Kobie Wood and Julie Hansma both set personal records in the third round of the Mercuria Energy NCHA World Finals last night in Fort Worth. Hansma marked 228 to win the Non-Pro division on Al Poocino. Wood marked 231 on Gary Rosenbach’s Boon Too Suen to take the Open.
Wood and Hansma had something else in common – their daughters dominated the Junior Youth World Standings this year. Lane Wood is the World Champion, while her sister, Marley, also finished in the Top 15. Twins Cade and McCall Hansma, finished second and third in the standings.
Kobie Wood, who came into the World Finals ranked 13th, moved up to sixth place with last night’s $6,410 paycheck. Working 12th in the 15-horse set, he found that the cows on his list were still ready to go.
“It was incredible the way he felt,” Wood said. “Just to be in that set of horses is a great deal.”
Boon Too Suen is a 5-year-old stallion by Peptoboonsmal out of Meradas Little Sue, the mare that Wood showed to three World Championships. Boon Too Suen also finished fifth in the $10,000 Novice World Standings and he has earned more than $215,000. Wood won World titles with both Meradas Little Sue and Cash Quixote Rio when they were 5-year-olds.
“Five is probably the best year to go with them because you’ve got all that training that is fresh on their minds,” he said. “But you have to judge if they can take the stress. So far, he’s taken it pretty good.”
Rosenbach, who was an NCHA Futurity Amateur finalist on Boon Too Suen in 2008, is scheduled to ride a Mecom Blue mare in Monday’s Amateur go-round.
Ms Peppy Cat, the 2010 leader who won the first two rounds of the World Finals with Pete Branch, marked 226 last night for second place. She has an unbeatable lead of more than $49,000 in her World Championship run.
Julie Hansma set her previous best score – a 226 – when she won the Mercuria Energy NCHA World Series finals at the San Antonio Rodeo earlier this year. Her winning check last night took the Dual Pep 6-year-old’s earnings over the quarter-million mark.
Tara Gaines, the leader in the Non-Pro World Champion race, picked up a fourth-place check with a 223 on Patrick La Dual last night, after winning the first two rounds of the World Finals. She is nearly $8,000 ahead of seven-time World Champion Mary Jo Milner.
The Mercuria Energy NCHA World Finals conclude Saturday in the Watt Arena, with a 4 p.m. start. Admission is free.