It was the Jared Leclair and Gunningthebay show Sunday at the National Reining Horse Association Adequan® North American Affiliate Championships. Leclair and the 5-year-old mare won NAAC titles in the Novice Horse Open Levels 1 and 2, and won the ancillary divisions of the Novice Horse Open Levels 1-3, for total earnings of $5,229.

Not only that, Leclair took a bevy of prizes home to Tioga, Texas, including two saddles from AM Superior Saddlery, two Montana Silversmiths buckles, product from Dr. Joe Carter, Platinum Performance and Classic Equine, and gift certificates for Bluebonnet Feed.

“We showed Pattern 3 today, and that’s not one you get to show a lot. This mare was great. She stopped and turned big, and circled and changed leads really well. She was just super easy to show,” Leclair said.

Gunningthebay is by NRHA Four Million Dollar Sire Gunners Special Nite out of Dun It In The Bay. Jared and his wife Karla have owned her a little over a year. “We bought her from my assistant Christy Jardetzky. “I’ve shown her, my help has shown her, and we’ve won about $8,000 on her. She’s been a great show horse. My wife is going to show her next year in some aged event stuff, so I’ve just been building her and creating a nice horse to show,” he said.

Leclair added that the competition in the Adequan® Arena has grown increasingly tough. “It’s a really big deal to win now. It’s a tough competition with a lot of entries because there are a lot of people going for it. NRHA has put a lot of thought into making this a big event. The association has done its part, and the trainers and non pros have done their part by showing up and participating in it. The proof is in the pudding when there are that many people here showing,” he said. “I thank my wife, who is a huge supporter of mine and is always working behind the scenes. I also thank my help because they have been great, too. I couldn’t do it without them.”

Tying for second in the NAAC Novice Horse Open Level 2 with scores of 219.5 were David Hanson and Jesse Gentile. Hanson rode Xtra Needs A Drink (Wimpyneedsacocktail x Ruby Chic Olena), owned by N Anne Driscoll, while Gentile rode Taking A Mistress (Taking A Rest x Gangster Mistress).

Gentile and Taking A Mistress, owned by Bevin Zimmerman, also finished reserve in the NAAC Novice Horse Open Level 1. The pair also won the NAAC Limited Open Championship held yesterday.

Complete results, news, and more can be found at NRHAFuturity.com.

Competition for the National Reining Horse Association CINCH Non Pro Futurity began Sunday, November 28, with the first section of the first go. At the end of the first section, Jennifer Gilliam, of Pine Grove, California, sits atop the leaderboard.

Gilliam is riding Surprizing Sixty Six, a 3-year-old mare by Inferno Sixty Six out of Dun With Surprizes, bred and nominated to the NRHA by Valentin Rascon. The pair marked a 219.5, which tops Levels 4 and 3. Gilliam and Surprizing Sixty Six, owned by Janiene Borror, won the Level 4 and Level 3 Championship earlier this year at the High Roller Reining Classic.

NRHA’s newest Million Dollar Owner Andre De Bellefeuille of Equine Plus leads the Non Pro Level 2 and Prime Time with a 216.5. De Bellefeuille, of Canada, rode Its All Gun, by Its All About Smart out of De Bellefeuille’s producing mare Snow Gun. Snow Gun is the dam of De Bellefeuille’s stallion, Electric Snow, earner of more than $100,000.

Earlier this year at the North American Reining Stakes, Mathieu Buton piloted Its All Gun to the Level 3 Championship at the North American Reining Stakes.

Stephen Everett and It Dunn Happend Here lead the Level 1 with a 213.5. It Dun Happend Here is by NRHA Two Million Dollar Sire Pale Face Dunnit and out of It Will Happen Here.

Leading the Youth and sitting well in Levels 4-2 is Carlee McCutcheon and A Nite N Hollywood. The pair marked a 216. A Nite N Hollywood, owned by McCutcheon’s parents Tom and Mandy McCutcheon, is by NRHA Four Million Dollar Sire Gunners Special Nite out of Hollywood Starburst.

Competition continues Monday with the second section of the Non Pro Futurity preliminaries. The top 25 in Levels 4-1, top 20 in the Prime Time, and the top 15 from the youth advance to the clean-slate finals on Friday, December 3.

Non Pro entries to the finals have one more shot through the CINCH Non Pro Futurity Consolation, which is held Wednesday in the Adequan® Arena. There, the top five in each level will move on to the Non Pro Finals.

For complete results, visit NRHAFuturity.com.

Competition in the Adequan® Arena of the State Fair Park in Oklahoma City continued Saturday with the Rookie Professional and Limited Open classes of the Adequan® North American Affiliate Championships.

Nikki Tyndall Wins NRHA Adequan® NAAC Rookie Professional on Stars At Midnite

Nikki Tyndall and Stars At Midnight won the NRHA Adequan® NAAC Rookie Professional for the second year in a row. The pair also took co-championship honors in the ancillary class, bringing their total earnings to more than $716. Thanks to generous sponsors, Tyndall took home a variety of great prizes, including a saddle from Bob’s Custom Saddles, a Montana Silversmiths buckle, product from Dr. Joe Carter, Platinum Performance and Classic Equine, and a gift certificate for Bluebonnet Feed.

Tyndall and Stars At Midnight also placed in the NAAC and Ancillary Limited Open which ran concurrently, worth an additional $475.

“She was really good. I mean, I think she just threw it on the table today. I probably ran the best circles I’ve ever run on her. She was just phenomenal on that, then she stopped big and turned clean both ways, and was just really good,” Tyndall recounted the 218-point run.

Stars At Midnite, owned by Edward Frawley, is an 8-year-old mare by NRHA Four Million Dollar Sire Gunners Special Nite out of Chic Olena Starbuck. “She came back from sickness this spring, but she came back 100 percent and is feeling great,” Tyndall explained. “She is just so kind. If a little kid would picture their ideal horse, that’s what she is. She’s always friendly with her ears forward and is just a joy to be around. She’s also super safe. You can throw anyone on her.”

For Tyndall, winning an NAAC is about more than just adding a line to a resume. “We get up every day and work for this, but training horses and working with people can be hard, and some days you just feel like you failed,” she admitted. “Then you keep going back the next day and going back again. To have this as a payoff for all the days where you thought maybe you should give up but you didn’t. It just really means a lot.”

Tyndall added her thanks to several influential people. “I thank my boss Dave Moore, our whole team, and of course Ed Frawley,” she said.

Finishing second in the NAAC Rookie Pro was Lea Inhaber-Courchesne on Magnum Moonstone with a 217. Magnum Moonstone, owned by Louis Zamboli, is by NRHA Six Million Dollar Sire Magnum Chic Dream and out of Shining Moonstone.

Jesse Gentile Wins NAAC Limited Open Championship on Taking A Mistress

Winning an Adequan® NAAC Championship is always an accomplishment, but to do it on a horse you’ve picked out and trained his whole career makes the achievement even more special.

That was the case on Saturday evening, when Valley City, Ohio’s, Jesse Gentile won the NAAC Limited Open Championship on Taking A Mistress with a score of 221. The duo won $592, as well as prizes including a saddle from Kyle Tack, a Montana Silversmiths buckle, product from Dr. Joe Carter, Platinum Performance and Classic Equine, and a gift certificate for Bluebonnet Feed.

The pair’s score also held for the win of the ancillary Limited Open, worth an additional $556 for owner Bevin Zimmerman.

“It means a lot. This is one we found as a yearling and trained up the whole way. I didn’t really get him shown well as a 3-year-old, but he’s really come along this year and had a good year,” Gentile explained.

Gentile and Taking A Mistress, by Taking A Rest out of Gangster Mistress, showed in Thursday’s Intermediate Open. “He was pretty good then, but maybe a bit tired, so for this class, I just didn’t prepare him much at all. I just got on, jogged around, then went in, and he was pretty good,” he said. “He’s kind of lazy, and he likes to sleep a lot, so I make sure to not ride him too much and give him plenty of rest time.”

Gentile and Taking A Mistress will show one more time in the Adequan® Arena when they compete for another title in the Novice Horse Open classes on Sunday.

Gentile qualified another of his entries for Friday’s Bob’s Custom Saddles Intermediate Open Showdown, and he noted that the inaugural bonus rounds were definitely a factor when deciding to travel to Oklahoma City. “Especially with both of the horses I have, I’d say it was a factor. I am lucky enough to still be eligible for the Intermediate Open, so I wanted to try to go for it because that’s a lot of money added and a definite incentive to come and go for it,” he said.

“First and foremost, I thank Bevin Zimmerman and her husband Ray. They’ve been great customers for a few years now. I also thank my wife, Stephanie. She does all the behind-the-scenes stuff and helps get the horses ready and me ready so I definitely thank her, too,” he said.

Taking the NAAC Limited Open Reserve Championship was Cody Garrison and Reiningwiththestars, owned by Emily Morris. The pair marked a 218.5, which not only won the NAAC Reserve title but also tied for second in the ancillary division, worth $682. Reiningwiththestars is by NRHA Two Million Dollar Sire Spooks Gotta Whiz out of Wimpys Memorabilia.

Naike Bell and Smart Chicago Spook, also by Spooks Gotta Whiz and out of Smart Chicago Lena, tied for second in the ancillary Limited Open with a 218.5, winning $296. Smart Chicago Spook is owned by Thomas Tucker.

Morgan Moser Wins Ancillary Rookie Professional Co-Championship on Magnums Chexy Dream

With a score of 218, Morgan Moser and Magnums Chexy Dream tied for the win of the ancillary Rookie Professional, which was held Saturday in the Adequan® Arena. The pair also tied for fourth in the Limited Open, bringing the day’s take to $475.

“My mare was really easy. She warmed up like she normally does, and let me cruise her through like she typically does,” Moser said. “We have had her at Sam Smith’s for a year now. We got her through Casey Hinton last year at the Futurity.”

Magnums Chexy Dream is by NRHA Six Million Dollar Sire Magnum Chic Dream out of Big Gold Chex. The 4-year-old mare is owned by Michelle Schuck.

Moser, of North Carolina, added, “I thank my parents, of course, as well as Sam and Kelle Smith for helping me.”

The field of entries vying for a $350,000 first place paycheck has been narrowed substantially, as the first round of the National Reining Horse Association Open Futurity wrapped up Saturday, November 27. The field of nearly 400 entries was whittled down to the top 75 in each level, which now advance to either the Level 1-3 Semi-Finals on Monday, November 30, or the Level 4 Open Semi-Finals sponsored by Not Ruf At All on December 1.

Building on a record-breaking year in 2020, the NRHA Futurity has continued to grow. Total entries for the Open levels are up by 117, or more than 12 percent. The total Open purse, now above $1.8 million, is an increase over 2020 by more than 20 percent.

Former NRHA Open Futurity Champion and NRHA Two Million Dollar Rider Casey Deary piloted Ten Thirty to a 225, the high score of the round. By NRHA Five Million Dollar Sire Gunnatrashya out of Dainty Little Step, Ten Thirty is owned by Rancho El Fortin.

The talented colt wowed spectators will his relaxed but spectacular demeanor during his run. Bred by Reining Horse Foundation Board Member Brooke Wharton, Ten Thirty (then named Gunna Go Rogue) is an NRHA Markel Futurity Sale Graduate, having been through the sale ring in 2019 as part of the Select Yearling Sale.

More potential superstars like Ten Thirty can be found in the 2021 NRHA Markel Futurity Sales on December 2. Find out more information at Auctions.NRHA.com.

Dan Huss and This Joe Got A Gun, who competed on the first day of competition, held on to the top spot of 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.

Tying for the lead of the Level 2 Open with scores of 220 are Jesse Beckley on Trashinyurdreams and Joao Felipe Lacerda with Plain Genes. Trashinyurdreams, owned by Norma Siebert, is by Gunnatrashya out of This Chicsdundreamin. Plain Genes, owned by Andre Tripoloni, is by SG Frozen Enterprise out of Taris Designer Genes.

Linde Von Koeding and Dollys Inferno finished with the high score of the Level 1 with a 217.5, earning a spot in the semi-finals for all four levels of the Open. Dollys Inferno, by Inferno Sixty Six out of Wimpys Lil Doll, is owned by Patricia Ruemmler.

It took a 217.5 to advance to the Level 4 Semi-Finals sponsored by Not Ruf At All, while a 214 was the magic number in the Level 3. Riders marking a 210 or higher earned a spot for Level 2, and Level 1 riders with a 200.5 also moved on.

Find complete results, news, and more at NRHAFuturity.com.