Megan Miller, riding Olive Martini, by Metallic Cat, scored 220 points on Friday, to top a field of 47 NCHA Derby Non-Pro semi-finalists. Twenty-one horses (under 18 riders) with scores of 215.5 points or higher qualified for the NCHA Derby Non-Pro Finals, beginning at 1:00 p.m., Sunday, August 6. In addition to Miller, high-scoring riders included Regan Plendl with 219.5 points on Mr Metallic Rey LTE $64,648, and Paula Wood and Lindy Ashlock, with 219 points on Suen Too Be Black LTE $20,333 and In Reyverse LTE $71,776, respectively.
Madalyn Colgrove, Boligee, Ala., qualified on three horses – Peptos Time To Dual with 218.5 points, Sweet Baby Marie with 218 points, and Tank Tallic with 215.5 points. Kathleen Moore, Madill, Okla., qualified on two horses – The Golden Shot with 216.5 points and Reyvinmetallicat with 215.5 points. In addition, Moore’s nephew, Ty Moore, qualified with 216.5 points riding Smooth XTC, also owned by Kathleen.
Megan Miller, an NCHA Non-Pro Hall of Fame member and earner of $943,806, placed ninth in the 2016 NCHA Derby Non-Pro Finals riding Justa Lil Catfight LTE $70,978, a mare Miller’s sister, McKenzie Merrill, showed as a 2015 NCHA Futurity Non-Pro finalist. Miller also won the 2009 NCHA Super Stakes Non-Pro championship on Itawtathenapuddycat and the 2009 NCHA Super Stakes Classic Non-Pro on Travs Scooter.
Prior to the 2017 NCHA Derby, Megan and Olive Martini LTE $22,637 placed third in the PCCHA Derby Non-Pro and ninth in the Bonanza Non-Pro Finals.
Olive Martini, out of Martinis Miss Peppy, is a half-sister to the Freckles Playboy daughter Miss Martini Play LTE $89,418, dam of NCHA Horse of the Year Copaspepto $414,619 and nine other money earners, including Stylish Martini LTE $361,920 and Shesa Dirty Martini LTE $361,920.
Regan Plendl, Kingsley, Ala., was reserve champion of the NYCHA Senior Youth Scholarship Cutting on Twistful Thinking, just one day before she and Mr Metallic Rey placed in the NCHA Classic Challenge Unlimited Amateur Finals. Trainer Nick O’Dell also showed Mr Metallic Rey as a finalist in the NCHA Derby Limited Open.
So far in 2017, Regan and Mr Metallic Rey, by Metallic Cat, have claimed three major wins – the Arbuckle Mountain Non-Pro championship and Unlimited Amateur championship, as well as the Non-Pro Cutting Unlimited Amateur championship. Regan also showed the gelding as an NCHA Futurity Unlimited Amateur finalist.
Paula Wood, Stephenville, Tex., is an NCHA Non-Pro Hall of Fame member, NCHA Non-Pro World Champion, and earner of $2,263,226. Wood won the 1997 NCHA Non-Pro Derby on Chita Cash $207,169, the second dam of Suen Too Be Black, by Boon Too Suen. Wood also showed Chitas Blue Boon LTE $55,805, by Duals Blue Boon, as a 2004 NCHA Derby Non-Pro finalist.
Paula Wood’s many other career highlights include the 2012 NCHA Futurity Non-Pro championship on Donas Suen Boon LTE $388,939, bred by Wood, sired by Boon Too Suen, who was trained and shown by Paula’s husband, Kobie, and out of Paula’s 2006 NCHA World Finals Non-Pro champion Donas Cool Cat LTE $315,104.
Lindy Ashlock and In Reyverse won the 2017 NCHA Super Stakes Non-Pro and also claimed the reserve championship of the Arbuckle Mountain Non-Pro; placed third in the PCCHA Derby Non-Pro and won that event’s Non-Pro Gelding division; placed fourth in the Augusta Futurity Non-Pro; and also placed in the Breeders Invitational Non-Pro.
Ashlock, an NCHA Hall of Fame member with earnings of $1,388,068, counts the 2008 Millionheir Classic Non-Pro championship aboard Smart Sweetnlow as her richest win ($150,000). But she has won and placed multiple times in numerous events, including the NCHA Futurity, the NCHA Super Stakes, and the NCHA Derby. Most recently, Ashlock was Non-Pro Reserve Champion of the Breeders Invitational on 4-year-old Catin Safari.