In addition to the aged event taking place in the Jim Norick Coliseum, the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Futurity features the Adequan® North American Affiliate Championship (NAAC), which kicked off on Thursday, November 26. Exhibitors are vying for double the added money this year over last in the Adequan® NAAC, a program that helps spotlight a variety of members and horses from across North America who qualify to compete here in Oklahoma City.
Sara Honegger, NRHA Youth and Professionals Program Manager, was excited to crown the first of the 2020 Adequan® NAAC Champions. “With the changes to the 2020 qualification process, we are excited to see many new faces here during the NAAC. We appreciate all of our exhibitors who have turned up to compete, in spite of all the difficulties they have faced this year. I, with the entire NRHA Staff and Show Management team, wish all of our exhibitors the best of luck while they are here in Oklahoma City,” she said.
In addition to incredible prizes from NRHA Corporate Partners, the champion of each NAAC class will be presented an Adequan® Championship vest the following day in the Jim Norick Coliseum as a show of support for these successful affiliate riders.
Robin Schoeller Wins Adequan® NAAC Open Riding Tinseltown Flash
Robin Schoeller, Bloomingburg, Ohio, earned the Adequan® NAAC Open victory on Tinseltown Flash with a 219.5. In addition to a check for $3,171, the pair won a saddle from Kyle Tack, a Platinum Performance champion’s jacket, a 10-lb. bucket of Platinum Performance, a custom Montana Silversmiths trophy buckle, a Bluebonnet Feed gift certificate, SmartPak SmartTherapy Quick Wraps, a garment bag from Brandt Blankets, a Classic Equine fleece cooler, and Eqvalan from Dr. Joe Carter.
Schoeller and Tinseltown Flash finished second in the ancillary Open, worth an additional $1,581. They were also eligible for the Adequan® Affiliate 500, which resulted in a $500 bonus!
“It was another great run on this horse,” Schoeller said. “This horse has been tremendous for me throughout his whole career. The run in [pattern] coming in the gate on him is a blast. He ran down strong, stopped big, backed up really nice, got turned around really good and stayed out of the penalties. He stopped really honest and good; he was good as gold.”
Tinseltown Flash, owned by Ruoff Dietter Reining Horses Inc., is by NRHA Two Million Dollar Sire Hollywoodstinseltown out of Billie Gun Flash. He has been in Schoeller’s hands since being purchased by Ruoff Dietter Reining Horses from Jonathan Gauthier as a 2-year-old.
“Beth Himes owns him and she’s been a huge supporter of my program since day one,” Schoeller said. “It’s just really good to see her own such a nice animal. We enjoy him very much. We started standing him at stud two years ago, so his first babies are going to be 2-year-olds next year.”
Schoeller noted that Tinseltown Flash may be shown more by his owner in the coming year, but it will remain to be seen how heavy his respective show and breeding schedules will be. The 2012 stallion had NRHA lifetime earnings (LTE) of more than $130,000 prior to arriving here in Oklahoma City. “We have to go home and see what we’re going to do,” Schoeller said. “If we load up to go to a show somewhere he nickers at us, he gets upset if he’s not going.”
Schoeller expressed his gratitude to generous NRHA sponsors as well as the entire support team that helped him achieve the 2020 NAAC Open title. “Without the sponsors, the horse show wouldn’t be possible—especially Adequan® for sponsoring this affiliate championship,” Schoeller said. “Beth Himes for being such a great supporter; my wife Laura, she’s such a huge part of our business, my help and all my owners and the non pros that are in my barn. It takes a village… I couldn’t do it by myself, that’s for sure.”
Shauna Larcombe Wins Adequan® NAAC Int. Open on Shiners Chic
Any reining fan who has been around the sport for a bit of time has likely heard of Shiners Chic. The 15-year-old gelding, owned by Rosanne Sternberg, has racked up countless wins with numerous riders over his career.
On Thanksgiving Day, an additional $6,190 was added to his resume, when he and Shauna Larcombe won the Adequan® NAAC Intermediate Open and ancillary Intermediate Open. They also finished as Adequan® NAAC Open Reserve Champions and finished third in the ancillary Open. During the awards ceremony, they were presented with a saddle from Kyle Tack, a Platinum Performance champion’s jacket, a 10-lb. bucket of Platinum Performance, a custom Montana Silversmiths trophy buckle, a Bluebonnet Feed gift certificate, SmartPak SmartTherapy Quick Wraps, a garment bag from Brandt Blankets, a Classic Equine fleece cooler, and Eqvalan from Dr. Joe Carter.
Sweetening the pot even more was the Adequan® Affiliate 500, which added an additional $500 to the day’s take.
“I was really happy with him. He was last in his set, so it was a little hard to find great ground. One stop I kind of messed up a little bit, but he was great for me,” Larcombe said of the pair’s 218.5 run. “He’s just a trooper and if I stay out of his way, he knows what his job is and will do it.”
Shiners Chic is by NRHA Seven Million Dollar Sire Smart Chic Olena out of Ebony Shines. “I have been riding him the last three or four years, and Rosanne’s daughter Jessica Sternberg usually shows him,” Larcombe explained. “Because of COVID, she is stuck in Europe, so I’ve gotten to show him. We put him over the $300,000 mark in earnings a few weeks ago, so that’s pretty exciting.”
Larcombe extended a special thank you to both Rosanne and Jessica. “Thank you to Rosanne, of course. It’s been a pleasure to show him, and I thank Jessica for sharing him with me. I also thank Emily, my assistant, who has done a fantastic job, and of course I thank my family,” she said. “After this show we will regroup and see what we have for next year.”
Brian Bell Wins NRHA Ancillary Open on Mr Hollywood Cee
With a crowd-pleasing 220.5, Brian Bell and Mr Hollywood Cee won the ancillary open, which ran concurrently with the Adequan® NAAC. The win netted owners George R. Bell and Carol Bell a check for $2,139.
Bell, of Pilot Point, Texas, was proud of the 2014 palomino stallion’s winning performance, as well as of his championship lineage. Out of the mare Miss Hollywood Cee, Mr Hollywood Cee is by NRHA Two Million Dollar Sire Hollywoodstinseltown.
“Our family bred this horse. We own his mother, his grandmother and used to own his great grandmother,” Bell said. “I’ve shown him this year. I marked a 227.5 on him to win Tulsa and was fifth in the NRHA Derby with him. I wasn’t actually supposed to show him here but about three weeks ago they said, ‘Can you get him ready to show?’ So, I did.”
In the coming year, the stallion will continue to be shown in hopes of adding more NRHA LTE to his record, as well as to that of his dam’s. Bell credits Mr Hollywood Cee for being a solid performer that is enjoyable to train and show.
“I’d like to thank my dad and Carol, they have a lot of good horses and they’ve been kind of letting me do what I want to do with them this year,” Bell said. “It’s been a lot of fun. My dad normally shows this horse, but he quit showing him this year so I could.”
In light of 2020 being an atypical show year, Bell is particularly pleased to be competing and winning here in Oklahoma City.
“We’re glad for every show we get to go to this year. We’re excited to get to show here at the futurity,” added Bell.
Complete results from the NRHA Futurity and Adequan® NAAC can be found at NRHAFuturity.com.