The 2021 National Reining Horse Association Futurity is in full swing, and at 8 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day, the first section of the preliminary round of the Open Futurity is in the books.
It will be a historic year for the 55-year-old event, with nearly 400 Open entries and a championship purse that includes a $350,000 check to the Level 4 Open Champion. Over the next week, the field will be trimmed down to determine the top horses and rider teams that will compete in the clean-slate MS Diamonds Level 4 Open Finals on Saturday, Dec. 4.
The first step to winning that momentous prize is to advance through the first round to the Level 4 Open Semi-Finals sponsored by Not Ruf At All.
Dan Huss, Casey Deary, and Shawn Flarida have set themselves up for success by topping the first section of the first round with identical scores of 223.
Flarida, an NRHA $6 Million Rider with multiple Futurity Championships under his belt, rode Alpha Jac Sparrow for longtime friend and client Fritz Leeman. Alpha Jac Sparrow is by NRHA $3 Million Sire Spooks Gotta Whiz and out of Chexanicki.
Deary’s mount, Live N On A Prayer is by In Like Flinn out of former NRHA Futurity Champion Americasnextgunmodel, is owned by Neiberger Performance Horses. The $2 Million Rider and the talented colt are coming off a recent co-championship at the Southwest Reining Horse Association Futurity.
Dan Huss and This Joe Got A Gun competed in the final set of the day to tie for the lead of the Level 4, and top the Level 3 and Open Prime Time. This Joe Got A Gun, owned by Jamie Walters, is by NRHA Million Dollar Sire Lil Joe Cash out of This Girls Got A Gun.
Currently tied for the lead of the Level 2 Open with scores of 219 are Erik Caddeo on Sixty Six Genes and Josh Lyons and I Shine At Nite. Sixty Six Genes, by Inferno Sixty Six out of Taris Designer Genes, is owned by NRHA $2 Million Owners Rancho Oso Rio. I Shine At Nite, owned by Josh Lyons, is by NRHA $4 Million Sire Gunners Special Nite out of Shiney Enterprise.
Sitting atop the Level 1 leaderboard with a 216.5 is Colin Fitzpatrick on Flamethrow, owned by Brian Bell and Chuck Swain. Flamethrow is by NRHA Million Dollar Sire Lil Joe Cash out of Freckled Whiz.
The first section of the NRHA Open Futurity continues through Saturday, after which time the top 75 plus ties in Levels 1 through 4 will advance to the semi-final round, with Levels 1 – 3 competing on Tuesday and Level 4 on Wednesday in the Not Ruf At All Level 4 Semi-Finals. The clean-slate MS Diamonds TX L4 Open Futurity Finals will be held Saturday, Dec. 4.
Complete results, as well as the latest news, updates, and draws, can be found at NRHAFuturity.com.