Sapergia/Hendricks Tie for SWRHA Open Futurity Championship

It’s known as “Where the Finest Go First,” and on October 24, the Southwest Reining Horse Association Futurity lived up to its reputation as one of the best previews for future stars.

Thirty-one entries qualified for the Billingsley Ford Open Finals, which featured added money of $52,000. Of those, twenty managed to score a 221 or higher! Draw 17, All In Wrangler, was piloted to an early lead with a score of 228.5 by National Reining Horse Association Million Dollar Rider Dell Hendricks.

The very next entry was Cody Sapergia and Leonard Tag, to whom the judges awarded a 227.5. As horse after horse came close, it looked like Hendricks would win, and Sapergia would settle for Reserve.

But the requisite check of the judge’s score sheets revealed a corrected score for Sapergia, bringing his score to a 228.5! The two riders opted to remain Co-Champions, instead of deciding the Champion in a run-off. It worked out well, as the Open Champion receives a Golf Cart from the SWRHA, as does the owner of the sire of the highest placing Open entry. Since Dell owns Starlights Wrangler with Sally Broten, All In Wrangler’s sire, and Lance Griffin, who owns Leonard Tag also owns his sire, Whiz N Tag Chex, the two Champions were each able to leave with one of the SWRHA’s signature golf carts. The Co-Championship also came with a check for $13,889.

Sapergia noted he had resigned himself to a tie for Reserve with Gunny Mathison and Shine On Line. “I had heard Shawn’s score and Dell’s score and I was just hoping to be in the top five at the end of the day. Then, the show was over, and I found out that I had tied to win it,” he explained. “I feel for Dell, but I’m really happy for me! We didn’t run it off because it’s late in the year and the NRHA Futurity is coming up. Both of our horses were good today, and we didn’t need to run them off.”

Leonard Tag is owned by Lance Griffin, and is by Griffin’s stallion, Whiz N Tag Chex. “He was ranch raised, and kind of a gangly colt. He wasn’t one of my favorites, but we started riding him, and he did his job every day. He just got better and better, and he is still improving,” Sapergia, who works at Griffin Quarter Horses in Ardmore, Oklahoma, noted.

For Hendricks, winning on All In Wrangler feels like coming full circle. He trained and rode his sire, Starlights Wrangler, to win the 2001 SWRHA Open Futurity. That win was followed by numerous others, including the National Reining Breeders Classic Open Championship.

“He’s special to me, because he is one I raised out of my stallion and one of my mares, and I was able to bring him to this event and win,” Dell said. “I have to give a lot of credit to his owner, Glen Reed, who did most of his training. I have only been riding him since the end of July.”

Although Hendricks raised All In Wrangler (Starlights Wrangler x Docs Miss Ace), he consigned him to the Legacy Sale, where he sold to Carlos Deleu, and was then sold to Reed. “I met Glen at the NRHA Derby, and he said he wanted to ride with me. He brought All In (All In Wrangler) and asked if I wanted to get on. I told him I didn’t because I wouldn’t want to get off. When I did, I knew he wanted to be an Open horse, and I told Glen I really, really wanted to ride him.” Riding Shine On Line (Shining Spark x Oaks Little Diamond), the horse he owns with Mary Jansma, Gunny Mathison won the Intermediate Open Futurity and placed third in the Open division. The charismatic trainer who resides in Tioga, Texas, piloted his horse to a 227.5, winning $8,384 for the Intermediate Open and $7,883 for his third place in the Open.

Mathison, who was the fifth from last to go, admitted it was a little tough to handle the waiting. “I heard all those great scores, and it’s really hard to not go completely crazy. My old mentor and friend Tom McCutcheon told me to stay clean and to not get in the penalty box. My horse was good and I just tried to stay with him and not over-show him,” he said.

That is, of course, until the final part of the run -the three stops that complete pattern 10. “Every other time I have shown him I’ve been weak to the stops. I told myself to chase him down and that he’d stop. He definitely did tonight – the stopping is very easy for him.”

Matt Mills and Abigayle Mixon tied for the Reserve title in the Intermediate Open with scores of 225.5. Mills rode Dunit For Sugar (Reminic N Dunit x Ready Sugar Surprise) for Brian Westbrook, and Abigayle competed on Julgun for the Sather Family Partnership. Both collected $4,465, and collected an additional $4,504 for a sixth-place tie in the Open Division.

Abigayle and Julgun were actually entered in all four divisions, and won the Limited Open and Level 1 Open, taking home an additional $3,771. It has been a fairy tale week for Mixon and Julgun. The pair gained many new fans when they topped the first go-round of competition with a 224.5.

“I wasn’t really nervous after the preliminaries. I know that he’s the same every day, and I have a whole lot of confidence in him,” Mixon said of the Playgun stallion that she broke and trained as a 2-year-old. “He’s been good to me. I knew he was really nice, but I didn’t know that he’d be this consistent.”

Mixon is looking ahead to the NRHA Futurity in December. “I’m just hoping he continues to do as well as he has. I’m crossing my fingers,” she said.

Zane Haverty and Whodini (Who Whiz It x Sugar Pop Gun 1998), earned the Reserve Championship in the Limited Open and Open Level 1 with a 223. Haverty, who was riding for his father, Clint Haverty, collected $2,174.

Built in 1937, the historic Hardy Murphy Coliseum has been a mainstay as an Ardmore tourist attraction. Primarily designed to host horse and livestock shows, recent renovations to the facility have given it the flexibility to host even more events. Along with the space upgrades that allow the facility to stall 500 horses, the addition of air conditioning provides Hardy Murphy with the competitive ability to attract national and regional events. The renovations have resulted in a premier competitive equine facility.

For more information on the Southwest Reining Horse Association Futurity, or to inquire about the SWRHA, please call 580-759-2572, or visit www.swrha.com.