Thursday, November 29
Four contestants claimed Mercuria NCHA World Finals victories Thursday in Fort Worth’s Watt Arena. They were Little Jackson Cat, ridden by Mike Wood in the $25,000 Novice; Brian Pearse on Reys Hot Wheels in the $35,000 Non-Pro; Tulsa Beck on Jet in the $2,000 Limited Rider; and Michelle LeMaster on Mootalic Cat in the $5,000 Novice Non-Pro.
In the $25,000 Novice, Little Jackson Cat and Light Blue Smoothy tied for first with a 223. Light Blue Smoothy is a CD Lights mare shown by Justin White for Kristin Hahn.
Along with his first-round score of 223, Little Jackson Cat took the non-working finals and the show championship, with World Finals earnings of $4,440. She also won the year-end World Championship with $54,438. Hall of Fame Rider Mike Wood shows Little Jackson Cat for Dawn Chapman of Chandler, Ariz.
Little Jackson Cat is a 2010 mare bred by the Estate of Kenneth Jackson by High Brow Cat out of Rey To Play, by Dual Rey. She has earned more than $202,000, including a Limited Open reserve championship with Grant Simon at the 2013 NCHA Futurity. Last year she won the Mercuria World Finals in the $25,000 Novice, ridden by Les Bates.
Mike Wood also showed the Reserve World Champion, Candy Girl (U) for Sandero Ranch. Bred by Glade Knight, Candy Girl (U) is an 8-year-old mare by That Sly Cat out of Cotton Candy (DNA), by Bob Acre Doc.
In the $35,000 Non-Pro, Dannica Percevich of Belle Fourche, South Dakota won the second round with a 225 on her Wild Haired Cat mare Wild Haired Lilly. Brian Pearse and Colleen Pearse split 3rd/4th with 218.5, giving Brian and Reys Hot Wheels a winning total of 440.5 and World Finals earnings of $2,387 for the show championship.
Two years ago, Pearse was second in the World Finals and Reserve World Champion in the $2,000 Limited Rider division riding Reyd. He went on to win the $35,000 Non-Pro World Championship last year with Reyd. This year, he finished the regular point year in fourth place in the standings on Reyd and Reys Hot Wheels. He moved up a notch to third place in the standings with his World Finals win.
Reys Hot Wheels is a 12-year-old gelding bred by Brinkman Ranch by Dual Rey out of Smart Little Beauty. He’s earned more than $190,000 to date. Owner Colleen Pearse rode him to win the $50,000 Amateur championship at last year’s NCHA Scottsdale Nationals.
Melissa Corcoran, of Alamo, Calif., won the World Championship with total earnings of $15,387. In the World Finals, she rode Smart Freckled Cat, a son of Widows Freckles. She also rode Scoot Justa Lil during the regular point year.
In the $2,000 Limited Rider division, Tulsa Beck of Scottsdale, Ariz. put together back-to-back 221s to sweep both working rounds and the non-working finals to win the show with $2,820.
Beck, who brought NCHA earnings of $248 into the 2018 season, has been working for NCHA Hall of Fame Rider Tim Smith. She’s in third place in the World Standings.
Jet, owned by Cows & Horses, Etc. of Encintas, Calif., was bred by Billy Martin by the late Light N Lena, out of Shania Pep. The 10-year-old gelding has earned more than $150,000.
Beck, whose World Finals payoff moved her into the Reserve World Championship with $9,548 for the year, also showed Cyndi Cat, Mr Willy Dual and Tachitas Brigalena during the regular season.
The World Championship went to Mary Penner of Scottsdale, Ariz. who rode Cyndi Cat in the World Finals. She also showed Bless Chu Mate during the year. Her total earnings were $17,253.
In the $5,000 Novice Non-Pro, Christine King of Scottsdale won the second round by half a point on her Metallic Cat gelding Metallicsfirstchoice with a 221.
But Michelle LeMaster of Las Vegas, Nevada, marked 220.5 with Mootalic Cat for second in the go-round, and a winning 439 in the pencil finals. That gave her $3,675 at the show and $55,924 to win both the World Finals and the World Championship.
This is LeMaster’s fourth NCHA World Championship. She previously won the $15,000 Amateur and $35,000 Non-Pro in 2010 with Budha Cash, and the $15,000 Novice Non-Pro with El Gato Benito in 2012.
Mootalic Cat is a 7-year-old mare bred by Gary and Jessica Gonsalves by Metallic Cat out of Etta Rey.
The first round of the Mercuria NCHA World Finals for the $5,000 Novice, $50,000 Amateur, $25,000 Novice Non-Pro and $15,000 Amateur gets underway Friday in the Watt Arena.