Gary Barker, Madill, Okla., posted 219 points on Tuesday, July 25, the second day of NCHA Summer Spectacular Classic Challenge Rios of Mercedes Amateur/Unlimited Amateur go-round. Riding 5-year-old Smooth Nu Cat, Barker topped the day’s Unlimited Amateur scores and tied with Robert Tiemann and John Brengard, who showed on Monday.

Rhein Standish, Baton Rouge, La., riding Im Countin Starz, and Langston Pattillo, St. Elmo, Ill., aboard TC Will, were Tuesday’s leaders in the Amateur division with scores of 218 points, tying with Monday’s leader, Jimmy Baros, riding Two Time Dual. Langston Pattillo is also slated to show in Wednesday’s Senior Youth Scholarship go-round, where John Brengard is a contestant, as well.

Gary Barker is the NCHA earner of $495,423. He was an NCHA Futurity Non-Pro finalist riding Our Grey Goose in 2012 and won the NCHA Winter Showdown Unlimited Amateur on Flash About in 2015. In addition, Barker has claimed Non-Pro or Amateur/Unlimited wins in the Arbuckle Mountain Cutting, the West Texas Futurity, the Brazos Bash and the PCCHA Futurity. Most recently, Barker showed Smooth Nu Cat to place fourth in the Non-Pro Cutting’s 5/6 Non-Pro Finals.

Smooth Nu Cat LTE $87,449, by Smooth As A Cat, was an open finalist with Matt Gaines in the 2015 NCHA Futurity, the 2016 NCHA Super Stakes and the NCHA Derby, as well as the 2017 Breeders Invitational. The bay gelding’s dam is Special Nu Baby LTE $481,197, trained and shown throughout her career by Matt Gaines.

Rhein Standish and 5-year-old Im Countin Starz LTE $31,320, by Im Countin Checks, placed this year in the Augusta Futurity Unlimited Amateur and the Ike Hamilton Futurity Amateur. Standish, the NCHA earner of $34,698, also was the reserve amateur champion of the 2017 Ike Hamilton Futurity riding Bet On Leona 013, who he also showed to place sixth in the Unlimited Amateur Finals.

Riding TC Will, Langston Pattillo was Reserve Amateur Champion of the 2017 Non-Pro 5/6 Cutting, as well as an Amateur 5/6 finalist in the 2017 Bonanza and the 2017 NCHA Super Stakes, and an Unlimited Amateur finalist in the 2017 Breeders Invitational. TC Will LTE $20,362, by Third Cutting, is out of a half-sister to Smooth As A Cat, a leading NCHA sire and the earner of $474,325.

The NCHA Summer Spectacular Classic Challenge Amateur/Unlimited Amateur go-round concludes on Wednesday, July 26.