Taliate and Casey Green, next-to-last to work in the 14-horse finals of the Cattlemen’s Open Classic, on Wednesday, in Graham, Tex., scored 222.5 points to top Cinca Im Hot and Jesse Lennox, second to work in the herd, by one-half point and win the championship. Crafty With Cows and R.L. Chartier scored 221.5 points for third. The win was worth $15,500, while second place earned $13,000, and third place rated $12,000.
Taliate $165,054, a 5-year-old red roan gelding sired by Metallic Cat and owned by Bobby and Mary Jo Hawkins, Seguin, Tex., has been a consistent money earner since 2017, when he placed seventh in the NCHA Open Futurity with Green. He qualified for the Cattlemen’s Open Classic with go-round scores of 220 and 217 points. Although shown primarily in Open events, Taliate carried Bobby Hawkins as a finalist in the 2018 NCHA Derby Non-Pro.
Bred by Linda Holmes, Taliate is the first money earner out of Reytaliate, an unshown daughter of Stylish Rey and a half-sister to Little Jackson Cat $214,858.
Cinca Im Hot $177,656, sired by Spots Hot and owned by Rocking P Ranch, Fort Worth, Tex., was a 2016 NCHA Futurity finalist with Lennox. The pair followed the Futurity with the 2017 Breeders Invitational win and have since been finalists in 10 major events. So far this year, in addition to the Cattlemen’s Classic, they have claimed reserve championships in the Bonanza Cutting Classic and the Ike Hamilton Classic.
Six-year-old Cinca Im Hot is out of Cinca De Maya $106,341, whose dam, 2005 NCHA Futurity champion Highbrow Supercat $364,690, is an all-time leading dam of earners of $1,291,234.
Crafty With Cows $328,795, by High Brow CD, began his career as third-placed finalist in the 2016 NCHA Futurity under R.L. Chartier. Owned and bred by Carol Ward, Rancho Murieta, Calif., the 6-year-old gelding has earned money in 46 open, non-pro or amateur divisions of 14 major limited age events. His half-sister, Lil Dulce Lu $224,621, by Dulces Smart Lena, was a successful NCHA World Championship Open and Non-Pro, as well as limited age event competitor, and is the dam of Lil Lou Rey $70,670, who carried Ward as reserve champion of the 2015 NCHA Futurity Amateur Unlimited.