Chubby Turner and reigning World Champion One Time Choice won the Mercuria NCHA World Series of Cutting at the Calgary Stampede July 8 for the second year in a row, marking a 223 to beat current World standings leader Special Nu Baby, ridden by Matt Gaines, by two and half points.
It was the third time in four years that Turner has won at Calgary. In 2012, he scored on Daniel Jaeggi’s CD Boonsmal. He shows One Time Choice for the Jaeggi family’s J Five Horse Ranch Mgmt. of Weatherford, Texas.
One Time Choice, by One Time Pepto out of Hickory Choice, by SR Instant Choice, is an 8-year-old mare bred by Walt and Lou Anna Burdette. The two-time World Champion has earned more than $280,000, including her $11,304 check at Calgary.
Last month, One Time Choice was inducted into the NCHA Horse Hall of Fame at the NCHA Convention, on the same evening that Turner went into the NCHA Members Hall of Fame.
This was Turner’s 33rd trip to the finals in a Mercuria World Series event, and his sixth win in the program. Phil Rapp holds the record for Mercuria wins with eight, all on Dont Look Twice.
Reserve champion Special Nu Baby is just shy of $400,000 with her Calgary check. She’s a daughter of Dual Rey and Nu I Wood, bred by Crystal Creek Ranch. Gaines also rode Nu I Wood, an earner of $405,000, to wins in the NCHA Derby and NCHA Super Stakes Classic.
Special Nu Baby, owned by Barker Ranch of Madill, Oklahoma, has won championships at the Bonanza and the Pacific Coast Cutting Stakes, as well as this year’s Mercuria World Series event at the San Antonio Rodeo.
Non-Pro: Marla Gonnet on Dirty Dreamin
Local star Marla Gonnet of Cayley, Alberta, won the Non-Pro finals with a 222 on Dirty Dreamin, while Michelle Lund took the reserve title with a 219 on Youll Miss Me.
Bred by Wingate Ranch, Dirty Dreamin is a 7-year-old mare by SR Instant Choice out of Saddle My Dreams, by Smart Aristocrat. In the last two years, Gonnet has a championship and a reserve on the mare from the Calgary Stampede Futurity. She also won the $5,000 Novice Non-Pro on her at last year’s NCHA Western National Championships. The mare brought earnings of more than $58,000 to Calgary.
“Competing against some of the best in the world here is unreal,” Gonnet said. “To make the finals, let alone win it, was pretty nice. She felt awesome today. She was on her game and ready to go cut.
“My favorite thing about her is how well we get along, how much she wants to work for me and take care of me.”
Reserve champion Michelle Lund of Red Deer, Alberta, rode Youll Miss Me, a 7-year-old daughter of Sweet Lil Pepto.
