The largest National Reined Cow Horse Association event, the Snaffle Bit Futurity, kicked off September 20 in the Biggest Little City in the World – Reno, Nevada.

As the best-paying event of its kind, the Snaffle Bit Futurity, held at the Reno Livestock Events Center since 1999 – and intermittently since its inception in 1970 – has become the must-attend event for reined cow horses. This year, the Snaffle Bit Futurity features 240 Open entries, all vying for a piece of the over-$1 million purse.

The gamble of training and showing a reined cow horse all the way to a Snaffle Bit Futurity win is a long shot and takes an incredible amount of skill and a lot of luck. As the first day of herd work preliminary competition began, luck and fortune favored some participants, but hindered others.

Rising above the competition was draw number 45 – Phillip Ralls and Dom Dualuise. The Paso Robles, California, trainer and the 3-year-old stallion marked a 220.5 – the current high score by two points. Owned by Chris Larson, Dom Dualuise is by Dual Rey and out of Smart Little XX.

Ralls was the 2009 Snaffle Bit Futurity Intermediate Open Reserve Champion on Very Smart Smoke, a gelding owned by his mother, Billie Jo Baxley

Leading both the Cinch Intermediate Open and Limited Open divisions with identical scores of 215 are Les Oswald on Dulces Little Light and Lorin Ashley on Darlins Money Dun It. By Dulces Smart Lena and out of Light The Stars, Dulces Little Light is owned by Richard and Rena Whyler. Darlins Money Dun It is by The Love Man out of Darlin Dun It, and is owned by Travis Cummings.

Open herd work preliminary competition continues through Wednesday, September 22. The Open finalists will be decided Saturday, September 28, after the completion of the rein and cow work. The Open Finals are held on Sunday, October 3, while the Cinch Intermediate Open and Limited Open Finals are held on October 2.

Complete results can be found on www.nrcha.com.

The National Reined Cow Horse Association, the governing body of cow horse competition, is responsible for promoting the sport, insuring high standards of competition and educating members and the public about the history and tradition of the cow horse. Through the support of a Corporate Partner family that includes Adequan, Bob’s Custom Saddles, Cinch, Classic Equine, Gist Silversmiths, John Deere, Markel Insurance, MD Barns, Merial products ULCERGARD and EQUIOXX, Nutrena, Pfizer Animal Health, Platinum Performance, Quarter Horse News, Rios of Mercedes, Running W Designs, the Silver Legacy, and Wide World of Horses, the Association works to keep the vaquero tradition alive in today’s equine industry.

For information on the National Reined Cow Horse Association, call 580-759-4949 or visit the NRCHA Official Web Site at www.nrcha.com.