Nicole Pietrafeso wins Senior Youth championship

Nicole Pietrafeso, Elbert, Colo., scored 218 points on Purely Badger to win the 2016 Scottsdale Nationals Senior Youth championship. Claire Shelton, Krum, Tex., riding Boon Style scored 212 points to take the reserve championship, while Kylie Kaufman, Clovis, Calif. and Simple Livin, placed third with 211.

Nicole and 11-year-old Purely Badger LTE $93,660, sired by Reys Dual Badger and owned by Ron and Adrienne Pietrafeso, were finalists in the 2016 NCHA $50,000 Amateur World Finals, as well as in the 2016 NYCHA Senior Youth World Finals. They were also $50,000 Amateur and Senior Youth finalists in 2016, at the NCHA Western Nationals.

Claire Shelton showed Nutn Buta Houndog in 2016 as a Junior Youth finalist in the NCHA Eastern Nationals, the NCHA Western Nationals and the NCHA Summer Spectacular Youth Cutting. Her Scottsdale Nationals mount, nine-year-old Boon Style LTE $47,660, is sired by Mr Boonsmal To You and owned by Bronc and Patti Willoughby.

Kylie Kaufman placed tenth in the NYCHA World Finals on One Instant, in 2016. Her mount in the Scottsdale Nationals is the 9-year-old mare Simple Livin LTE $122,894, sired by CD Royal. Simple Livin was a 2011 NCHA Futurity Non-Pro finalist under Janet Westfall. Now owned by Kylie’s father, Tom Kaufman, Simple Livin has been a finalist in seven amateur and non-pro finals.

Faith Farris Junior Youth Champion

Faith Farris, Midway, Tex., scored an overwhelming 222-point win aboard Reytheon in the Junior Youth Finals. Swing Thru The Drive and Emma Grace Rapp marked 216 for the reserve, while Jake Shelton placed third with a 210 on Simply Harry.

Farris, who has an 8-point lead in the 2017 Junior Youth World Standings as that race enters its final month, was a Junior Youth finalist at the 6666 Ranch NCHA Eastern Nationals in Jackson, Mississippi with Ginger Pepto earlier this year. She was also a finalist in last year’s NYCHA Youth World Finals on Quite The Fat Cat, and in the NYCHA Scholarship Cutting on Bingos Mate.

Reytheon is owned by Scottsdale’s Christine King. The 15-year-old gelding was bred by Chester Bell III by Dual Rey out of Teninos Taco, and earned more than $200,000, mostly with Non-Pro Julie Hansma and Hansma’s brother, Tom Dvorak, in Open competition. The late Spencer Harden got a standing ovation in Will Rogers Colisuem when he rode Reytheon in the historic NCHA Futurity Champions’ Cup, marking 50 years of the NCHA Futurity.

Emma Grace Rapp of Weatherford, Texas, rode Swing Thru The Drive, owned by her parents, Phil and Mary Ann Rapp. The Hydrive Cat mare is out of Justa Swinging Peanut, the dam of Horse of the Year Justa Smart Peanut.