Brandon Dufurrena, Gainnesville, Texas, earned his first championship in Fort Worth with 225 points aboard Miss Ella Rey, in Thursday’s Matthews Cutting Horses Super Stakes Classic Non-Pro Limited at the XTO Energy NCHA Super Stakes.

Steven Feiner, Los Angeles, California, was reserve champion with 222 points on Rascal Cats, by High Brow Cat.

“It doesn’t always work out like this, but this time it did,” said Dufurrena, 25, who came cutting next-to-last in the 27-horse finals and found three game cows

“That was my biggest score ever,” said Dufurrena, except that I tied in the (NCHA) Derby Semi-Finals with 225 points on Miss Ella Rey.

“She does it all — she has everything that we want in a horse. We can say that we trained that into her, but a lot of that is her – just the way she is.”

Six-year-old Miss Ella Rey was bred by the LKC Ranch and trained by Ed Duffurena, Brandon’s father. Shown both by Ed and Brandon in open and non-pro competition, Miss Ella Rey has earned over $130,000. She is by Dual Rey out of Huggs Olena. Her latest win will take her over the $140,000 mark.

Brandon collected the first check on the mare in the 2008 Oklahoma Early Bird Futurity. Since then, she has been a finalist in 21 limited age events.

Robert Thigpen Jr. won the Senior title on Cowtowns Cat, a son of High Brow Cat