Jordan Larson and Spooks Gotta Whiz, owned by Michell Anne Kimball, bask in the winner s spotlight.

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1 JOHN BRASSEAUX JOHN BRASSEAUX Jordan Larson and Spooks Gotta Whiz, owned by Michell Anne Kimball, bask in the winner s spotlight. JOHN BRASSEAUX

2 N R H A F U T U R I T Y & A D E Q U A N N O R T H A M E R I C A N A F F I L I A T E C H A M P I O N S H I P S H O W REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION OF THE NATIONAL REINING HORSE ASSOCIATION AND NRHA REINER VOLUME 31, ISSUE 11. { O P E N D I V I S I O N } One In A Million BY KAREN SHEDLAUSKAS JORDAN LARSON AND SPOOKS GOTTA WHIZ PROVE THAT PLAN B CAN TURN OUT BETTER THAN PLAN A. ONE-IN-A-MILLION-MINDED horse, said Jordan Larson of the 2010 NRHA Futurity Open Champion Spooks Gotta Whiz. Having met only days before one of the most impor- HE S A tant days of their lives, Larson and the fancy bay stallion were on two totally different tracks en-route to the NRHA Futurity. Larson had lost his best Futurity mount (or so he thought) and Spooks Gotta Whiz was the top choice in another trainer s barn. They both proved that Plan A isn t always necessarily the best one. On their first (show) date, literally, the destined duo put together an impressive 227 run to claim the prestigious title and a winner s check of $125,000. Larson s surprise and excitement were in step with the way the entire show went. The NRHA s signature event, which ran from November 25 through December 5 at the State Fair Park in Oklahoma City, had increased entries in both the Futurity and the Adequan North American Affiliate Championships, bigger crowds, more trade show vendors, and strong figures at the NRHA s three elite sales. (See related stories elsewhere in this issue.). The Futurity s total payout of over $1.5 million made it the second largest in history. To say the show exceeded everyone s expectations and was full of surprises is an understatement. Level 4 Champion: Spooks Gotta Whiz and Jordan Larson After the open finals Larson explained his ultimate catch-ride on Spooks Gotta Whiz. He arrived at my place just four days before we left to come to the Futurity. I rode him only a few times before we came to the show. Tanya Jenkins had ridden him since the fall of his two-year-old year, and she did a great job on him, the NRHA Professional from Whitesboro, Texas, JOHN BRASSEAUX

3 Jordan and his son Cash after the awards ceremony. DAWN BAXSTROM Jordan thanks his new best friend, Spooks Gotta Whiz. was quick to credit his fellow NRHA Professional. I d never shown him before, so I really didn t know what to expect. He was great in the go-rounds, and I was just hoping for the best in the finals. It was like blur. I tried to show the best I could and then see how it turned out. As the second to last draw in the level 4 finals, Larson knew that he was staring down a posted earlier by NRHA Professional Mike McEntire and Red Stripe Spook. Larson had already shown one horse earlier in the draw (Mr Jerry Lee Surpriz) and didn t do as well as he had hoped. Baby Spooks was my last shot, so I just went for it, he grinned. Larson and Spooks Gotta Whiz let it all hang out throughout the pattern, but Larson knew all systems were go when it came time to stop. In fact, after the first stop and rollback, Larson threw out some rein and did the same after the second stop. If he had pitched this big stopper any more rein, Spooks Gotta Whiz might have stepped through a rein. When the score of 227 was announced, a smile spread across the young trainer s face. My goal has always been to win the Futurity before I turned 30, Larson explained. And my 30th birthday is in March, so I just made it! The last two months before the Futurity are usually when a trainer makes the final adjustments to his show string, but Larson didn t really get that opportunity this year. My best horse, or what I thought was my best horse, was sent to another trainer in October, Larson said about the changes he experienced. So I had to re-evaluate my stock. We decided to geld one of the other colts I was riding, and we went on to win the Southwest Futurity. Then I got Spooks Gotta Whiz just before the NRHA Futurity, and we really clicked. It s clear that everything happens for a reason. Spooks Gotta Whiz is by Spooks Gotta Gun out of Prettywhizprettydoes, by Seven Million Dollar Sire and Hall of Fame inductee Topsail Whiz, who is a full sister to Who Whiz It. Spooks Gotta Gun is royally bred as well. He is by the late Million Dol- Jordan Larson and Spooks Gotta Whiz and their connections in front of the Cimarron award trailer.

4 lar Sire Grays Starlight out of the great producing mare Katie Gun. The 2007 foals were the first foal crop by Spooks Gotta Gun and his owner, Michael Miola, couldn t be any happier. Jenkins, from Temecula, California, had shown the whitefaced colt twice before Larson took the reins. She rode him to a third-place finish at the Reining By The Bay level 4 open futurity in July and then earned the level 4 open futurity reserve championship at the High Roller Classic in September. Larson and the colt tied for eleventh in the first go-round and fourth in the second go on their way to the finals. Owner Michell Anne Kimball purchased the fancy dual-registered (AQHA and APHA) colt in 2009 after meeting Duane Hicks, Spooks Gotta Gun s owner at the time. She then visited Hick s facility in Marietta, Oklahoma, where she rode several horses. I used to train hunters and jumpers, Kimball explained. And I totally fell into reiners backward! A friend introduced her to the sport and once they convinced her to ride western and on a stallion, no less, she was hooked. They kept telling me, you ll be fine, she laughed. He put his head down, loped around, and took care of me. I bought him the next day! Kimball has come a long way from her first adventure on a reining horse and now owns several. NRHA Professional Billy Williams rode another one of her stallions, Whiz Is How Its Dun, to the level 1 and 2 open finals. In fact, Williams was one of four people who recommended Larson to Kimball when she decided to make a change before the Futurity. There was a lot of stress on me last year, she said. I kept telling everyone that Baby Spooks was a Secretariat story, and they all smiled politely, but as I drove home to southern California with the Futurity bronze on the dash and a bouquet of roses, I know it was! When it was all over, Kimball said to Jordan, I hope I replaced your best horse, and he replied And then some. Kimball has never stood a stallion to the public before but there was a great deal of interest in this young horse after his big win. I m working my way through this new experience and have decided to stand Spooks Gotta Whiz to the public this year at Humphrey Quarter Horses in Gainesville, Texas. Current competition plans include Larson showing him at the 2011 National Reining Breeders Classic (NRBC). Level 4 Reserve Champion: Red Stripe Spook and Mike Entire Soft-spoken Mike McEntire had a hard time wiping the grin off of his face after the awards ceremony. Although he led the finals until the second to last horse, he still couldn t hide his excitement about finishing second. We owned this horse s mother and sold her to Dave Evans of England, McEntire explained. We bred his mother to Smart Spook and this colt was born on our place. He was a pretty ugly little runt when he was born, but he has turned into a beautiful horse. If he was ugly at one time, no one would believe it as they watched him power effortlessly through NRHA Pattern 5 on finals night. I had shown him only once before this show, explained the NRHA Professional from Selma, North Carolina. I showed him at the John Deere Futurity in Tulsa where he marked a I felt he was really a special horse, and he didn t throw me any surprises so I didn t feel the need to show him again. McEntire s plan paid off as the duo tied for sixth in the first go-round and placed third in the second go before heading to the finals. Larson and Spooks Gotta Whiz turned on the afterburners to claim the Futurity title. It s Spooky The name Spook showed up three times in the top level 4 open finalists the reserve champion Red Stripe Spook and the fourth-place horse Custom Spook are both by Smart Spook who is out of a daughter of Million Dollar Sire Grays Starlight, and the champion Spooks Gotta Whiz is by Spooks Gotta Gun, a son of Grays Starlight.

5 McEntire s international connection with co-owner Evans has been a long time in the making. I met Mike in 2001 when he came to do a clinic for Bob Mayhew, remembered Evans. We hit it right off and have been friends ever since. Over the course of the last few years, the McEntires and Evanses have settled into a tight friendship built around their mutual love for horses. When I bought his mother, Ms Red Capri, from Mike and Nath, I suggested breeding him to Smart Spook and Mike agreed, saying, That horse can do anything it wants. Evans remembered a call he got from Mike. He said this might be the best two-year-old I have ever sat on. They are the most honest and sincere people you could hope to know, added Evans. We owe so much to Mike, he said. He s done a brilliant job training this horse but it is so much more! Red Stripe Spook is a son of NRHA Futurity and Derby champion Smart Spook out of Ms Red Capri by Jacs Aledo Bar. NRHA Futurity judges left to right: Pete McAlister, Eugenio Latorre, Dennis Schulz, Maik Bartmann, Bub Poplin, Ed Cridge, Ronnie Sharpe, Tom McBeath, Chris Kozlowski, Ed Bricker, Donnie Bricker, Mike Corrington. Cimarron Trailer s Level 3 Champion: Chicsdundreamin and Arno Hornstetter Arno Honstetter and Chicsdundreamin, the winners of Cimarron Trailer s level 3 Open division, put in a steady performance over the course of the first and second go-rounds, but saved the best for finals night. They finished in a four-way tie for fourth place in the level 3 first go-round and then placed in a four-way tie for ninth place in the second go-round. As draw #26 in the 2010 NRHA FUTURITY OPEN SIRE & DAM AWARDS L E V E L 4 O P E N D I V I S I O N S I R E Spooks Gotta Gun SIRE OWNER AWARD 1. Spooks Gotta Gun Silver Spurs Equine $12, Smart Spook Rosanne Sternberg $7, Smart Spook Rosanne Sternberg $5, Mike McEntire and Red Stripe Spook, co-owned by McEntire and David Evans, were just a half-point off the leaders. L E V E L 3 O P E N D I V I S I O N S I R E SIRE OWNER AWARD 1.T. Jacs Electric Spark Troy Heikes & Sire & Dam Bronze Buck Hazledine 1.T. Wimpys Little Step Xtra Quarter Horses Sire & Dam Bronze O P E N O F F S P R I N G A W A R D SIRE OWNER AWARD 1. Kachina Tag N Chex Lance Griffin Sire & Dam Trophy

6 Third: Quistador, ridden by Shawn Flarida, owned by Gus and Gaynia Revenberg. Fourth: Custom Spook, ridden by Andrea Fappani, owned by B&L Holdings, LLC. Sixth: Nics Little Bud, ridden by Andrea Fappani, owned by Bill Coburn. Ninth: Colones Shining Gun, ridden by Andrea Fappani, owned by Rancho Oso Rio LLC. Tenth Tie: Lena Dun Hit It Out, ridden by Tracer Gilson, owned by American West Reiners LLC. Tenth Tie: Pale Face Dunnit, ridden by Randy Paul, owned by Shari Kay Jaster. second section of open finalists, Honstetter and the fancy gelding posted a good score of 222 to take the lead in level 3. But it wasn t over yet. Honstetter had to wait out two previous NRHA Futurity champions who were eligible for level 3 Brett Stone and the very last draw, Million Dollar Rider Todd Sommers. Honstetter, 28 and originally from Germany, has worked for Two Million Dollar Rider and NRHA Professional Andrea Fappani for the last six years, and has become a successful open competitor. This fall Fappani began riding horses for Pat and Jim Warren s Rancho Oso Rio and Chicsdundreamin was teamed up with Honstetter. He was a stallion when he arrived, but he was gelded a few weeks after we got him, he explained. I showed him one time before we came to Oklahoma City and it went okay, but he has changed the most between that show and the Futurity. A few months before the show, I didn t think he would be enough horse, but he has finished up as a horse that can plus-half every maneuver. Chicsdundreamin is by NRHA Million Dollar Sire Magnum Chic Dream and AQHA World Champion out of Goody Goody Dun Drop by Six Million Dollar Sire and Hall of Fame inductee Hollywood Dun It. Honstetter picked up $23,789 for his level 3 championship and the duo also placed fifth in the level 4 open finals earning an additional $47,642. I won t be showing him next year as he was purchased by Sam Smith at the show. Prime Time open winner Tim McQuay also tied for seventh on Always Gotyer Gunsup, owned by McQuay Stables, Inc. Arno Honstetter rode Chicsdundreamin, owned by Rancho Oso Rio LLC, to the title of level 3 champion and the pair was fifth in the level 4.

7 Sommers, an NRHA Professional from Whitesboro, Texas, and his mount, This Cat Can Slide, a cutting-bred stallion sired by Cats Merada out of Call Me Marlena, slid to the level 3 open reserve championship. They really put things together in the finals. Working as the last draw, the duo put together a run Jonathan Gauthier rode the level 1 winner, Hollys Electricspark, owned by Russell Flint, and was also co-champion in the level 2 open. This Cat Can Slide, ridden by Todd Sommers, owned by Cat Can Slide Partnership, was the reserve champion in the level 3 open and tied for seventh in level 4. Thiago Boechat piloted Wimpyneedsacocktail, owned by Prudencio Flores, to a level 2 co-champion title. that resulted in the level 3 open reserve championship and a tie for seventh in the level 4 open division. The level 3 win paid $19,814 while the level 4 finish earned an additional $34,584. He s been a really good horse, the NRHA s latest Million Dollar Rider said after the finals. He showed great for me at the John Deere Futurity in Tulsa and then was really good in the go-round at the Congress but had a little trouble in the finals. He showed well here in Oklahoma City in each go-round, too. They placed second in the level 3 first go-round and then came back to tie for seventh in the second go. This Can Cat Slide is owned by the Cat Can Slide Partnership and Sommers is looking forward to showing him at the NRBC and NRHA Derby next spring. Level 2 Co-Champion and Level 1 Champion: Hollys Electricspark and Jonathan Gauthier Jonathan Gauthier and Hollys Electricspark won big with the level 1 championship and the level 2 co-championship. The horse has been a winner from the very beginning for Gauthier and owner, Russell Flint, both of Lucama, North Carolina. I ve shown him only once before we showed in the Oklahoma City, explained the young NRHA Professional. I showed him and won all four open divisions of the Morning Star Performance Horses Futurity last summer and that s the only time we ve shown. I took him to the ABI Futurity (Atlantic Breeders Incentive) a few weeks ago to show, but he acted a little sick so I decided not to show him. It seems his cautious decision paid dividends at the NRHA Futurity. With a composite score of 440, Gauthier, 25, reached one of his personal goals. I wanted to make the open finals, he said. Not only did he make the open finals but he also qualified for all four divisions. Jonathan, who is the son of NRHA Professional Francois Gauthier and runs his own training business out of his father s Sunny Pines Farm,in Lucama, said that it was a team effort to prepare the horse this year. He got tossed between my dad and me. We each rode him at different times throughout the year, and I really think it helped him. Gauthier marked a in the first go-round and was concerned the pressure might get to him in the second go. We ve had people looking at him since before the show started. After the first go they approached us again, and we sold him before the second go-round. It really relieved a lot of pressure for me, and it probably helped me show better. Hollys Electricspark is a brown stallion sired by Jacs Electric Spark out of Dunit N Continental by Hollywood Dun It. He got his early training from NRHA Professional Pierre-Luc Phaneuf before he ended up in Jonathan s training barn. Jonathan trained in Germany about four years ago and has worked hard to bring success his way ever since. Going to Germany was a good deal for me, he said. I ve had my own business for over four years now. I moved back to my father s farm in North Carolina last year and things have gone very well. His Futurity success was a nice finish to a year that pulled his family apart for several months. My wife, Janina, is German and she had to go back to Germany this summer with my two-yearold son, JJ, Jonathan said. But we are all back together, and it was special to share this win with both of them.

8 Level 2 Co-Champion: Wimpyneedsacocktail and Thiago Boechat The level 2 co-champion was Wimpyneedsacocktail, ridden by native Brazilian Thiago Boechat, who returned to the show pen after a one-year hiatus. I m a pretty competitive guy, so when I don t have the horsepower I stay away from the show pen. In fact, the talented showman didn t show at all in However, things started to fall in place in 2010 and Boechat found himself mounted on some winning prospects. One was Wimpyneedsacocktail, owned by Prudencio Flores, of Guadalupe, Mexico. Jordan Larson showed him at the John Deere Futurity in Tulsa and at the Congress. After the Congress the horse was sent to Shawn Flarida, who placed him third at the Carolina Fall Classic Futurity. Shawn picked three other horses to show in OKC, so the owner told me to pick him up and show him. FINALIST SIRES Several sires were represented by three or more offspring in the levels 1 4 open finals: Topsail Whiz: (7) Owned by Bob Loomis Reining Horses Dun Whiz It, ridden by Tom McCutcheon, owned by Oldenburg Farm LLC Hard Way Whiz, ridden by Duane Latimer, owned by Luga LLC Ms Hollywood Whiz, ridden by Mathieu Buton, owned by Buton & Rybar Reining Whiz, ridden by Brent Naylor, owned by BNE Syndicate LLC Smoking Whiz, ridden by Brett Stone, owned by Silver Spurs Equine Taris Little Whiz, ridden by Dell Hendricks, owned by Adair Reiners LLC Whiz Is How Its Dun, ridden by Billy Williams, owned by Michell Anne Kimball Jacs Electric Spark: (4), Owned by Troy Heikes & Buck Hazledine Hollys Electricspark, ridden by Jonathan Gauthier, owned by Russell Flint HR Jacs Okie Spark, ridden by Dean Brown, owned by Robert Santagata Jacs Electric Stop, owned and ridden by Justin Mathison Whole Lota Jac, ridden by Troy Heikes, owned by Gwendy Steif Smart Spook: (4) Owned by Rosanne Sternberg Custom Spook, ridden by Andre Fappani, owned by B&L Holdings LLC Jacs Lil Spook, ridden by David Zimmerman, owned by Newell Quarter Horses LLC Red Stripe Spook, ridden by Mike McEntire, owned by McEntire & Evans Sparkle Spook, ridden by Riccardo Nicolazzi, owned by Shooting Star Quarter Horses Wimpys Little Step: (4), owned by Xtra Quarter Horses Heza Skeets Step, ridden by Pierre-Luc Phaneuf, owned by KC Performance Horses LLC Nics Wimpy, ridden by Jared Leclair, owned by Peter Salter Wimpysneedsacocktail, ridden by Thiago Boechat, owned by Prudencio Flores Wimpys Lil Star, ridden by Billy Williams, owned by Wimpys Lil Star Partners Conquistador Whiz (3) Owned by Silver Spurs Equine Conquistadors Sandy,ridden by Peter DeFreitas, owned by Double Run Farm Quistador,ridden by Shawn Flarida, owned by Augustine & Gaynia Revenberg Smart Dundee, ridden by Brandon Brant, owned by Cathy Brant Gunner: (3) Owned by Tim & Colleen McQuay Always Gotyer Gunsup, ridden by Tim McQuay, owned by McQuay Stables Inc. Colonels Shining Gun, ridden by Andrea Fappani, owned by Rancho Oso Rio LLC Pale Face Dunnit, ridden by Randy Paul, owned by Shari Kay Jaster Whiz N Tag Chex: (3), Owned by Lance Griffin Starlight N Tag, ridden by Vernon Sapergia, owned by Manfred Frey Kachina Tag N Chex, ridden by Duane Latimer, owned by Lance Griffin Kachina Tag Olena, ridden by Duane Latimer, owned by Lance Griffin Brandon Brant and Smart Dundee were level 1 reserve champions. With just about two weeks to get to know his new show partner, Boechat found him very easy to get along with. Jordan and Shawn did a great job on him. He was very well trained, and I just wish I had more time to get to know him before I had to show him. When it came down to Futurity go-rounds, Boechat was really pleased with the horse. He got better every time we competed. We were still just getting to know each other, and he really showed great for me. I think he s a great horse. Wimpyneedsacocktail is by Two Million Dollar Sire Wimpys Little Step out of Seven S Mimosa by Hollywood Dun It. Boechat is excited about a new venture in which he has become involved. He s now the general manager and head trainer at Xtra Quarter Horses, Purcell, Oklahoma, which is also the new owner of Wimpys Little Step. This new partnership is giving me the opportunity to get more horses in the show pen and I m looking forward to Level 1 Reserve Champion: Smart Dundee and Brandon Brant Smart Dundee, ridden by Brandon Brant, was the level 1 open reserve champion. Brant has had a storybook show season, and he finished it just as he had hoped. Brant told us after his success at the NRHA Derby in June when he won the open level 1 and 2 championships aboard Dun It With A Splash that his goal for the remainder of the year was to make the NRHA Futurity open finals and he did! Aboard Smart Dundee, owned by his wife, Cathy, the NRHA Professional from London, Ohio, was one of three riders to qualify for all four open finals divisions. Honestly, I had no idea he was this nice of a horse. I hoped he was, but he really stepped up when I needed him to in Oklahoma City. Brant and the bay gelding finished the first go-round in a seven-way tie for tenth and then came back to win the second go in the level 1, 2, and 3 divisions. He s always been pretty solid, but he was sort of on the back-burner for most of the year because we owned him. He s a big stopper and has lots of natural rate and seems to stay hooked when I show him. Brant won the All American Quarter Horse Congress level 2 open

9 Hollywood Dun Its Daughters Are Doing It The champions of the open levels 1, 2, and 3 and the Prime Time open divisions are all out of daughters of Six Million Dollar Sire and Hall of Fame inductee Hollywood Dun It. Futurity division on him last year and also made the level 4 and 3 open finals on him at that show. The NRHA Futurity found Brant winning money in every open division. He and Smart Dundee earned the level 1 reserve championship with a finals score of 218. They also placed third in the level 2 finals, fifth in the level 3 and 14th in the open finals. Brant and his wife took home paychecks totaling more than $37,445 from the NRHA Futurity. Prime Time Open Futurity: Always Gotyer Gunsup and Tim McQuay The winners of the Prime Time open division had more in common than their age classification. Both the champion and reserve champion riders rode the get of Million Dollar Sire and Hall of Fame stallion Gunner (Colonels Smoking Gun) out of daughters of Six Million Dollar Sire and Hall of Famer Hollywood Dun It. The winner, Two Million Dollar Rider and Million Dollar Owner Tim McQuay was on board Always Gotyer Gunsup, owned by McQuay Stables, Tioga, Texas, when he captured the division with a composite score of 445. The winner is determined by the handicapped scores from the first and second go-rounds. McQuay, a two-time NRHA Open Futurity champion and NRHA Professional, had never shown the mare prior to the Futurity, because his daughter, Million Dollar Rider Mandy Mc- Cutcheon, had shown her up until that point. In fact, Mandy helped her dad get ready for the first go-round. She knows her better than I do, McQuay said with a smile as he waited for his horse. I m going to do just what she tells me! McQuay was a good student as he marked a very consistent pair of 222.5s in the first and second go-rounds. The duo also marked a in the level 4 open finals to tie for seventh place. The fancy mare is by McQuay s stallion, Gunner and out of Always A Dunit by Hollywood Dun It. Importantly, McQuay owns Gunner along with his wife Colleen and was also co-owner of the great, late Hollywood Dun It. Million Dollar Rider and NRHA Professional Randy Paul, also a former NRHA Futurity champion, earned the Prime Time Open reserve championship aboard Shari Kay Jaster s Pale Face Dunnit with a composite score of 441. Pale Face Dunnit is out of Lena Dun It. ABOUT THE WRITER Karen Shedlauskas is an active NRHA non pro competitor. She s a two-time NRHA intermediate non pro world champion and many times non pro reserve champion at the All American Quarter Horse Congress. She s a member of the NRHA youth committee and has served on the NRHA Hall of Fame and Marketing committees. Currently she s the NRHA Sire & Dam representative. She lives in Austintown, Ohio.