Open Two-Rein

Kevin Stallings and Shining Lil Nic (Smart Shiner by Shining Spark x Dig A Lil Nic x Diggers Rest) have become very familiar with the winner’s circle at major NRCHA events in recent months.

The Arizona horseman and the buckskin stallion, owned by Bill and Janiejill Tointon, Longmont, Colo., won both the Open Bridle and Open Two-Rein Championships at the NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity in September. Their winning streak continued in San Angelo, as they bested 10 Open Two-Rein finalists with a 442 composite score.

The World Championship win paid $4,755. Shining Lil Nic’s Equi-Stat earnings now top the $87,000 mark. Stallings also earned the Reserve World Championship, scoring a 434 and winning $3,804 on Voodoo Chic (Smart Chic Olena x Lenas Black Witch x Dynamite Badger), owned by Rogers Heaven Sent Ranch.

Stallings and “Voodoo” also won the 2009 Open Bridle Reserve Championship at the Snaffle Bit Futurity. Her show earnings now top the $33,000 mark. Stallings’ third Open Two-Rein entry, Shining Miss Lena (Shining Spark x Missy Lena x Doc O’Lena), won fourth place in the World Championship finals, marking a 428.5 and adding $1,902 to her earnings. The mare is also owned by Rogers Heaven Sent Ranch.

“We’re very blessed,” said Stallings, whose wife, Karen, is an accomplished non-pro rider. “To do what we did at Reno was huge, and to come here and get all three of them in the finals, too – that’s pretty special.” Working sixth in the set, Shining Lil Nic marked the high score in both the rein and the cow work, starting with a smooth 217 reining pattern. When the cow stepped through the gate, Stallings was happy with how his horse handled it on the end, but decided to take some extra time before bringing it down the fence.

“The cow didn’t move a whole lot. I stayed with it, and made it move a little bit more so I could get more feel on it,” Stallings explained. The strategy paid off. After three tight fence turns, Shining Lil Nic circled the black steer cheek-to-cheek, never weakening as it bounced off his shoulder several times. “He circled up running hard, and circled the cow down to a stop, so it was pretty cool,” Stallings said. The judges rewarded his run with a score of 225, the high point of a jubilant morning for Stallings and the Tointons.

“It’s just so great. We were so hoping he could do this here. We’re just tickled pink!” Janiejill Tointon exclaimed. She purchased “Nic” as a 10-day-old foal from his breeder, Carolyn Kupka, a Boulder, Colo. dentist. It was love at first sight when Tointon saw the colt’s photo as she sat in Kupka’s dental chair. “I started him myself. He’s really special,” said Tointon, who welcomed the 7-year-old stallion’s first foal crop in 2009. Stallings has accumulated more than $270,000 in earnings since Equi-Stat recorded his first paycheck in 2001.

Read the article as seen in the QHN as a pdf>>

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