Bella Anderson, Victoria, Tex., riding The Reyl McCoy, and Jennifer Rector, Rogersville, Mo., on Smooth Reyn, tied with 218 points, on Thursday, July27, as co-champions of the NCHA Rios of Mercedes Classic Challenge Amateur. Kim Davis, Sacramento, Calif., was third with 217 points aboard Red Solo Cat.
This was Bella Anderson’s second major win in 2017. Earlier this year, she won the Amateur championship of The Non-Pro Cutting on Jackie A LTE $19,094, by Cats Quixote Jack.
The Reyl McCoy LTE $132,724, by Dual Rey, placed sixth in the 2015 NCHA Futurity Open under Tate Bennett, who also showed him to placed fourth in the 2016 NCHA Super Stakes Open, and to win the 2016 Arbuckle Mountain Open championship. Last week, Bennett and The Reyl McCoy split 11/12 in the NCHA Classic Challenge Open Finals.
Bella Anderson, NCHA Youth qualified rider and the NCHA earner of $49,637, placed fourth in the 2015 NCHA Super Stakes Classic Amateur with Jack And Jewel LTE $45,500, by Cats Quixote Jack. She also showed Cats Little Boomer LTE $181,787, by High Brow Cat, as a 2016 NCHA Classic Challenge Amateur finalist and 2016 West Texas Futurity 5/6 Amateur champion.
Jennifer Rector and Smooth Reyn LTE $61,554 made their debut together as Amateur and Unlimited Amateur finalists in the 2015 NCHA Futurity. Since then, Rector, the NCHA earner of $68,726, and her Smooth As A Cat daughter have been Amateur or Unlimited Amateur finalists in nine major events, including the 2016 NCHA Super Stakes and the 2016 NCHA Derby, as well as the 2016 Breeders Invitational, where they earned the Amateur Unlimited reserve championship.
Earlier this year, Rector and Smooth Reyn also placed as $5,000 Novice Non-Pro and $35,000 Non-Pro finals in the NCHA Eastern National Championships.
Kim Davis, Sacramento, Calif. and Red Solo Catt LTE $113,850 made their limited age debut together in the 2017 NCHA Super Stakes Classic Amateur Finals, where they placed seventh. Prior to that, the 5-year-old Metallic Cat gelding had been shown by Kim’s son, Bear Davis, who racked up an impressive record of 27 finals checks in Unlimited Amateur and Non-Pro/Limited competition, including nine wins and six seconds. Most recently, Bear Davis and Red Solo Catt placed in last week’s NCHA Classic Challenge Non-Pro Limited Finals.
Kim Davis has NCHA earnings of $34,812; Bear Davis has earnings of $119,294.