Grant Setnicka

The West Texas Futurity concluded this weekend in Amarillo, where Little Nitro Sally, ridden by Grant Setnicka for GS Cutting Horses, won $13,500 and the Open championship with 220 points. Dustin Adams won the Non-Pro division and $7,000 with 225 points aboard Justa Little Jimmy.

Little Nitro Sally is sired by Nitro Dual Doc, a Peptoboonsmal son who sold to Black Rock Ranch for $335,000, at the 2004 Hillis Akins Dispersal Sale. Black Rock Ranch is the breeder of Little Nitro Sally, out of Smart Little Sally, a daughter of Walton Ranch’s great producer, Boon San Sally.

Justa Little Jimmy, by Smart Little Lena. is out of Justa Swinging Jane, 2000 NCHA Derby Non-Pro champion with Kelle Earnheart.

For complete West Texas Futurity results with pedigrees, click here.

R.L. Chartier with his wife, Mica, and Special Nu Kitty.

R.L. Chartier and Beau Galyean dominated Open Classic and Derby competition in the $150,000-added West Texas Futurity on August 14, in Amarillo.

Chartier won the Open Classic with 227 points on Special Nu Kitty, the Wrigley Ranches-owned High Brow Cat daughter that he showed four weeks ago as reserve champion of the NCHA Classic Challenge.

He also tied Beau Galyean and High Dollar Cat, as co-champion of the Open Derby with 221 points on Smart Moria Kitty, owned by Ralph Gray, and placed with the third-highest score of 218.5 on his own horse, Shorta Bossy, by CD Lights.

Shorta Bossy and Chartier claimed reserve to Galyean and High Dollar Cat in the Open Derby Gelding division, as well, and in the Classic, Chartier placed fifth on A Little Bossy, a gelded son of CD Lights, owned by Wrigley Ranches.

Special Nu Kitty’s $11,000 win increased her NCHA earnings to $239,000; Chartier’s success makes him the show’s #1 money earner thus far, with a total of $36,450.

High Dollar Cat more than doubled his career earnings to $22,552 and collected his first limited age event checks with his Derby co-championship and Gelding championship. Galyean shows the High Brow Cat son for Alvin and Becky Fults, who also own Tassa Cat, third-placed under Galyean in the Open Classic and champion of the Open classic Gelding division.

In addition to High Dollar Cat, Galyean also rode Bentley Boon, owned by the Fults, to place 10th in the Derby and third in the Open Derby Gelding division. So far during the show, Galyean, who won the 2008 NCHA Futurity on the Fults’ stallion Metallic Cat, has earned $24,350.

The West Texas Futurity continues through Sunday, August 22.

Riding Phils Pull Toy, a home-bred mare trained by her husband, Phil, Leah scored 223 points to win the Non-Pro championship, as well as the Limited Non-Pro title. With $14,400 in winnings, Hanson now has a lifetime total of $41,868.

Reserve champion Kelle Earnheart posted 217 points on her NCHA Futurity Non-Pro champion Badgers Perscription and also tied for ninth place on Wicked Stick. Earnheart has career earnings of more than $870,000.

Mary Ann Rapp (pictured), cutting’s all-time non-pro leader with more than $3 million, won the 5/6-Year-Old Non-Pro Classic with 224 points on 6-year-old This Kats King. Dustin Adams and Alexa Stent each scored 219.5 to split second and third on MH Unexplainable and Haida N Cat, respectively. Stent also placed fifth riding Hava Cow and 14^th on Peptopinksmal.

Four of the 20 Abilene Futurity Non-Pro finalists also competed in the finals of  NCHA Non-Pro Futurity: Earnheart; Cole Rothwell; Armando Costa Neto; and Kyle Manion. Arosesuchaclatter, Costa Neto’s mount, was also an NCHA Futurity Open finalist.

Yadacat, the NCHA Futurity Open reserve champion, was an Abilene Non-Pro finalist under Darol Rodrock.

Click here for complete results and pedigrees.

Playin N Fancy Pep, owned by Slate River Ranch, scored 222.5 points with Kory Pounds for the reserve title, while Dont Look Twice and Phil Rapp, for Waco Bend Ranch, placed third with 221.5 points.
Rice also placed 14/15 with Peptos Stylish Sue for Lee Holsey, and 18/19 with Chers Smart Pepto for Ernest and Amy Cannon.

Paul Hansma, who won the Abilene Spectacular Futurity on Dub and Christy Leeth’s Reyminate, also tied for 11/12 with Cats Little Tank, owned by the Leeths, and with his own horse, Al Poocino.

Click here for complete results and pedigrees.

Hansma and Reyminate worked last in the first set, after three out of the four previous horses lost cattle. This was the third Abilene Futurity title for Hansma, who also won the event with Sister CD in 2006 and with Rockin By Choice in 2005.

Short Of Reymarkable claimed reserve and $15,000, with 225 points as the fourth to work in the second set of the 30-horse finals. The Dual Rey daughter was ridden by David Stewart for Roger Turner, Midland, TX.

“She’s easily the best one I’ve ever had,” said Stewart, who also won the Abilene Novice division on Short Of Reymarkable with 225 points. “She takes lots of riding and working, but she’s very good about it.

Special Nu Baby and Matt Gaines, scored 222 points deep in the second set for third place and $8,500. Owned by Gary and Shannon Barker, Madill, OK, the Dual Rey daughter placed 13^th with Gaines and earned $61,510 in the NCHA Futurity.

“She’s a lot like her mother,” Gaines said. “It’s been a lot of fun training her and now getting to show her because she does feel so much like Nu I Wood.”

Gaines won three major champions and earned $405,302 riding Special Nu Baby’s dam, Nu I Wood, a 1997 foal by Zack T Wood. Special Nu Kitty ($155,414) and Special Nu Cat ($127,750), sired by High Brow Cat, are also out of Nu I Wood.

Four out of the top six (tie for 5/6) Abilene Spectacular Futurity Open finalists were sired by Dual Rey. Click here for complete results with pedigrees.