Carl Lambert scored a 221 on Custom Nifty Nic and took home lots of loot as well as the Reserve in the Non-Pro and Intermediate Non-Pro divisions.
See the story as in the Quarter Horse News
Loot For The Grassroots Wrap-up
Written by Pat Feuerstein
In a spectacular ride that earned a score of 223, Molly St. Hilaire, Yamhill, Ore., won the $50,000 Non-Pro and $35,000 Intermediate Non-Pro divisions of the historic Loot For The Grassroots reining at the International Reining Festival, Denver, Colo.
On Saturday, Oct. 18, St. Hilaire rode NQH Little Jac (Jac Daniels Neat x Annies Little Squaw x Squaw Leo) and earned $11,500 in the Non-Pro and $8,050 in the Intermediate Non-Pro for a total of $19,550.
The inaugural Loot For The Grassroots was held in conjunction with the International Reining Festival, Oct. 14-19, Denver, Colo. The event offered “Loot” worth $100,000 for non-pro reiners in four divisions: $50,000 in the Non-Pro, $35,000 in the Intermediate Non-Pro, $10,000 in the Limited Non-Pro and $5,000 in the Prime Time Non-Pro.
The Loot was open to non-pro riders who had not earned $24,999 in NRHA lifetime earnings as of Jan. 1, 2008. St. Hilaire came to Denver with $13,514 to her credit. NQH Little Jac had a tad more. Ridden by Andrea Fappani, NQH Little Jac was second in the 2003 NRHA Futurity. As of the first of the year, he had $179,533 in lifetime earnings, Custom Nifty Nic International Reiningincluding the $104,342 earned for his NRHA Futurity Open Reserve Championship.
With lifetime earnings of $7,035, Carl Lambert, Hempstead, Texas, certainly qualified to compete in The Loot. Riding Custom Nifty Nic (Custom Crome x Brennas Nifty Kid x Brennas Kid), Lambert scored a 221 and was Reserve in the Non-Pro and Intermediate Non-Pro divisions. He earned $7,000 in the Non-Pro and $4,900 in the Intermediate Non-Pro for a total of $11,900.
While special pre-conditions negotiated by show management and the NRHA allowed NRHA judges to officiate, money earned in The Loot will not be added to a rider’s NRHA lifetime earnings. However, in the interest of keeping this a “grass-roots” event, the champion and reserve champion in each division are not eligible to compete for the next two years.
Limited Non-Pro and Prime Time
The prospect of competing in The Loot kept reiners buzzing from coast to coast all season, and both coasts were represented when the first paychecks were delivered. Bundy Lane, Gates, N.C., won the $10,000 Limited Non-Pro division and Sally Hoppe, White City, Ore., won the $5,000 Prime Time.
Lane rode his 10-year-old Dualin At Dawn (Dualin Gun x Coronas Cravat x Corona Cody) to a score a 219.5 to win a paycheck worth $2,300. Lori Waters, Livingston, Mont., was second with a score of 218 earned on her This Whiz It (Topsail Whiz x Miss Peppy 161 x Peppy Nino 161). She earned $1,400.
Hoppe rode Shadownics (Bueno Chexinic x Muskegs Shadow x Muskeg), owned by Ron and Sally Hoppe to a score of 222 to win The Loot’s $5,000 Prime Time division and $1,150. Liz Havery, Krum, Texas, rode Who Whiz It (Topsail Whiz x Blonde At The Bar x Hollywood Jac 86), a 10-year-old stallion owned by Liz’s husband, Clint. The pair scored a 220.5 and earned $700 for second place.
The Loot used the qualifying go-round format with a clean-slate finals for the Non-Pro and Intermediate Non-Pro divisions. The winners of The Loot’s Limited Non-Pro and Prime Time were determined by first go-round scores. The event was judged by Sid Griffith Jr., Chris Kozlowski and Rick Weaver.
Grass-roots plus
The International Reining Festival offered a full slate of NRHA classes, the Mountain Regional Affiliate Finals and two aged events, the Stallion Select Futurity and Mile High Derby.
On opening day, Oct. 14, Whizs Bronze Star (West Coast Whiz x The Bronze Star x Rollin With the Flow), ridden by Pete Kyle for Kaitlin Townsend, Argyle, Texas, scored a 148.5 to win the $5,000-added Open division of the Mile High Derby and $2,703. Springipep (Mister Dual Pep x Spring Plain x Just Plain Colonel) owned and shown by Eduardo Pinto Ribeiro, Joliet, Mont., scored a 148 for second place and $1,858.
On Oct. 15, Shiners Chic (Smart Chic Olena x Ebony Shines by Shining Spark), ridden by Brad Giesbrecht for Manntana LLC, Aubrey, Texas, scored a 218 to win the $7,000-added Open division of the Stallion Select Futurity and $3,130. Super Chic Olena (Smart Chic Olena x Super Little Lena x Doc Olena), ridden by Jared Leclair for Ruedi Heim, Werentzhouse, scored a 215 for second placed and earned $2,152.
The complete Loot For The Grassroots story will be featured in the Nov. 15 issue of Quarter Horse News.
