One day after his wife Jill (pictured) won the Non-Pro division of the Pacific Coast Cutting Horse Association Derby, Tom Long wrapped up the Open Derby Championship riding Purely Gorgeous, by Peptoboonsmal. “I knew this mare could make a run, and she did,” said Long. “It was a tough class.” The win was worth $13,336.00 for owner, Coy Sanders, Gardnerville, Nevada. Purely Gorgeous was a finalist earlier this year in the San Diego Winter Cutting.
Jill Long’s championship win came aboard Cats Gotta Diamond with a 217-point performance. The four-year-old High Brow Cat son, bred by the Longs and trained by Tom, is out of Diamond J Starlight, the Grays Starlight daughter that Jill rode as non-pro champion of the 2001 NCHA Super Stakes Classic and non-pro reserve champion of the NCHA Classic/Challenge.
“I was a little nervous,” Jill admitted. “This is the first time I haven’t warmed up my own horse before showing.”
During the preliminary competition, Jill suffered an injury that left her with five stitches and two black eyes. Right after competition, as she was removing Cats Gotta Diamond’s protective leg boots, he kicked out at another horse and Jill caught the blow between her eyes.
“It all turned out fine,” she emphasized. “He’s just a really, really good horse. I’ve waited a long time to show another really great horse like him.” Jill was also 1999 NCHA Super Stakes Classic Non-Pro reserve champion on Starlight N Diamonds, a full brother to Diamond J Starlight.
Open Classic Challenge
In a 16-horse Open Classic Challenge finals, Tim Smith rode four horses that had earned four of the top five highest cumulative scores in the preliminaries. It was Frosty Frostina, ridden by Smith for Tommy Manion, Aubrey, TX, who held the high score of 444 points going into the final round, and the Smart Little Lena daughter upped the amps to win the title with 227 points in the finals.
“This mare works really good in this arena and she’s better on tough cows, which these were,” noted Smith. “It was honestly one of the hardest runs I’ve ever had in my career, because of the tough cattle.” The win put Fancy Frostina’s lifetime earnings over the $100,000 mark.
Mr Lizzy, a son of Lizzys Gotta Player, ridden by Andrew Coates for owner Greg Reyes, Saratoga, CA, captured the reserve championship with 222 points.
The Non-Pro Classic Challenge Championship was won by Dana Heinrich, Fresno, California on Precious Lil Pearl with a 224-point finals performance.
“She’s a really good mare,” said Heinrich. “I didn’t get to show her as a three-year-old, but when I brought her from Texas to California, in the middle of her four-year-old year, we really started to come together.” The now five-year-old mare was raised by Heinrich, who named her after her late mother-in-law.
“She was really a special person and this is a very special horse to me,” said Heinrich, who placed third on Precious Lil Pearl in the non-pro division San Diego Classic and seventh in the South Point Classic.