Wimpys Little Step Offspring Shine in Ardmore

ARDMORE, OKLAHOMA - It was a very successful week for the offspring of Wimpys Little Step at the Southwest Reining Horse Association's annual Futurity and Horse Show. Topping the list of winners was Allison Sutton, riding All About Wimpy. Sutton and All About Wimpy, by Wimpys Little Step and out of Crow About This, scored a 218.5 to clinch both the Intermediate and Limited Non Pro titles.

"This was really exciting. I just wanted to go out there and do my best, whatever happened," explained the 20-year-old University of North Texas sophomore. "I wasn't over-confident coming in, but I did know this mare was good."

Sutton took home a $2,268 check for the Intermediate Non Pro title, and $1,160 for the Limited Non Pro Championship. She was also awarded two saddles, and two Lawson bronzes, and her win earned Wimpys Little Step owner Mark Schols a golf cart. Watch for Sutton and All About Wimpy at the NRHA Non Pro Futurity in late November.

In addition to Sutton's success, Wimpy's progeny did well in other events, too. In the Open Futurity finals, Steppin Off Sparks, ridden by Justin Mathison for Claude Lindsey, scored a 220.5 to tie for 14-16 in the Open Futurity and win third in the Intermediate Open Futurity. The total paycheck from both divisions totaled $5,573. Big Steppin Wimpy also made the Open and Intermediate finals, placing 5^th in the Intermediate Open with Patrice St. Onge, riding for Randall Furby. The pair scored a 218.5 to earn a check for $3,708. Tying for 11-12 place in the Intermediate Open was Wimpys Little Olena, ridden by Don Boyd and owned by Don Boyd and Rebecca Keller. The score of 216 earned a paycheck worth $1,275. In the Limited Open Futurity, Wimpys Minx, owned by Green Valley Partners, and ridden by Ray Van Der Hoeven, scored a 214, tying with Pearls Little Step, owned by Ginger and Craig Schmersal, ridden by Yonathan Baruch. The scored tied both horses for 9^th-12^th place, and earned checks worth $437 each. In the Limited Non Pro Futurity, Lil Star Stepper and Emily Winegar placed 11^th, earning $151.

Other winners included the following:

Intermediate Open Futurity Prelims: Big Steppin Wimpy/Patrice St-Onge, 221, 3/4, $773
Intermediate Non Pro Prelims: All About Wimpy/Allison Sutton, 217.5, 1^st, $373
Limited Non Pro Prelims: All About Wimpy/Allison Sutton, 217.5, 1^st, $191
Novice Horse Open: Wimpys Red Berry/Brent Wright, 143, 11/12, $177
Intermediate Open (horse show): Hot Little Step/Roy Van Der Hoeven, 220.5, 2/3, $405
Limited Open (horse show): Hot Little Step/Roy Van Der Hoeven, 220.5, 2, $255
Rookie Professional: Hot Little Step/Roy Van Der Hoeven, 220.5, 1, $149

Flarida Takes NRBC by Storm
by Kelly Carr

Katy, Texas - If there were any questions about the abilities of Shawn Flarida, they were answered during the Saturday night finals of the 2008 National Reining Breeders Classic, held April 14-20 in Katy, Texas.

Flarida, the only rider with three horses in the finals, not only piloted the 2007 NRHA Open Futurity Champion, Wimpys Little Chic, to victory with a 233.5 score, but he also finished second on RC Fancy Step with a 231. Both horses are by the 2002 NRHA Open Futurity Champion Wimpys Little Step, the first horse Flarida ever won the event on.

"This show is great, and it is hard to win," said Flarida, who won the NRBC for the first time in 2006. "You take the best of the best from three years of horses, and there are a lot of great horses here. The horse show is awesome, and it's continuing to grow. They do a phenomenal job with marketing, and it's such a relaxing atmosphere to boot. I'm really honored to win here again."

Wimpys Little Chic is on her way to making history. Only one horse has ever won the top three major reining events - the NRHA Futurity, NRBC and Derby - and no horse has ever won reining's version of the Triple Crown in the same year. With one more horse show, a lot of luck and a great trainer at the reins, "Lexi" could do just that. No horse in NRHA history has ever won all three events with the same rider, so Flarida could certainly conquer another historical milestone with a win at the NRAH Derby at the end of June.

"I try not to think about that stuff," Flarida remarked when asked. "My job is to show horses, and I do my best to do that well. Winning is always great, but as a horseman, I'm just pleased to see my horses do their best. But I will say that Wimpys Little Chic is a special, special horse. I've had a lot of great ones, but she's the best I've ever ridden. She's an amazing horse, and I'm just grateful to be the one riding her."

Wimpys Little Chic is owned by Arcese Quarter Horses USA, based in Weatherford, Texas and Italy, and was bred by Monica Watson of Double Run Farm in Leland, N.C. Watson also bred Wimpys Little Step and Collenas Finest Tafy, who finished as the Open Reserve Champion in the 2006 NRHA Open Futurity. Watson was on hand at the NRBC to give Lexi a good-luck kiss, complete with a red lipstick stain left on the horse's white blaze. When she exited after her phenomenal run, Watson left another lipstick kiss on her blaze.

"Leave it!'' Flarida said after the run. "I think it's her good-luck charm. And she deserves a kiss after what she did out there, too."