Janet Westfall and her home-grown gelding Jeeps Posi Traction drew first and marked 224 to win the Non-Pro finals of the Mercuria / NCHA World Series of Cutting at the Reno Rodeo on June 26. Seven-time NCHA World Champion Mary Jo Milner finished second on Dulces Joker with 222.5 and Constance Jaeggi was third with a 220 on Dual R Smokin.
“I was a little bit nervous about going first, but Lindy (Burch) did a great job settling the cattle, and my husband, Russ, picked out three really good cows,” Westfall said. “Everything just fell into place. And he’s such a great horse that if he’s on target, he’s really easy to show.”
Westfall dedicated her run to the memory of west coast veterinarian Van Snow, who died in a plane crash in April. “He was a special friend who always took care of the horse,” she said. “I thought about him right before I went down there.”
While Westfall qualified for the 2009 Mercuria NCHA World Finals on Jeeps Posi Traction, Reno was only his second show of 2010.
“He’s a high-powered horse with a lot of energy, and he was really down and relaxed tonight,” she said. “I had a good feeling going in.
“I want to thank the people with Mercuria for making it possible to show all these horses. This is like going to an aged event, with an older horse, so it’s really special.”
Here’s a look at the Non-Pro finals:
| 224.0 |  JEEPS POSI TRACTION, 2000 (GENUINE JEEP x STARSTRUCK DB) |
| Rider: JANET WESTFALL Earned: $8,737 | |
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| 222.5 | DULCES JOKER, 2005 (DULCES SMART LENA x MISS JOKER TANQUERY) |
| Rider: MARY JO MILNER Earned: $7,269 | |
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| 220.0 | DUAL R SMOKIN, 2005 (DUAL REY x SMOKIN PEPTO) |
| Rider: CONSTANCE JAEGGI Earned: $5,802 | |
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| 219.0 | TACHITAS CAT, 2001 (HIGH BROW CAT x TACHITAS LAST) |
| Rider: MARGOT HAZELL Earned: $4,335 | |
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| 216.5 | LIL DULCE LU, 2004 (DULCES SMART LENA x MISS HAULIN HICKORY) |
| Rider: CAROL WARD Earned: $2,867 | |
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| 214.0 | TOMCAT CHEX, 2002 (HIGH BROW CAT x MISS REED CHEX) |
| Rider: JALINDA COVEY Earned: $1,400 | |
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| 194.5 | SPECTACULAR PLAYBOY, 2000 (FRECKLES PLAYBOY x NITA LIL LENA) |
| Rider: DAVID BOOTH Earned: $1,400 | |
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| 193.0 | LITTLE PROUD PEPTO, 2003 (PEPTOBOONSMAL x LITTLE PROUD MARY) |
| Rider: CHARLES ROVEN Earned: $1,400 | |
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| 0.0 | MS MIMOSA, 2001 (FRECKLES PLAYBOY x MS PEPPY DOC) |
| Rider: STEPHANIE HAYMES-ROVEN Earned: $1,400 | |
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