Jay McLaughlin and Lil Miss Shiney Chex marked a 225 in the cow work as part of their Open Bridle World Championship run. Jay McLaughlin and Carol Rose were pleased with the results of the day.

Unseasonably chilly, damp weather in San Angelo, Texas, didn’t seem too troubling for contestants at the National Reined Cow Horse Association Celebration of Champions held Jan. 30-Feb. 7. The event returned for the second year to its new home in the hospitable city’s First Community Credit Union Spur Arena. Despite economic woes, entries at the Celebration of Champions were up significantly – 17 percent over last year – due in part to the popularity of the event’s relocation from Stephenville, Texas, to San Angelo.

“It’s such a nice facility. Even though we had some challenges with the weather this year, the facilities made up for it. You could get in out of the cold and rain,” said Tish Wilhite, a Clovis, Calif., non-pro. “The people in San Angelo are always so nice, and make us feel wanted and welcome. It’s a long way to haul for us, and when you’re treated so well once you get here, it makes a difference.”

Added NRCHA President Kathy Gould, “It’s our second-biggest World show, and I don’t see it doing anything but growing. The people are so nice, and the media comes out every day. We don’t get that [media coverage] anywhere else we go.”

The week of compelling cow horse action included the Southwest Reined Cow Horse Association Circle Y Derby and the crowd-pleasing World’s Greatest Horseman contest. It also was decision time for 2009 NRCHA World Champions in 12 Open, Non-Pro and Youth divisions.

Open Bridle
An overjoyed Carol Rose, Gainesville, Texas, celebrated multiple championships in San Angelo with horses she owned and raised. One of her favorite horses, Lil Miss Shiney Chex (Shining Spark x Lil Miss Smarty Chex x Smart Little Lena), topped off a successful week by capturing the Open Bridle World Championship with Rose’s head trainer, Jay McLaughlin.

Lil Miss Shiney Chex marked a 220.5 in the rein work and 225 in the cow work. The win came with a check for $8,428.
“This is a very special mare. She was special to me when she was born, and she’ll always be special,” Rose said. The mare is nicknamed “Sarah,” after Rose’s close friend Sarah Johnson, daughter of reining trainer Craig Johnson.

Working seventh in the draw, McLaughlin and Lil Miss Shiney Chex put together an impressive reining pattern, and then had to wait for a new cow after the judges deemed the first one too disrespectful.

“I liked the first one. I thought that was the cow to win it on,” McLaughlin said. “I thought, oh, I’m not going to get a good cow at all, now. But it ended up being a good cow. She made two big turns and ran eyeball-to-eyeball circling.”

Rose showed Lil Miss Shiney Chex herself at the 2008 AQHA World Show, making the Senior Working Cow Horse finals.
“I hadn’t shown in 40 years,” she said. “It was fun. She’s a wonderful mare.”

Rose and McLaughlin noted that Lil Miss Shiney Chex is hypersensitive to noisy, crowded conditions, so McLaughlin kept her away from other horses and the main arena until the very last moment.

“I had my guys standing here at the gate. When they said ‘you’re up,’ I just trotted right through the door and into the arena. She went right to business.”

Rose credits diligent teamwork for “Team Rose’s” success in San Angelo. “Jay and all his boys have worked so hard in preparation for this show. What we did was demonstrate what we’ve been doing at home. It definitely paid off,” she said. “I’m so blessed to have such wonderful horses.”

Lil Miss Shiney Chex was the 2008 NRCHA Open Two-Rein World Champion, also with McLaughlin in the saddle. Before the Open Bridle World Championship, she had $79,354 on her Equi-Stat earnings record. Plans call for the mare to compete in several bridle spectaculars this year, in preparation to be McLaughlin’s World’s Greatest Horseman mount next year.

The Open Bridle Reserve Champion was Master Visa (Master Remedy x Shesa Lota Cash x Nu Cash), shown by Dave Vietor, Philipsburg, Mont., with a 443 composite score – 215 in the rein work and 228 in the cow work. The gritty 8-year-old mare is owned by Richard Willett. The placing added another $6,622 to her prior $17,246 Equi-Stat earnings. Vietor has shown “Visa” since she was a 3-year-old. The pair narrowly missed the Open Two-Rein finals at last year’s Celebration of Champions, and Vietor wanted to give the mare another chance at a World Championship. “She’s a great little fence horse. For a horse no bigger than she is, she can run a hole in the wind. She’s really good on her feet, real quick and reads a cow real well. I basically just have to hang on and go for the ride,” Vietor said.

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