Less than four years after becoming a National Reining Horse Association Million Dollar Sire, Spooks Gotta Whiz achieved Four Million Dollar Sire status.
The stunning stallion is by NRHA Million Dollar Sire Spooks Gotta Gun and out of Prettywhizprettydoes. Bred by Clint Haverty, the 2007 stallion is owned by Michell Anne Kimball, who purchased the horse from Duane Hicks in 2009 after meeting him at the High Roller Reining Classic.
In recent years, the planet has been in a state of upheaval and change. COVID-19 had a staggering impact. Some marginal businesses thrived and grew. Other long successful companies couldn’t survive and people lost jobs as well as lifelong enterprises.
For the equine industry, facing a pandemic was especially challenging. In early 2020, the National Reining Horse Association Board and Executive Committee scrambled along with the rest of the horse world to make correct decisions – to plan, predict, and survive. Now, with two years of history, the state of the reining industry shows very positive statistics according to the data released during the NRHA Winter Meetings, held Feb. 13-16 in Denton, Texas.
National Reining Horse Association Million Dollar Sire Chocolate Chic Olena was laid to rest on January 22.
The 29-year-old stallion, by Smart Chic Olena out of Jae Bar Felcia, left his mark on the industry. With his owner Carter M Smith, he finished third at the 1996 NRHA Futurity, then the pair came back the following year to win the NRHA Derby and Super Stakes. NRHA Professional Darren Stancik and NRHA Seven Million Dollar Rider Andrea Fappani also piloted the stallion to numerous titles. Those included an American Quarter Horse Association World Championship in Senior Reining, and four AQHA Reserve World Championships in Amateur and Junior Reining.
With the airing of the December 17, 2021 episode of The Last Cowboy on the Paramount Network, reining fans around the globe were able to watch history be made at The Run For A Million presented by Teton Ridge. Although the event was held August 21, a media embargo meant fans had to wait to learn who the winner was until the final episode of The Last Cowboy aired.
The $136,083-added Italian Reining Horse Association (IRHA)/IRHBA (International Reining Horse Breeder Association) /NRHA (National Reining Horse Association) Non Pro Futurity Finals closed an exciting day of competition in Cremona, Italy.
Taking the $72,295-added Level (L) 4 and $37,210-added 3 Non Pro Futurity Championships was young Andreu Nogue Puig of Spain riding to a 220 score his hard-stopping mare Simple The Best 66 (Inferno Sixty Six x ARC Yellow N Lime) bred by Ambrosini Quarter Horses of Italy.
Following the closing of the 2021 NRHA European Futurity, the second day of the 3-year-old IRHA/IRHBA/NRHA Futurity welcomed the first go round of the $289,181-added Open Futurity. Held in a two go round format and seeded finals, the first go counted 122 horse-rider combinations across the four levels.
Cremona, May 22— The 2020 Arcese / MS Diamonds TX €204.000,00-added IRHA/IRHBA/NRHA Open Futurity Finals closed the first major event held in Europe this year. Held in conjunction with the 2020 NRHA European Futurity and the ELEMENTA Italian Reining Championship Finals in Cremona, Italy, over 600 horses made their way to the city of violins vying for the prestigious titles.
Cremona, May 21—The 2020 Quarter Dream €96.000,00-added IRHA/IRHBA/NRHA Non Pro Futurity provided tons of excitement on Friday night in Cremona, Italy. Second to last to go, Fabio De Iulio and his own Gunnaroostyah (NRHA Four Million Sire Gunnatrashya x Del Cielo Shining), bred by Carlo Orsi, scored a 214.5 to take the €51.000,00-added Level 4 Non Pro Championship.
Cremona, May 20—The 2020 edition of the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) European Futurity, held concurrently with the 2020 IRHA/IRHBA/NRHA Futurity in Cremona, Italy, wrapped up on Thursday night with the €160.623,00-added European Futurity Open Finals.
Nailing the €71.000,00-added Level (L)4 Open and €48.000,00-added L3 Championships with a strong performance paid back by the judges with a 223.5 was Manuel Cortesi of Italy riding AR Vintage Dream owned by Azienda Agricola Cortesi Pietro. The duo had tied to lead the qualifier and bettered his score by a point and a half in the Finals. “This is truly a great horse who has always shown me how generous he is,” said Cortesi about his mount by NRHA Two Million Dollar Sire A Sparkling Vintage out of Sweet Candy Dream. “He was bred by Luigi Parise and nominated by Elisabetta Raviola, who we purchased him from as a 2-year-old. I’ve had him in training since and showed him at the 2019 IRHA Open Futurity where we had the highest composite score after the go rounds. Unfortunately, he had an injury the night before the finals and we had to retire him from competition for a while. Because of the pandemic, he had more time to reach tip-top condition and after showing him for the first time at a regional show a month ago, we came back to Cremona to make up for the lost time and I am thrilled because he truly deserves this!” The pair also took home the 2020 IRHA 4-year-old L4 Open Futurity title.
Cremona, May 20— “I was really lucky this event was postponed,” said a thrilled Gina Schumacher who at first didn’t think she would be able to show in the 2020 National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) European Futurity held in Cremona, Italy, in conjunction with the 2020 Italian Reining Horse Association (IRHA) Futurity and Italian Championship Finals.
The young German rider not only made it to Italy, she performed to the highest score— a 223.5— in the qualifying go round, rode to top honors in the NRHA European Futurity Level (L)4 Non Pro Finals, all aboard One Mr JJ (Colonels Shining Gun x QHR Jamaica Express), where she also claimed reserve honors. “I showed ‘JJ,’ in the NRHA Non Pro Futurity in the U.S., where we made the finals, and then went on to show him in the U.S. He only arrived in Europe five days before this show, and that was a big gamble,” said Schumacher about the stallion owned and nominated by XCS Ranch LLC and bred by Brent Loseke. “I’m really happy it worked out and he was truly amazing here from day one. I have to thank Ann and Bernard Fonck for following up our training before coming here, and during the show. Now the plan is to go to some schooling shows and see what will come up for us.”
Cremona, May 19— The second go round of the €204.000,00-added Arcese/MS Diamonds TX 2020 Italian Reining Horse Association (IRHA) Open Futurity, eligible for horses by stallions nominated in the Italian Reining Horse Breeders Association (IRHBA) incentive program, determined the Open Finalists.
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