On the first day of the National Reining Horse Association Ancillary at the 2010 National Reining Breeders Classic, Richmond, Texas, trainer Steve Archer marked a 147 on Debra Smith’s Hes At Bat and Carolyn Tellepsen’s Custom Strategy to share the first place award in Intermediate Open (1).

On the last day of the Ancillary on Sunday, April 18, Steve marked a 220.5 on Custom Strategy to win the Intermediate Open (2) and also take second place on Hes At Bat with a 216.50. The two first place wins earned Steve the beautiful Gist Silversmiths high-point trophy buckle.

“Today was OK,” Steve said of his ride on Custom Strategy. “He could have been better but I probably could have been better too. He’s really a special horse.”

By Custom Chrome and out of Topnotch Melody, Custom Strategy has been in Steve’s barn for a couple of years. The 9-year-old gelding has almost $35,000 in NRHA lifetime earnings and Sunday’s win earned him another $579. Hes At Bat, a 7-year-old gelding with NRHA lifetime earnings of almost $29,000 who is by Rowdy Yankee and out of Rambos Smart N Smoke, earned $451 for second.

“We just love this show,” he said. “We love coming here to show every year.”

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.