It was a draw yesterday, in the NCHA Derby Non-Pro Gelding finals between Kelle Earnheart and Carl Gerwien, who tied with 220.5 points on Cancan Reyvolution and Mia Smart Quejana, respectively.

Gerwien, from Alberta, CAN, also placed eighth in the 11-horse finals aboard Short N Suave.

“I knew that wasn’t where I wanted to go,” said Gerwien, who scored 208 on Short N Suave. “But Mia Smart Quejana is more solid, so I was in better shape on him.”

Gerwien trains his own horses — Mia Smart Quejana is out of a mare that he also showed — but since the 2010 NCHA Futurity, he has enlisted the help of trainer NCHA Horse of the Year trainer Phil Hanson, to hone his mounts.

Gerwien is the leading NCHA non-pro money earner who currently resides in Canada, and along with Peppy San and Phil Collins, is one of just three NCHA Hall of Fame members of the NCHA and Canadian Halls of Fame.

Kelle Earnheart and Cancan Reyvoultion haven’t slowed down since the NCHA Non-Pro Futurity, where they placed third. Since then, the pair have claimed championships in the 2011 Tunica Non-Pro Futurity, as well as the Bonanza Non-Pro, and the Bonanza Gelding division.

“I cut fresh cattle and they held up, even though we were next to last,” said Earnheart, who also rode Cancan Reyvolution on Thursday to qualify for the NCHA Derby Non-Pro finals.

Classic Challenge Non-Pro Ltd

Collbran Larsen and DS Mrs Wilsonfreckle blew away the competition in the 25-horse Classic Challenge Limited Non-Pro finals with 222 points, as the first to the the herd in the finals. Page Bowman and Scoot Over Here claimed reserve with 215.5.

“I went in there and cut as clean as I possibly could,” said Larsen, who celebrated his seventeenth birthday on the day of his win. “Before I went in, I knew she was ready.”

Collbran, whose father, Dana Larsen, trained DS Mrs Wilsonfreckle, prepped for his run by watching videos of Lee Francois and Jason Clark, who had also recently claimed wins from the number one draw.

Larsen’s family owns Wilsons Lil Freckles, sire of DS Mrs Wilsonfreckle.

Read more in the Daily Chatter.