The National Cutting Horse Association’s Super Stakes and Super Stakes Classic ended its 18 day run April 16.

The show began March 28, and was presented by Fort Worth-based XTO Energy. More than 1,800 contestants competed for a portion of the purse worth over $3 million. This year’s show featured a revised schedule, with the Open classes at the beginning of the show followed by the Amateur and Non-Pro classes.

John Deere Open

Arosesuchaclatter and Bart Nichols, Cimarron, N.M., won the John Deere Super Stakes Limited Finals with 222 points. Dual Flames and Chris Johnsrud, Sloughouse,Calif., marked 218.5 points, earning the reserve championship for owner Carol Ward, Rancho Murieta, Calif. Nichols also placed third with 218 points on Rey Boon Lena, by Peptoboonsmal, owned by R.T. Stuart, Waurika, Okla.

Arosesuchaclatter, out of Smooth As A Cat, is owned by Armando Costa Filho, San Paulo, Brazil.

NQH Tom Cat and TJ Good, Weatherford, Texas, came out on top of the John Deere Super Stakes Classic Limited Finals with a 223.5 run. NQH Tom Cat, out of High Brow Cat, is owned by Jackson Land and Cattle in Weatherford, Texas.

Christian Johnsrud astride Lil Dulce Lu, by Dulces Smart Lena, claimed the reserve for owner Carol Ward with 221 points.

Open

After tying for fourth place in the semi-finals, Lee Francois, Murchison, Texas, won the Super Stakes Open Finals and a check for more than $112,000 with a 224 point ride on Reys Desire. Reserve champion went to Matt Budge, Weatherford, Texas, and Im Catman with 221.5 points.

Reys desire, a filly out of Dual Rey, is owned and bred by Woody Bartlett, of Pike Road, Ala.

Im Catman, out of High Brow Cat, is owned by Reata Cutting horses in Los Olivos, Calif. Under Budge, the gelding also won the Gelding Stakes with 223.5 points.

Phil Rapp, Weatherford, Texas, and Boyd Rice, Spearman, Texas, tied for the championship of the Super Stakes Classic Open, each marking 226 points. Rapp rode Don’t Look Twice, and Rice claimed another Super Stakes title on Third Cutting. The pair won the Super Stakes Open in 2009.

Don’t Look Twice, by High Brow Cat, is owned by Louis and Corliss Baldwin of Fort Worth, Texas. Third Cutting is out of Boonlight Dancer and owned by Carl and Shawnea Smith of Jacksboro, Texas.

$10,000 Novice (non-working)

Matt Budge, Weatherford, Texas, and IM Catman doubled up on wins with 221.5 points in the 4-year-old Open that also accounted for the non-working $10,000 Novice Finals. The reserve championship went to Spoonful of Seahorse, by Hes A Peptospoonful, and Skip Queen with 220.5. Spoonful of Seahorse is owned by Lori and Bobby Gale of Conway, S.C.

$10,000 Novice Non Pro (non-working)

Willys The Boss and Dean Holden, Marietta, Okla., took home the win for the $10,000 Novice Non Pro finals with 215 points, edging out Scotty Rice, Weatherford, Texas, astride Smooth Toy Cat. Willys The Boss is out of CD Lights, who has lifetime earnings exceeding $200,000.

Gelding Open

Matt Budge, Weatherford, Texas, and IM Catman sealed another win in the Super Stakes Gelding Open with 223.5 points. Wesley Galyean, Claremore, Okla., and his horse Harley, by Spots Hot, marked a 223 to earn the reserve.

Amateur

Star Smart Lena and Luis Alberto Dearmas, Caracas, Venezuela, marked 218 points to claim the Super Stakes Amateur championship. Dearmas is the first South American to win a major NCHA championship in Fort Worth. He also helped start an NCHA affiliate in Venezuela. Playful Sansallyboon, by Playdox, and Renee Lord, of Granbury, Texas, took the reserve with 215.5 points. Playful Sansallyboon is from the family of the 2009 Futurity Champion, Rockin W.

Playin At The Mall and Gene Quirk, Denham Springs, La., earned the Super Stakes Classic Amateur championship with a 222 point run. This was Quirk’s first major aged event win, while it was Playin At The Mall’s fourth victory and 14th “in-the-money” win. Playin At The Mall is out of Playdox. The reserve went to Lannies Freckles, by Mr Peppys Freckles, and Taylor Carbo, of Plaquemine, La., with 217.5 points.

Senior Open

DMAC Brown, out of Smart Little Lena, and Terry Riddle, Foster, Okla., marked 215 points to win the Super Stakes Senior Open division. DMAC Brown is owned by David and Stacie McDavid of Fort Worth, Texas.

Dick Gaines, Byers, Texas, astride cutting horse Zack Schmidt, out of Zack T Wood, earned a combined 428.5 points and the Super Stakes Classic Senior Open title. Zack Schmidt is owned by Mane Chance LLC of Ribera, N.M.

Limited Non-Pro

NQH Tom Cat and Todd Quirk, Denham Springs, La., took home the Super Stakes Classic Limited Non Pro championship with 221 points. NQH Tom Cat is out of High Brow Cat and also won the John Deere Classic finals earlier in the show. Kristen Galyean, Claremore, Okla., and her horse Shady Boonlight, by Boonlight Dancer, claimed the reserve championship with 219 points.

Non-Pro Gelding

Steve Anderson, Vicoria, Texas, and Scootin Dualquita, by Smart Lil Scoot, marked 218.5 points to win the Super Stakes Non Pro Gelding title. Just shy of Anderson’s score was Mary Ann Rapp’s, Weatherford, Texas, 218 point performance on ARC Catmando, out of High Brow Cat.

Non Pro

It was ties all around as the Super Stakes and Super Stakes Classic Non Pro divisions ended with four winners between the two classes. The four-year-old division co-champions were Jennifer Foland, Weatherford, Texas, astride Shes Twice As Smooth and Mary Ann Rapp, Weatherford, Texas on ARC Catmando with 217 points each.

Both riders took home a check estimated at more than $24,000. Shes Twice As Smooth, a mare out of Smooth As A Cat, also earned the reserve in the 2009 Futurity John Deere division. Rapp also placed as a finalist in the Super Stakes Classic Non Pro on Amanda Starlena and won reserve champion of the Gelding Stakes on ARC Catmando.

Gail Hooper, Decatur, Ala., and Michelle Anderson, Victoria, Texas, drew up back-to-back in the finals and finished in similar fashion. Hooper and Lena Rey Zack tied Anderson and Pantera Cat with 218 points to win the Super Stakes Classic Non Pro finals. Anderson won the second go-round and was a 2009 Super Stakes Non Pro and Gelding Stakes finalist with Pantera Cat, out of High Brow Cat. Hooper and Lena Rey Zack, by Dual Rey, also placed fourth in the Tunica Non Pro Classic.

Limited Senior Non-Pro (non-working)

Kits Little Pepto and Tom Bailey, Carbondale, Colo., won the Limited Senior Non Pro division with 210 points. Kits Little Pepto is out of Peptoboonsmal. Mecom Blue Voodoo and Mike East, Sarita, Texas, came in second with 206 points, followed by Billy Collier, Waller, Texas, astride Lizzys Lady Lena. Each of these finalists took home a check worth no less than $1,000.

Senior Non-Pro (non-working)

In the four-year-old division, Halos Rey, by Dual Rey, and Becky Elliot, Estill, S.C., took home nearly $5,000 with 205 points in the finals. Elliot was the only Senior competitor in the finals.

Julie Ann Wrigley, Weatherford, Texas, came out in first and second for the Classic Senior Non Pro finals. She was also the only Senior competitor to make the finals, and she entered with two horses – Pretty Katz, by Pretty Boy Cat, and A Little Bossy, by CD Lights. Wrigley earned almost $8,000 between the two wins, in addition to 12th and 24th in the finals.