Anne Reynolds Wins 2005 NRCHA Non Pro Snaffle Bit Futurity

Anne Reynolds, King Hill, Idaho, made her commanding presence known early in the National Reined Cow Horse Association Non Pro Snaffle Bit Futurity. She dominated the preliminaries, finishing both first and second with two of her three horses – Shoshone Pony and More Magic Please. Her success continued in the Non Pro Finals Thursday as she won the Championship with More Magic Please and finished third on Shoshone Pony.

Anne and More Magic Please’s win was spectacular in many ways. Anne’s gelding was sired by 1998 NRCHA Open Futurity Reserve Champion Chic Please and out of Magical Lena, the mare that carried Anne to win the 1998 NRCHA Non Pro Futurity. Anne knew from the beginning that her horse would be a contender at the Futurity but had a scare this summer when she found out he had pneumonia. The horse was out until September 12 but made a tremendous comeback to win the Non Pro Futurity.

“I didn’t’ get to work him until the12th of September and we left to come to Reno on the 18th. I went down the fence three times and I went out of the herd three times before he came here. He split first in the herd in the go-round and made the Non Pro Finals and marked a 222 down the fence. It’s just phenomenal because he’s so green!”

Anne, now a three-time Non Pro Futurity Champion, and More Magic Please marked a 647 (212 / 213 / 222) composite to earn the Championship check of $30,400. With Shoshone Pony, by JR Colord Rambo and out of Docs Colorful Lady, Anne earned a 638.5 composite for the third-place finish. But that pair will return Sunday for the Open Finals.

2005 Snaffle Bit Futurity Amateur Reserve Champion Matt Armenta returned to the arena to earn both the Non Pro Reserve and the Intermediate Non Pro Championships riding Smarty Montana. Matt’s mare, by Hesa Smart Chic and out of Montanas Playgirl, scored a 645.5-point composite (207 / 215.5 / 223) for the win.

Although Matt has ridden horses his entire life, and has earned an AQHA Youth World Championship along with several Youth Reserve World Championships, this is the first horse that he has trained from the start. “She’s good minded and she’s easy all the time,” Matt said of his mare. “She has a good temperament and puts up with a lot from me.”

Matt raised the mare, and won an AQHA Youth World title with her dam. Now that he’s won his championship at the NRCHA Futurity, he’s headed to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where he and Smarty Montana will compete in the National Reining Horse Association Futurity.

For complete results from the Futurity, which runs through October 2 at the Reno Livestock Event Center in Nevada, please visit www.nrcha.com. The Futurity continues Friday with the Intermediate and Limited Open Finals and will close with the Open Finals Sunday, where the Open Champion will receive a check for $100,000.

The National Reined Cow Horse Association, the 56-year-old governing body of cow horse competition, is responsible for promoting the sport, insuring high standards of competition and educating members and the public about the history and tradition of the cow horse. Through the support of a Corporate Partner family that includes Bayer Corporation, Bob's Custom Saddles, Cinch, Inc., Classic Equine, EQ Solutions, MD Barns, Platinum Performance, Inc., Nutrena, Skyline Gold and Silversmiths, Sundowner Trailers, National Ropers Supply, Quarter Horse News & Western Horseman magazine, the Reno Hilton, Farnam products Vetrolin Liniment and Farnam dewormers IverCare, ComboCare, LiquiCare P and Continuex, Fort Dodge West Nile Innovator, Rios of Mercedes, Great American Insurance Company, GASTROGARD and ULCERGARD and the Silver Legacy, the association works to keep the vaquero tradition alive in today’s equine industry. For information on the National Reined Cow Horse Association, call 580-759-4949 or visit the NRCHA Official Web Site at www.nrcha.com.