A full day of tough futurity horses came through the gates of the Hardy Murphy Coliseum in the Custom Made Dunit Non Pro Futurity at the Southwest Reining Horse Association Futurity. Big winners ranged from seasoned veterans to rising stars to young riders sure to be seen in the show pen for years to
come. Ranch Serano and Premier Equine Veterinary Services also offered a $1,000 bonus to the highest-scoring futurity mare.
Custom Made Dunit Non Pro Futurity Level 4 Champion—Mandy McCutcheon and Gunabeaspecialnite
NRHA $2 Million Rider Mandy McCutcheon rode yet another young standout to the winner’s circle, marking a 221 on Gunabeaspecialnite to win the SWRHA Custom Made Dunit Non Pro Futurity Level 4, worth $5,994.
“He was good, he walked in and waited for me, stood still, turned good both ways,” Mandy said. “He circled real smooth. I think there’s a bit more gas in there just circling for the Futurity, but I just thought being as close to it as we are, it would be better to show smart and save a little bit of horse for that too.”
The 3-year-old gelding, owned and raised by Mandy and her husband Tom McCutcheon, is by Gunners Special Nite and out of Mandy’s 2017 NRHA Non Pro Derby Champion mare Hollywood Starburst, by Hollywood Dun It. When preparing for pre-futurities such as the SWRHA Futurity, Mandy says she’s looking for her horses to feel consistent and dependable while getting them exposed to the showing
environment.
“I want them to be honest. If they do what I know they can do schooling for me, I’m happy. If they don’t throw any tricks at me or anything like that, then I know what I’ve got,” Mandy said. “All the pre-futurities for me are just about figuring out the game plan and getting them ready to horse-show, learning what it takes to have them ready for the big futurity, and putting some nice runs on them so that they know the lay of the land but not too much.”
Mandy also tied with Jack Meadows and Jana Simons for reserve in the Level 4 with a score of 220 on Star Spangled Star (Star Spangled Whiz x Chic Lil Ruby x A Chic In Time), owned by her son Cade McCutcheon. Each reserve champion earned $2,910.
She thanked her entire crew who helps keep program running and horses healthy and ready to show, both at home and on the road. “I couldn’t do it without them, especially since I’ve been traveling a lot with [my daughter] Carlee, so without my crew keeping the wheels turning here and at home, I couldn’t do it. Everybody does a great job,” Mandy said.
Custom Made Dunit Non Pro Futurity Level 4 Reserve Champion, Level 3 Co-Champion, Level 2 Champion and Non Pro Futurity Mare—Jana Leigh Simons and Raisinthebar
With a score of 220, Jana Leigh Simons took home a lion’s share of titles the Custom Made Dunit Non Pro Futurity aboard Raisinthebar, a mare by PS Mega Shine Chic and out of Chic In The Bar by Smart Chic Olena. The duo finished as Level 4 CoReserve Champions for $2,910, Level 3 Co-Champions for $2,233, Level 2 Champions for $1,815. They also won the Non Pro Futurity Mare bonus, sponsored by Rancho Serano and Premier Equine Veterinary Services, for $1,000.
“My run felt really organized and went just the way it would when I ride her at home, so I felt really prepared,” Simons said. “She’s a lot of horse. She’s really honest and fancy. I think a lot of what she does has a high degree of difficulty, and she’s a really fancy animal.”
Simons rides with Dany Tremblay and his brother Fred Tremblay, who both helped Simons find the mare to purchase as a 2-year-old. She’s thankful for the trainers’ help both in and out of the arena.
“It means a lot to come out and win this; it’s been a while,” Simons said. “I just recently started riding with Dany and Fred the last couple years. They have a lot of confidence in me, and I have a lot of confidence in them. This is the first horse I really let them pick, and they did a great job for me.”
Custom Made Dunit Non Pro Futurity Level 4 Reserve Champion and Level 3 Co-Champion—Jack Medows and Tribbiani
Jack Medows enjoyed a meaningful victory about his family-raised stallion Tribbiani (Gunnatrashya x Chicsdreamofdiamonds x Princess In Diamonds) in the SWRHA Custom Made Dunit Non Pro Futurity, marking a 220 to tie for the Reserve Championship in the Level 4 for $2,910 and share the Level 3 Championship for $2,233 with Jana Leigh Simons.
“What he does so cool is he’s a huge turner, and I really thought I got him turned today. He’s just a really fun horse to show,” Medows said. “We raised him and knew the moment he was born that he was special. It’s so fun to have him.”
Tribbiani is out of a horse that means a lot to Medows and his family. His dam, Chicsdreamofdiamonds, is an earner of more than $114,000 that Medows rode to the 2016 NRHA Non Pro Futurity Level 4 Championship and the 2017 NRBC Non Pro Level 4 Championship.
“This is her first foal, so that makes it even more special, and to have been around him his whole life,” Medows said. “Parts of him remind me of her. They never quit; neither one of them. That’s a really good quality to have in a horse, and that’s what reminds me of her the most.”
The stallion has been in the right hands his entire life. He was started by Trevor Dare and then sent to Fernando Salgado for the latter half of his 2-year-old year. He’s been with Medows his entire 3-year-old year. “I think it really helped with today’s run, just how well we know each other. Both Fernando Salgado and Kole Price gave me a lot of good advice and helped me get him ready this week,” Medows said. “I thank my parents for letting me keep this horse to show, and my dad for letting me off work this week to come down here and practice. I thank my girlfriend, Olivia, who’s always supported me and has helped me a lot. I thank my sister; this is her favorite horse, and I definitely thank Kristen and Ian for helping sponsor and put on this great show.”
Custom Made Dunit Non Pro Futurity Level 1 Champion—Emma Vanlandingham
Young Emma Vanlandingham is already following in the winning footsteps of her father, NRHA $2 Million Rider Jason Vanlandingham. She scored a 215.5 on Ruf Rider (Not Ruf At All x Dun Pretty Nifty x Hollywood Dun It) to win the SWRHA Custom Made Dunit Non Pro Futurity Level 1 title for $584 and tie for third in the Level 2 for $769.
“My horse was awesome. When I went to the center, I have a way that I turn him normal the first way, and then inch him forward the second way of turning. He was great, and then when I went to circle I knew he would circle great because he always has,” Emma said. “Once we went down to our first stop and he was good, I knew I was good for the rest of the pattern.”
Emma has worked hard to get to know the young gelding trained by her dad and purchased by her family two months ago from Vaughn Zimmerman. She enjoys riding young horses because of the potential for progress. “You work so hard to get to this moment, so once you win it’s pretty great. It makes it all worth it,” Emma said. “These horses have so much room to grow. You can take one from the beginning of the year when you don’t really know where they’re going to be, and then look back at the end of the year and see how much progress they’ve made. I want to thank my mom and dad and Vaughn.”
Custom Made Dunit Non Pro Futurity Prime Time Champion—Kelle Smith and Spookified
Kelle Smith overcame some mental-game obstacles and persevered to win the SWRHA Non Pro Futurity Prime Time for $745 with a score of 219.5 on her mare Spookified (Spooks Gotta Whiz x JDS Shining Image x Shining Spark). She also finished fifth in the Level 4 for $2,085, third in the Level 3 for $1,267 and second in the Futurity Mare Bonus sponsored by Rancho Serano/Premier Veterinary Services for $500.
“I was draw No. 1, so it was a little difficult getting prepared. I hauled in in the morning, but it was a little cool and she was fresh, so I was almost a little apprehensive about her, but by the time we walked in the pen she was good,” Smith said. “She’s a show horse. She doesn’t miss a beat.”
Smith says one of the biggest reasons she was able to get her mind right to show was a pep talk with Mandy McCutcheon. “It was very hard. I had to talk to Mandy here at this show. I’ve had two bad horse
shows, and I told her, ‘I have a serious question. Are you getting nervous when you show now?’ I’ve always been really focused and easy to prepare mentally, but lately I’ve been getting really nervous,” Smith admitted. “When Mandy told me she gets nervous too, I don’t know why but that really soothed me. I told myself to pull my head out of my rear, and I felt prepared on both horses today.”
Now, Smith will shift that mental clarity to preparing the mare she says is one of the best horses she’s ever had for the upcoming NRHA Futurity. “The hardest thing is I know how good she is. Even now I haven’t reached her potential, because she’s really huge everywhere,” Smith said. “It’s been a long time
since I’ve had one like her, that is trained and so mentally sound. I call her ‘Sweetie Pie’ for a reason.”