The 2010 National Reining Breeders Classic Non Pro Championship was decided in an exciting run-off between two dynamic Non Pro competitors. Coming in as draw 5, Samantha Griffin piloted Dun Playin Tag to a 222.5 – taking an early lead.

That lead held until draw 20, when Kim Dooley and Country Custom, by Custom Crome out of Calatrava, jumped up to tie with another 222.5.

Dooley had been an NRBC Non Pro Co-Champion in 2006 with Mandy McCutcheon – but this year she decided that, rather than split the title, she’d run it off instead. “You always wonder how it could have turned out. I said ‘Why not?’ I would have been happy with Reserve, too. I think Samantha felt the same way,” she said. “I had confidence and figured my horse had enough left.”

Griffin went first in the run-off and her smooth stops and fast spins resulted in a 222. “Sam’s a great rider and she put down a great first run. I said it was going to be tough to beat, but we’d just do our best,” noted Dooley.

Their best was what was needed, and amidst hoots and whistles the Scottsdale, Arizona, Non Pro went for it. When the score – a 223 – was announced, Kim was ecstatic. “It’s amazing! He did great and I’m really proud of him.”

The bounty of prizes that the Non Pro Championship came with – from a year’s use of a beautiful 2-horse slant Featherlite from Twin Cities Featherlite to SmartPak products to a trophy saddle sponsored by Pard’s – were beautiful accompaniments to the biggest prize of all: The Non Pro Championship came with a big check, written to the tune of $40,908. “I couldn’t believe how much money it paid this year,” she said. “The NRBC has always paid great – but wow! If I could only come to one show a year, it would definitely be this one.”

Dooley actually made it back to the Non Pro Finals on two horses. Her other entry was Wimpys Little Buddy, a 6-year-old gelding on whom she was part of a 7-way tie for third at the 2009 NRBC. “I actually thought I had a better shot with Buddy (Wimpys Little Buddy) because he’s been such a good honest horse and I’ve shown him so much,” she said. “This is only my second time to show Charlie (Country Custom) so it was really surprising.”

Kim and Buddy finished third in the Non Pro Finals and collected $18,675. They also tied for the high score of the first go-round, collecting an additional $6,878. Because she also placed third in the first go on Charlie, her total take for the week exceeded $70,000!

Samantha Griffin and Dun Playin Tag had to settle for reserve in the run-off, but they still won big at the NRBC – that Reserve Championship was good for $24,901. Dun Playin Tag is owned by Samantha’s father, Lance Griffin, a former NRBC Non Pro Champion. In fact, the two years that Lance won the title – 2003 and 2004 – it was on Whiz N Tag Chex, the sire of Dun Playin Tag. Dun Playin Tag is out of Brennas Dunit Fancy.

Intermediate Non Pro, Non Pro Prime Time, and Non Pro Mare

With a finals score of 219, Rick Christen and Skeets Little Annie claimed the Championship of both the Intermediate Non Pro and the Non Pro Prime Time, taking $12,904 for the Intermediate title and $1,725 for the Prime Time. They also collected $5,970 for winning the Non Pro mare, and a fifth place finish in the Non Pro division brought their Final’s take to $34,828.

“It was very exciting. It was very fun,” said Christen after the win. “I just wanted to stay out of the penalty box and stay out of her way.”

Christen purchased Skeets Little Annie, by Skeets Peppy out of Oaks Little Annie, at the 2006 NRHA Futurity Prospect Sale. The mare went into training with Dan Huss. Although she had her entire 4-year-old year off due to a soreness issue, the mare came back strong and has been a consistent winner in the Open and Non Pro. In fact, Christen piloted her to the Non Pro and Intermediate Non Pro Championship at the 2009 National Reining Horse Association Derby.

“We’ve had some really good runs. She’s a great little horse.” He added modestly, “She was prepared by Dan Huss. He’s the one who makes this all happen for me. Without him it would never have come together.”

Christen plans to show “Annie,” for a little longer, but retirement is in sight for the 6-year-old mare whose earnings now exceed $100,000. “Having her win $100,000 has always been a goal for me. There are not many mares that do that,” he said.

George Lawrence and This Chicsdundreamin, by Magnum Chic Dream out of Hermosa Dun It, placed Reserve behind Christen in both the Intermediate Non Pro and the Non Pro Mare. The Intermediate Reserve title came with a check for $7,855, while he received a check for $4,478 for second in the Non Pro mare division. Lawrence and This Chicsdundreamin, who were the 2009 Intermediate Non Pro Champions, also placed sixth in the Non Pro, worth an additional $12,450.

The Prime Time Reserve Championship was won by Michael Garnett and ARC Smokin Gun with a 218. Garnett and the 4-year-old by Colonels Smoking Gun out of Custom Mahogany, took home $1,125 in the Prime Time and earned an additional $16,562 for placing in the Non Pro and Intermediate Non Pro.

Limited Non Pro and Non Pro Level 1

Kylie Knight had a great Non Pro Finals. Having qualified for four of the Non Pro division finals, she placed in the Non Pro and Intermediate Non Pro, won the Non Pro Level 1, and after an exciting run-off also won the Limited Non Pro! All told, her take for the finals was $20,183.

Competing in the Non Pro Finals as draw 27, Knight piloted Whata Chic Magnet, owned by her parents Kevin and Sydney Knight, to a 217.5 and took the lead of the Limited Non Pro and the Non Pro Level 1. But the very next entry, Shannon Rafacz and Repeat Fine Footwork, were also competing in the Limited division, and marked another 217.5!

Both entries opted for a run-off, and Knight was first. “My horse was even better in the run-off than he was in the Finals,” she said of 218 run, which clinched the Championship. “I didn’t get as much momentum to my first stop in the finals, but in the run-off he was a lot more loose and was faster.”

Knight, a 20-year-old at Texas Christian University, can usually be found in the reined cow horse arena. In fact, she’s a two-time American Quarter Horse Youth Association Working Cow Horse World Champion, and has won titles in National Reined Cow Horse Association Limited Age Events. However, the Non Pro finals berth was a first. “I’ve never made the Non Pro finals in anything!” she said. “I’ve made the Intermediate Non Pro and Amateur in the cow horse – but never the Non Pro, so that’s pretty cool!”

Shannon Rafacz and her horse Repeat Fine Footwork, by Footworks Finest out of Repeat BH, were only two points lower than Knight in run-off, and took home the Limited Non Pro Reserve Championship. Rafacz, of Citra, Florida, collected $3,821 for the Reserve title, and an additional $12,179 from the Intermediate Non Pro and Non Pro divisions.

Like Knight, Brook Hokana of Temecula, California, made all four Non Pro finals, and won the Reserve Championship of the Non Pro Level 1 on her horse RR Hi Ho Star with a 216.5. Along with the $1,050 she won for second, she was third in the Limited Non Pro for $2,866, tied for sixth in the Intermediate Non Pro for $3,647, and a twelfth place tie in the Non Pro garnered an additional $4,002.

The Open Finals will begin Saturday, April 17, in the Coliseum of the Great Southwest Equestrian Center in Katy, Texas. The entire event is webcast, and the live feed can be accessed through the NRBC website.

The National Reining Breeders Classic, celebrating its tenth anniversary at the Great Southwest Equestrian Center in Katy, Texas, is the most successful stallion incentive program in reining history. In just thirteen years, the NRBC has grown to include upwards of 230 subscribed stallions and in 2009, there were over 2,800 enrolled foals. Annually, the payout at the National Reining Breeders Classic exceeds $1.3 million. For information on the NRBC, visit the web site at www.nrbc.com or call 580-759-3939.