Posted April 20, 2006

Cody Sapergia & Shawn Flarida Tie For NRBC Open Lead After First Section Of Prelims

The National Reining Breeders Classic Open competition began Wednesday, April 19, with the first of two sections of Open Preliminaries. The second section will run Thursday, with the remaining 69 of 173 Open entries, at the Great Southwest Equestrian Center in Katy, Texas.

Cody Sapergia, from Ardmore, Oklahoma, entered the arena as draw 30 to take the lead in the Open division. Riding JD Whizkey, by Topsail Whiz and out of JD Milligan, owned by Lance Griffin of DeWinton, Alberta, Cody marked a 223.5 for the lead. Shawn Flarida, Springfield, Ohio, matched that score with Rosanne Sternberg’s Smart Spook to tie in the Open division. Smart Spook, by Smart Chic Olena and out of Sugarplum Spook, was the 2004 NRHA Futurity, Champion, 2005 NRHA Derby Champion and the 2005 AQHA Junior Reining World Champion.

In the Intermediate Open, Pierre Luc Phaneuf, Overbrook, Oklahoma, sits in first and second after the first section. His leading horse, with a 222, is San Juan Ranch’s Cielo Whiz, by Topsail Whiz and out of Pepped Up. Pierre marked a 219.5 for second riding Shiloh Okie Whiz, also by Topsail Whiz and out of Okies Summer Money, owned by Pamela Loomis of Marietta, Oklahoma.

Jay McLaughlin, Paris, Missouri, earned a 215.5 to tie Doug Allen for the lead in the Limited Open. Jay is riding Just Like Starlight, by Grays Starlight and out of Play Peekaboo, owned by Henry and Lynn Rohwedder of Waterloo, Illinois, while Doug rode Hollywood Dun Star, by Hollywood Eighty Six and out of Commercially Dun, owned by his wife, Francesca Sternberg, of Bodiam, East Sussex.

Open finalists will be determined once the scores are in from Thursday’s second section. The top 25 in the Open division and the top 20 in both the Intermediate and Limited Open divisions will compete in the Finals on Saturday.

The Welcome Party and Non Pro Finals draw followed the Open Classic competition where guests were welcome to pizza, drinks and dessert, sponsored by Point Bank. The Intermediate Non Pro, Limited Non Pro and Prime Time Non Pro Finals will take place Friday at 11am, followed by the Non Pro Finals at 3pm.

This year’s National Reining Breeders Classic will pay out more than $1 million, in the Classic alone, exceeding last year’s record payout of over $1 million with the Classic and ancillary classes combined. Saturday’s Open Champion will earn a check for $60,000 while Friday’s Non Pro Champion will win more than $36,000 – the largest Non Pro Champion check in NRBC history. The competition may be seen live via the Internet at www.waltenberry.com. Already 4,400 people have viewed the live feed from across the world including South Africa. The event runs through Sunday, April 23, and a complete schedule, as well as results from each class, is available at www.nrbc.com.

The National Reining Breeders Classic is the most successful stallion incentive program in reining history. In just nine years, the NRBC has grown to include over 275 subscribed stallions and more than 18,000 enrolled foals. For information on the NRBC, visit the web site at www.nrbc.com or call 580-759-3939.