jessie (Lil Ruf Jessie) $166,274
• Mr Farenheit (Wimpy Little Girl) $159,845
• Chicsdundreamin (Goody Goody Dun Drop) $154,964
• Magnum Starlights (Starlights Sugarwhiz) $144,800

Magnum Chic Dream stands at Cedar Ridge Stallion Station in Whitesboro, Texas. For more information, visit MagnumChicDream.com or CedarRidgeStallions.com.

Sliding photo courtesy of NRBC.