Friday featured the Novice Horse Open Levels 1 and 2 plus the Novice Horse Open Level 1 and 2 Affiliate Regional Finals in the Super Duty Arena at the Tulsa Reining Classic held at Expo Square in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Top riders earned honors as champs were crowned.
Brian Bell rode Xtra Adorable Step for owner Kalyn Sanders to a score of 145 for the win in the Novice Horse Open. Xtra Adorable Step is by Wimpys Little Step and out of Dora Whiz and has been a great mount for her owner, but Sanders made the decision to hand the reins over to Bell for Friday’s performance.
“I hadn’t planned on showing her but Kalyn asked me to and I just wanted to have a smooth run and do good enough to win some money, but not go too crazy. She does everything pretty enough that I was able to do that, so I was excited about that,” Bell said.
The mare has been in Bell’s training program for a year. When the previous owner decided to sell her Bell suggested Kalyn purchase the 4-year-old and the rest is history.
“She’s like pedaling a bicycle around, every step you want to go faster you have to tell her to go faster and she always waits on you really good like that, so that’s probably my favorite thing about her,” Bell said about one of the qualities which makes her a winner.
Sanders plans to continue riding her hopefully progress together as a team.
Shauna Larcombe topped the the Novice Horse Open affiliate finals and shared the co-championship in the Novice Horse Level 2 affiliate finals with Tell Edgmon.
Larcombe rode Setting Off Smart to the titles. Setting Off Smart is by Smart Spook and out of Setting Off Sparks and led Larcombe to a score of 146 for the win. Larcombe is set to show the mare in the Open Derby on Sunday and therefore didn’t want to over work the mare.
“I didn’t want to over tax her too much, just wanted a nice clean run and she gave it to me,” Larcombe said of her 6-year-old mare.
Edgmon rode Show Your Guns, owned by Sergio Elizondo for the win. Show Your Guns is by Colonels Smoking Guns and out of Good Time Show Girl.
“It’s hard to find a horse that as the show moves on gets better and better,” Edgmon said, adding that riding for Elizondo makes his job easy.
Dany Tremblay rode Misters Temptress to the Novice Horse Level 2 championship, which is admittedly one of his favorite horses to ride.
“She’s so honest in there and I’m so glad she did good again,” Tremblay said. “We’re going to go the Congress next year again with that horse for the Novice Horse, we’re leading the year right now, so hopefully we can end the year in the lead.”
Misters Temptress is a 5-year-old mare by Mister Dual Pep and out of Colonel Pepinic and owned by Adh Mor Ranch, Brad and Amanda Kelly.
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