Craig Schmersal Tops NRBC Open Preliminaries on Commanders Nic

Katy, TX - April 20, 2005 - With 174 horses and riders in the National Reining Breeders Classic Open, entries were split between two days of preliminary competition. Casey Deary, Weatherford, Texas, set the early pace in the first section with a 224 riding Jacs Little Sunrise (Sunrise Enterprise x Miss Whoa Jac) for owners Harry and Deb McCandless, Fort Worth, Texas, but was overtaken in the second section by Craig Schmersal.

Craig, of Menifee, California, rode Commanders Nic (Boomernic x Miss Bam Bam) as the 39th draw of the day and marked a 225 to win the Open Preliminaries. Commanders Nic, a 1999 stallion owned by Craig and his wife, Ginger, earned the 2004 NRHA Open Derby Championship. For the first place finish in the NRBC Open Preliminaries, Craig and Commanders Nic earned a check worth $15,798.

Although Casey was bumped from the Open lead, he maintained his position in both the Intermediate and Limited Open and earned $5,346 for his preliminary finish.

NRBC ancillary class competition continued with Clint Haverty, Krum, Texas, earning the Novice Horse Open title and a check for $1,025.50 riding the sorrel overo Paint stallion Lookie A Diamond (Like A Diamond x Lookie Lou). The horse is owned by Reimer’s Rainbow Ranch, Grand Junction, Colorado.

In the Intermediate Open and Limited Open horse show classes, which ran concurrently, Debbie Arballo, of Blanchard, Oklahoma, earned the Intermediate title while Martin Audet, Ocala, Florida, topped the Limited. Debbie was riding Boomon N Seven for Kylie Knight, of Peoria, Arizona, while Martin rode A Poco Nic Chic (Reminic x A Poco Smart Chic) for Gary Achtenhagen, also from Ocala.

Competition continues in Katy, Texas, at the Great Southwest Equestrian Center tomorrow at 8am with horse show classes in the Mansion Arena. The Non Pro Finals begin at 11am in the Coliseum Arena.

The event, which runs through Sunday, April 24, will pay out more than $1 million, with tomorrow’s Non Pro Classic Champion receiving more than $30,000.

The National Reining Breeders Classic is the most successful stallion incentive program in reining history. In just eight years, the NRBC has grown to include over 275 subscribed stallions and over 16,000 enrolled foals. For information on the NRBC, visit the web site at www.nrbc.com or call 580-759-3939.