Saturday, November 24
PG Heavily Armed, ridden by NCHA Hall of Fame Rider James Payne, marked 232 to win the second round of the Mercuria NCHA Open World Finals Saturday in the Watt Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. Presumptive World Champion Hashtags and Tatum Rice scored 228, and Stylish Bet, ridden by Lindy Burch marked 225.
The show has four working rounds plus a pencil finals, with the World Finals champion determined by total money won at the show. The year-end World Championship is based on World Finals money, plus money earned during the regular point year.
Payne shows PG Heavily Armed for Michael and Brenda Armstrong of Marietta, Oklahoma. The 6-year-old stallion is by Playgun out of 1997 NCHA Horse of the Year Not Quite An Acre. He won the Mercuria NCHA World Series of Cutting at the West Texas Futurity this summer, as well as the NCHA Classic Challenge and the Brazos Bash Classic. His career earnings stand at over $246,000.
PG Heavily Armed’s second-round win will move him up from 15th to 9th in the NCHA World Standings for 2018. He has a six and a half point led in the World Finals cumulative score with a 459.5, and a $1,400 lead in World Finals earnings.
Hashtags, shown by Hall of Fame Rider Tatum Rice for Hashtag Ventures of Weatherford, Texas, enhanced his total earnings for the year to $121,441. The 5-year-old Metallic Cat x Dual Rey Tag stallion has an insurmountable lead for the World Championship.
The Mercuria NCHA World Finals in the restricted classes begin Wednesday, November 28, and continue through December 1. The Non-Pro and Open World Finals resume with Round 3Â on Thursday, November 29.