This year’s WCHA Breeders Championship and Big Money Halter Futurities were a huge success and featured two days of superior halter horse competition.
WCHA Breeders Championship Futurity entries were up 36% and the payouts up 26% from the 2016 Futurity. The Big Money Futurity entries more than doubled and payouts were up 110%! Over $265,000 was paid out in both futurities. A large part of this success was attributed to the moving the Futurity to Fort Worth and joining the APHA World Show venue.
Also contributing to the growth of the futurities was the large increase in the number of Paint and Appaloosa horses competing this year. It was interesting for the spectators, and very rewarding for WCHA, to have all three breeds not only compete together, but to have each of the breeds represented with futurity winners.
Click here to view complete results for the WCHA Breeders Championship Futurity.
The Big Money Halter Futurity featured 90 horses and more than 160 entries competing for cash and prizes, including $10,000 added in the inaugural Big Money color classes. To view the complete results, click here.
Suzonne Franks of Cisco, Texas was the winner of the inaugural Peter J. Cofrancesco III Highest Money-Earning Non-Pro award, with earnings of $18,446. This year’s Leading Sire award and WCHA Sire Bonus of $1000 went to HES SO THAT, owned by Phil & Sue Drawdy of Fort Pierce, Florida. Get of HES SO THAT won more than $24.600 at this year’s Futurity.
SUCHAN EGO, owned by Fossil Gate Farms, was the winner of the Big Money Halter Futurity Sire Bonus of $1000.
Exhibitors were treated to two parties over the weekend. The first was a Welcome Party held at Rod Patrick Bootmakers. Saturday night featured a barbecue, complements of Candy’s Cowboy Cabins, and the Lip Sync Contest. Dena Raggio representing ApHC, Billy Smith with APHA, and Anne Prince, President of WCHA judged the Lip Sync Battle and chose Dani Huckabee and Drew Smith as “Johnny & June” as this year’s winning act. Music for the Exhibitors Party on Saturday was provided by Zachary Page of the Mudflap Mafia.
Plans are already in the works for 2018. Stallion nominations for both the Big Money and WCHA Futurities will open in November.
