In what might be one of the quickest jumps to the next tier on the National Reining Horse Association’s Million Dollar Sire roster, Gunnatrashya sailed past the Six Million Dollar mark during the NRHA Futurity. As the year comes to a close, the stallion, by NRHA 13 Million Dollar Sire Gunner and out of Natrasha, sits at No. 7 on NRHA’s Leading Sire list with $6,788,072 in offspring earnings.
For a quarter-century, most everyone has had a favorite Gunner story or special memory. It might be the mighty moves of an astonishing athlete. It could be a joyful recollection of seeing him in the Norick Arena entrance in Oklahoma City as the crowd erupted in cheers the moment his floppy-eared profile came into sight. It might simply be an unforgettable run burned into someone’s memory – because there were plenty of those. It might be the magic at the birth of one of his foals.
Less than a year after his offspring passed four million dollars in earnings, Gunners Special Nite has made it to the next level of National Reining Horse Association Million Dollar milestones. That makes the flashy sorrel one of only nine sires in history to cross the $5 Million threshold.
With earnings of $23,014 at this year’s National Reining Horse Association Futurity, Mandy McCutcheon became only the fifth rider in reining history to earn more than $3 million in the show pen.
McCutcheon, of Aubrey, Texas, joins a very small group of riders, including Seven Million Dollar Rider Andrea Fappani, Six Million Dollar Rider and Hall of Fame inductee Shawn Flarida, Four Million Dollar Rider Craig Schmersal, and her father, NRHA Three Million Dollar Rider and Hall of Fame inductee Tim McQuay.
“I didn’t realize there were only four others to win that much. That’s pretty cool,” she said. “It’s so special to be there with my dad. I can say, 100 percent, that’s the most important part to me.”
With a record payout exceeding $2.8 million, the National Reining Horse Association Futurity & Adequan® North American Affiliate Championships made history. Thanks to that historic payout, it also unofficially pushed multiple horses and individuals into new tiers of earnings, including sires Smart Spook and Shiners Voodoo Dr.
Gennaro Lendi recorded his first earnings in the National Reining Horse Association in May 2004, when he won the Non Pro class at the Italian Reining Horse Association Derby on OT Taris High. Less than two decades later, Lendi joined the elite list of riders who have won more than one million dollars in competition.
Recent wins at the 2020 European Futurity, the Austrian Futurity, the German Breeders Futurity, the IRHA Maturity, and ARTA Futurity propelled him past that milestone.
“As I got closer to the million, it became all the more stressful as I wanted to surpass that mark as fast as I could. I put pressure on myself – especially after the pandemic stopped our shows – and it affected my performance in the show pen,” Lendi admitted.
In front of a full house on Saturday night in Cremona, Italy, the 37th edition of the $426,264 IRHA/IRHBA/NRHA Futurity closed with the $289,181-added Open Futurity Finals.
First to go in Section 2 of the Open $196,686-added Level (L) 4 Open Finals, Mirko Midili set the bar by posting a 221.5 on Frozen Natrashya, a stallion owned and bred by Angelucci Quarter Horses by NRHA Five Million Dollar Sire Gunnatrashya out of Frozen Tari. Eighteen horses later, Midili burst into the oval arena of CremonaFiere with Spark Made Whiz, a stallion by Spark N Whiz out of Mare Made owned by Luga Quarter Horses and bred by Silvano Ronzullo. With an explosive ride, the Italian Professional bested his own score by performing to a 223 which remained the top score with four horse and riders left to go.
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.
The 3-year-old 2021 IRHA/IRHBA/NRHA Futurity filled the day at Cremona Fiere, Cremona, Italy, with the second go round of the $289,181-added Open Futurity. Held in a two go round format and seeded finals,122 horse-rider combinations across the four levels (L4, 56 entries; L3, 47 entries; L2, 69 entries; L1, 46 entries) took the reins performing for a spot in the finals.
The National Reining Horse Association’s newest Million Dollar Sire Not Ruf At All’s career started with a bang when he won the 2013 NRHA Futurity. The following year “Ruf” claimed the NRHA Derby Championship. Just two years later, he added the National Reining Breeders Classic Open title to become only the second horse to win the three major events.
By NRHA $2 Million Sire A Sparkling Vintage and out of All Ruffed Up, the sorrel stallion is owned by NRHA Hall of Famer Vaughn Zimmerman. Always ridden by NRHA $2 Million Rider Jason Vanlandingham, he would become one of NRHA’s highest money-earning stallions, with $456,437 in lifetime earnings.
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.
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