Will Bushaw, Weatherford, Tex., scored 218.8 points on Ava Rey, by Dual Rey, to win the 2020 NCHA Metallic Cat Summer Spectacular Amateur Derby on Thursday, July 23. Michael Townsend, Edmond, Okla., scored 218 points on Heavy Metal Faith, by Metallic Cat, for the reserve championship, while Bridget Trenary, Nashville, Tenn., on Sugar Smak, by Kit Kat Sugar, and Langston Pattillo, St. Elmo, Ill., on Catsa U Later, by Boon Too Suen, tied with 216 points for third in the 26-rider field.
Will Bushaw, the NCHA earner of $89,993, was a 2019 NCHA Futurity Amateur Unlimited finalist riding Crown 57 LTE $18,217, by High Brow CD. He was also 2020 NCHA Eastern Nationals Junior Youth reserve champion aboard Smooth Sailing Cat LTE $132,779, by Smooth As A Cat, and placed in the 2020 Junior Youth World Finals on Velvets Revolver LTE $277,351, by WR This Cats Smart.
Ava Rey LTE $8,787, bred by PJ Cutters, Fort Worth, Tex., was shown as a Non-Pro finalist in the NCHA Futurity by Will’s father, Chad Bushaw, who will show the Dual Rey daughter on Monday, July 27, the same day that Will is entered to show Crown 57.
Ava Rey, who earned $8,009 as the NCHA Derby Amateur champion, is a half-sister to The Kwack Shack LTE $57,692, by Spots Hot, who won the 2019 NCHA Derby Open Limited under Pedro Ornelas for Anderson Cattle Co., Victoria, Tex.
Michael Townsend, the NCHA earner of $108,038, won the 2016 NCHA Super Stakes Amateur championship and was reserve champion in the Amateur Unlimited on Faith In My Kat LTE $98,441, a three-quarter brother to Heavy Metal Faith.
Heavy Metal Faith LTE $5,968 was shown by Tommy Marvin to place fourth in the 2020 Arbuckle Mountain 4-Year-Old Open Limited. Her dam, Faith In Your Mate, an unshown daughter of Smart Mate, has produced 11 NCHA earners of $755,616, all bred by Lakeside Ranch, Edmond, Okla., including Faith In My Cat LTE $559,706, by High Brow Cat.
In addition to the Amateur Finals winner’s purse of $5,336, Townsend also won the $15,000 Metallic Cat Incentive, and earned $2,138 as the Amateur Novice champion.
Bridget Trenary, the NCHA earner of $116,898, showed Sugar Smak to win the 2020 Non-Pro Intermediate and place third in the Non-Pro Limited at The Non-Pro Plus Open in Ardmore, and placed ninth in the Amateur Finals at Arbuckle Mountain. Trainer Rodrigo Taboga won the NCHA Futurity Open Limited championship and placed twelfth in the Futurity Open on Trenary’s Kit Kat Sugar daughter, as well.
Sugar Smak LTE $60,763 is out of the unshown Smart Mate daughter Mates Pretty Special, also dam of Special Wild Hair LTE $29,563, a 2009 gelding sired by Wild Haired Cat.
Langston Pattillo, the NCHA earner of $419,148, was the 2018 NCHA Amateur Rider of the Year and also owner of 2018 Amateur Horse of the Year High Stylin CD LTE $268,416, by High Brow CD. Pattillo showed High Stylin CD to win the 2018 and 2019 NCHA Classic Challenge Amateur Unlimited championship, as well as the 2018 NCHA Classic Challenge Amateur, among many other wins.
Last December, Pattillo showed Catsa U Later to place ninth in the NCHA Futurity Non-Pro Finals. This year, he and the Boon Too Suen daughter won the Abilene Spectacular Amateur Unlimited and placed ninth in the Non-Pro division, and also placed in the Amateur Finals at Arbuckle Mountain. Catsa U Later LTE $27,244 is out of Catsa Movin LTE $103,046, by High Brow Cat, dam to the earner of $13,152, including Peeks Peps Cat LTE $110,907, by Peeka Pep.