CD Lights, who leads the NCHA open world championship standings (as of 8-25-06), passed his $200,000 lifetime earnings mark last weekend. The 7-year-old stallion, ridden from the start by co-owner Winston Hansma, was a finalist in 14 major aged events, including the 2003 Suncoast, which he won with 229 points – a record high for the event.

CD Lights’ other co-owner, Danny Motes, bred the stallion out of Delight Of My Life, who Hansma rode to win the 1997 NCHA Derby. Hansma also showed CD Olena, the sire of CD Lights, to win the 1994 NCHA Futurity and the 1995 NCHA Derby.

With wins in six top circuits, CD Lights has held the world championship lead from the start. But it was the goal of $200,000 in earnings that kept Hansma and Motes on the trail, and they scheduled shows to accommodate the stallion’s full book of mares at Alpha Equine Breeding Center near Weatherford, Texas.

Although Jeremy and Candy Barwick’s gelding Dual Rey Me is currently in second place and closing fast, Hansma and Motes are adamant about their course.

“We are sticking to our plan,” said Motes. “No hauling all over the country – just to where it works out comfortably for him. We need him to last at the breeding barn for many a year to come.”