Teenagers played a prominent role in the Mercuria Energy NCHA World Series finals at the San Antonio Rodeo Saturday. The winning Open horse, Cats Starlight, was ridden by thee-time NCHA World Champion Jeremy Barwick for 17-year-old Taylor Carbo, the NCHA’s reigning Senior Youth World Champion.
The winning Non-Pro was 17-year-old Caleb Anderson, the Senior Youth World Champion of 2009.
Barwick bought Cats Starlight for Carbo last year when the Plaquemine, Louisiana teen decided to haul for the World. But that plan was interrupted by knee surgery last summer, and Carbo finished his championship season with other horses.
“My last cow today was a little tougher than we thought it was going to be, but he handled it,” said Barwick, who won Open World Championships in 2006, 2007 and 2009 with Dual Rey Me. “It’s pretty amazing. This horse has been off since last August, and we hadn’t even gotten to show him until this show.”
Carbo also qualified for the Non-Pro finals on the 8-year-old gelding by High Brow Cat out of Cookie Starlight.
Barwick won the finals at San Antonio with a 224.5, and he also tied for second with a 222 on Nicky Prejean’s Cats Greystone. Eight of the 14 finalists were by High Brow Cat.
This was Barwick’s second World Series victory. He won the 2009 event at the All American Quarter Horse Congress, riding Dual Rey Me.
Paul Hansma marked 219.5 on Skip and Elizabeth Queen’s Sister CD in the finals, adding $3,632 to that horse’s lifetime tally. Sister CD, cutting’s richest active horse, will go over the $820,000 mark with his San Antonio money.
Non-Pro Champion Caleb Anderson
Caleb Anderson was notching up his third World Series win at San Antonio. He won last year at Oklahoma City’s AQHA Battle in the Saddle, and at California’s El Rancho Futurity.
Anderson capitalized on an early draw to mark 227 on CA Las Vegas Lights, taking the dual-registered gelding past the $100,000 milestone. CA Las Vegas Lights is a 12-year-old by Smart Mate out of Real Plain Jane.
“I always complained about being second because I hate being early, but I drew second in Oklahoma, too, and I kind of learned my lesson there,” Anderson said. “My first two cows were exactly what we wanted and started me off right. I got tangled on my third cut and just shape-cut my last cow. It just came into the middle of the pen and worked. It was one of those things that was meant to be.”
Anderson plans to show at the Mercuria NCHA World Series show in Houston and hopefully repeat last year’s achievement of qualifying for the Mercuria NCHA World Finals by the end of the season.
“Last year, I didn’t have Las Vegas Lights the whole year, and this year I do, so hopefully we can do that. If I can get in the top two or three, maybe I can convince my dad to let me haul, but we’ll see.”
See the Mercuria NCHA World Series at San Antonio full results.