Tonight was a fitting finale to aged event classes at the 6666 National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Derby presented by Markel. In its 45th edition, the show shattered records and paid out more money across the Open Derby levels than ever before. With such an impressive sum on the line, All Nite Partier and Cade McCutcheon secured the coveted $100,000 Level 4 Open Derby Champion’s check with a huge 231.5.
“This win is super special. I’ve been knocking on the door of a major event title for a while,” said McCutcheon, who won the NRHA Level 4 Open Futurity in 2019. “I thought this would be the next step in my progression, and I got it done tonight. To have a horse that can go and have that kind of run is hard to find, and I’m just very lucky.”
All Nite Partier (Gunners Special Nite x Topsail Survivor) brought the heat from Draw No. 25. The 4-year-old stallion, nominated by breeder Deana Nell and owned by Sotol Investments LLC, did what he does best — “try his heart out,” McCutcheon said.
“Tonight, I stayed out of his way, and he showed up for me like he always does,” the NRHA $2 Million Rider said. “He always gives his best. He’ll never quit on you. You know you can count on him when you run through the gates on Saturday night.
“He turned as good as he has and circled as good as I could ask,” McCutcheon continued of the performance. “He did his big trick around the ends; he’s a phenomenal stopper. He’s just a special horse.”
All Nite Partier has been in training with McCutcheon throughout his career. Spending that much time together gives the trainer a connection with his horses, which he considers a leg up when it’s showtime.
“You know everything about them — the goods and bads,” McCutcheon said. “I just know him in and out, and it makes all the difference when you’re showing because you know where to hang it out there and where to not.
“And that makes it even more special,” he continued. “My first major event win, somebody else trained the horse and I just kind of put the finishing touches on. This one I’ve had since the beginning, so that makes the win a little bit sweeter.”
McCutcheon had a busy night, as he made it back in the Level 4 Open finals aboard all three of his entries. He kicked the evening off from Draw No. 1 with Finals Bound (Gunnatrashya x Wimpys Little Chic), who marked a 225 to tie for 14th. As the final draw, he and Thee Assassin (Shiners Voodoo Dr x Jerrys Sippin Soda) gave it their best shot for a score of 227 to finish eighth.
McCutcheon, who thanked many people, including new wife Lexi, said his strategy at the event was to believe in his horses and give them the best chance to run for the title. It clearly paid off.
“I actually sent all my horses home after the go-round and gave them three days off. I tried to trust them as much as I could,” he said. “The welfare of the horses is everything. They throw their heart in the dirt for us, so I try to take the very best care of them I can.”
Level 3 Open Champions: Jordan Larson and Need I Say Mor
Jordan Larson, an NRHA $3 Million Rider, rode Ixtul Quarter Horses LLC’s Need I Say Mor to top honors in the preliminary round of the Level 3 Open Derby and repeated that feat in the second section of the Open finals after scoring a 226.5.
“He ran in and stopped really big,” Larson said of his winning performance. “He circled great and ran and stopped great on the sides. You never know when you walk out of there what you scored, and I was pleasantly surprised.”
Larson said his goal for the evening was to win the Level 3 and have a solid run without pushing his horse too hard.
“I just tried to be smart and not overdo it,” Larson said. “He’s a really nice horse, super talented. It took me a minute to get with him, but he’s getting better every run.”
Bred by Curtis Performance Horses LLC and nominated by Brooke Wharton, Need I Say Mor is a 4-year-old stallion by NRHA Hall of Fame inductee Gunnatrashya and out of star broodmare Shesouttayourleague. The Ixtul Quarter Horses LLC-owned horse was first shown by NRHA $4 Million Rider Casey Deary, and Larson took over the ride in March.
“It has been fun to ride behind Casey because I know him really well, but it’s taken me a little while to get used to him and make things mine,” Larson said, thanking Deary for his work on the horse. “I would also like to thank my wife; she’s amazing. I just thank God for good gifts — a nice horse and good people to work for and everything.”
Larson and Need I Say Mor also placed ninth in the Level 4 Open, bringing the duo’s total earnings for the evening to $46,858, including nominator incentives.
Level 2 Open Co-Champions: Hot Guns N Candy and Yonathan Baruch, TR Dream About Me and Nicole Renick, and Thee American Dream and Dan Huss
There was plenty of talent to go around in the Level 2 Open Derby, where a three-way tie made for an unforgettable evening. The top teams — Hot Guns N Candy and Yonathan Baruch; TR Dream About Me and Nicole Renick; and Thee American Dream and Dan Huss — marked a 223.5 to share their piece of victory. Each duo took home $11,278 for their performance.
It all started in Section 1. TR Dream About Me (Magnum Chic Dream x Redhot Walla) and Renick set the pace from Draw No. 28.
“I have always had 100% faith in this horse,” Renick said of the 7-year-old gelding owned by Steven Sandvig and nominated by breeder Tamarack Ranch LLC, an NRHA Corporate Partner. “He is wonderful. I call him a unicorn; he is a once-in-a-lifetime horse for us. ”
TR Dream About Me has been shown by an open rider and non pro concurrently for most of his life, and Renick thanked the owners for their trust in her, as well as fiance, Adam Johnson, for his support.
In addition to their Level 2 Open Co-Championship, TR Dream About Me and Renick tied for third in the Level 3 Open Derby, worth an extra $12,499.
Thee American Dream (Magnum Chic Dream x Gunner Git Ya Dun) and Dan Huss came in 16 runs later to tie the field. The 7-year-old gelding gave Huss his all.
“I have had him since his 4-year-old year,” the Scottsdale, Arizona-based NRHA Professional said. “He has a lot of feel. He is probably not the most ideal for a non pro because he has so much feel, but it is nice because you get him light and he loves his job. He will step up and fire for you.”
Morris Kulmer owns Thee American Dream, who was bred and nominated by Pete and Tamra Kyle. He graciously stepped aside to let Huss take the reins for the Open Derby finals after he advanced to the Masters Non Pro Derby finals on the horse. Next year, Kulmer turns 80 and has plans to show in futurities and derbies.
“My wife is who I want to thank the most; she keeps me going and everything going at home and makes it easy for me to come here,” Huss said. “And Morris, he loves to show horses. He is getting older, so he knows he only has so many shows, but I let him show as much as I can.”
This win added $11,278 to his earnings, including nominator incentives.
NRHA Professional Yonathan Baruch and Hot Guns N Candy led the Level 2 in the Open preliminary round, and from Draw 15 in the second section of the finals, they scored a 223.5 to take the Co-Championship.
“This horse is a very special one to me. He was the strongest 3-year-old I had ever rode, and then we had a setback, and we had to wait two years,” he said. “This is the first time I am showing him for real, and there was a lot of concern about seeing if we could bring him up to derby-level competition. And you know what? He answered that question for me.”
Baruch said the pair was able to continue to ride and grow their bond over the past two years. They landed in a tie for 19th in Level 4 and third in Level 3, along with their Level 2 Co-Championship, bringing home $28,477, including nominator incentives.
“I just trust him. I do the preparation, and when it is time to go horse show for real, he is in the zone,” Baruch said. “I feel a transformation. He gets in the zone, and I kind of say, ‘You got this from here.’ He is a special horse, and I want him to have the spotlight.”
The Antler Ridge Ranch LLC-bred, -nominated and -owned 6-year-old stallion is by NRHA $11 Million Sire Gunnatrashya and out of Candy Coded Diamonds. The 2018 stallion had nearly $34,000 in NRHA lifetime earnings before the Derby, all with Baruch at the reins.
Level 1 Open Champions: Magoworthy and Leonardo Kellermann
Leonardo Kellermann was the star of the first section with quality runs on all three of his horses. In the end, Magoworthy carried him to the top of the Level 1 Open Derby with a 221 from Draw No. 39.
“He was really good,” Kellermann said of the 5-year-old stallion’s performances in Oklahoma City. “I showed him on the first day [of the preliminaries] and marked a 218.5, then we just did a 221 [in the finals], so he felt really good.
“He ran in really good, and he had a really good right turn,” Kellermann continued of the run. “He was with me the whole pattern. He was really solid. He gave everything he had for me.”
Kellermann started riding Magoworthy (Spooks Gotta Whiz x Banjoes Shining Star) for owner/breeder/nominator Terry Leffew about five months ago. It’s taken the team a bit to get in sync, but their top finish at the Derby proves they’re only getting better with time.
“It means everything,” Kellerman said. “Me and my family and my team put a lot of work in that, and it has been a long time that we are working hard for it. It’s really nice to be able to come here and put on a good performance, especially on a horse that has such a lot of talent and is really good-minded.”
Kellermann, who is originally from Brazil and earned his first NRHA paycheck in 2020, said Magoworthy has matured and gotten stronger since he began riding the stallion, and he is looking forward to their future together. He was also proud of his other two finalists — Pretty Voodoo Gun and Coat Of Many Colors — who landed fifth and tied for 16th, respectively, in the Level 1 Open Derby.
Altogether, with Magoworthy’s fifth-place tie in the Level 2 Open, Kellermann’s finals total exceeded $14,078, including nominator incentives.
“It’s really important for me, especially in this time of my career,” Kellermann said of his consistency at the event. “It’s my first year on my own, and I started working for 7 Lakes Ranch. To be able to come here and lay [down] nice runs with different horses, it’s been a great year.”
Kellermann acknowledged his Derby success wouldn’t be possible without his family and team, as well as Leffew and 7 Lakes Ranch owner Janice Laney.
“It’s a big team, and everybody worked really hard for this,” he said.
A New Leader
Thanks to a $40,152 paycheck for finishing third in tonight’s Level 4 Open Derby finals, Down Right Amazing etched his name in the record books as NRHA’s No. 1 horse of all time. The reward for the 7-year-old stallion’s 229 elevated his NRHA lifetime earnings to $872,735, including nominator incentives, surpassing previous leader Patriot (Smart Spook x Dunit A Lil Ruf) by $38,000-plus.
“He’s given us so much. It’s a dream you don’t know to dream,” said the stallion’s owner, Debbie Good of DAG Ventures LLC. “I’m so thrilled that he’s the one that’s going to represent these two families with Gunner and Wimpys Little Chic.”
“Amazing” is by NRHA all-time leading sire Gunner and out of the Wimpys Little Chic daughter Shesouttayourleague, the 2015 NRHA Open Futurity and 2017 NRHA Open Derby Champion who is around $25,000 from becoming an NRHA Million Dollar Dam.
“Pun intended, it’s absolutely amazing. That horse seemed like he was going to be amazing from the day he hit the ground, and he’s living up to his name. It’s incredible,” said Rob Curtis of Curtis Performance Horses LLC, who bred and nominated Down Right Amazing. “I think he is reflective of the power of Wimpys Little Chic’s legacy. Her bloodline seems destined to remake the top of our industry.”
Good has worked hard to keep Down Right Amazing happy and healthy throughout his performance career, which has included a third-place finish in the NRHA Open Futurity, two Open wins at the National Reining Breeders Classic, an Open Shootout Championship at The Run For A Million and back-to-back wins at The American Performance Horseman.
“We have a big team around him,” Good said, noting that Down Right Amazing receives spa therapy and cryotherapy to support his recovery between performances. “I really believe in maintaining my horses and doing all the things that they need to support them being a top athlete.”
With such a presence in the pen and an extensive resume, it’s no surprise Down Right Amazing has amassed an impressive fan base — and Good said she knows their cheers keep the stallion firing on all cylinders.
“He really does love his fans. He loves the crowd,” she said. “It’s so special that people have grown to love him; even people I don’t know have grown to love him and appreciate him. We really appreciate that more than people know. It really does make a difference.”