John Bradley Hauerland, Columbus, Tex., scored 217.5 points riding Metallic Dual Cat, on Wednesday, July 22, to win the NCHA Metallic Cat 5/6  Amateur Limited championship. Astrid Chacon, Weatherford, Tex., showed Safari Smooth Cat to claim the reserve championship with 217 points, while Rachael Lacy, Crested Butte, Colo., placed third with 216 points on Cougars Diesel.

Hauerland, the NCHA earner of $21,929, came to the Summer Spectacular after showing Shes Fire And Ice as the Amateur Limited 5/6 reserve championship and placing eighth in Amateur Intermediate at The Non-Pro Plus Open. Shes Fire And Ice LTE $48,801, is a half-sister, by Spots Hot, to Duramax Dually LTE $229,112, winner of last week’s 2020 NCHA Classic Challenge Open under Wesley Galyean. Hauerland also showed Metallic Dual Cat LTE $22,787 to place seventh and ninth in The Non-Pro 5/6 Amateur Intermediate and Amateur Limited, respectively.

Metallic Dual Cat, by Metallic Cat, also placed fifth, at four, under Clay Cerny, in the Waco Texas Open Futurity. Bred by Whitley Ranch, Brenham, Tex., 6-year-old Metallic Dual Cat is the first NCHA money earner out of Duallys Little Lady LTE $41,513, by Dual Pep.

The Classic Challenge reserve champion’s payout of $1,668 increased Astrid Chacon’s NCHA earnings from $2,974 to $4,642, and represented her first limited age event paycheck. Her horse, 6-year-old Safari Smooth Cat LTE $19,088, by Smooth As A Cat, had carried Isidro Sigala to win the 2018 NCHA Derby Amateur Unlimited championship and to place in three other major events. Chacon purchased Safari Smooth Cat from the mare’s breeder, Jose Sigala, last summer.

Safari Smooth Cat is a half-sister to Sofie Rey LTE $148,557, the dam of 2020 NCHA Derby Open champion and Open Intermediate reserve champion Sanctus LTE $93,861, bred by Isidro Sigala and shown by Rodrigo Taboga.

Rachael Lacy, the NCHA earner of $3,444, won the 2020 Arbuckle Mountain 5/6 Amateur Limited earlier this year on Cougars Diesel LTE $126,018, by High Brow Cougar.

Cougars Diesel has been a consistent limited age event finalist throughout his career, including with Adan Banuelos in Open competition and with Bill Lacy in Non-Pro events. The 6-year-old was bred by Karen Griffin, Bellingham, Wash., out of the Mr Peponita Flo daughter Miss Remanita, dam of eight NCHA earners of $416,852.