The spotlight shone brightly as the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Adequan® North American Affiliate Championships (NAAC) competitors entered the arena. This premier event brings together elite riders, talented horses, and dedicated affiliates from across North America, showcasing the best in reining. Today, the NAAC Open and NAAC Intermediate Champions were crowned.

Sean McBurney piloted Americasnextdiamond (Whizkey N Diamonds x Americasnextgunmodel), a 9-year-old mare bred and owned by Rhodes River Ranch, to a score of 225.5, claiming the win in the NAAC Open as well as the NRHA Open. The duo has had a highly successful season this year, winning the High Point Novice Horse Open Levels 3 and 2 during the 2024 6666 NRHA Derby presented by Markel. With today’s win, the mare’s NRHA Lifetime Earnings (LTE) are over $23,000.

“For whatever reason, she loves this arena,” said McBurney. “She is getting better and better to show the older she gets. We raised her and sold her and then got her back when she was 4 years old, and I made the Level 4 finals at the [6666] NRHA Derby [presented by Markel] on her, so I guess she likes Oklahoma City,” said the NRHA Professional. “She can really turn fast, but sometimes she gets a little distracted,” he said. “Today she was really good! Our plan here was to get her LTE over $20,000, so we accomplished that, and we will show again in the Novice Horse on Monday, so we may add even more to that.”

McBurney plans to continue breeding the mare when they return from Oklahoma City. “She has a really nice yearling filly by Patriot, so we plan to get some more foals out of her.” McBurney and his wife, NRHA Professional Jordan McBurney, will also show in the open futurity this week. “I want to thank my wife as always; It is really fun doing this together,” closed McBurney.

Torri Sims rode Wimpy Sparkles (Wimpys Little Step x Spark My Fancy) to the top of the NAAC Intermediate Open class, scoring 222 for the win. Sims and the 14-year-old stallion, bred by John Carricaburu and owned by Janyce Hoyt, teamed up in the last year to qualify for the NAAC at the Northwest Affiliate Regional Championship.

“It is surreal,” said Sims after her run on Wimpy Sparkles and her other mount, Mizzen Whiz Ya. “We decided about a week before the qualifier that we are going to try to qualify for the [Adequan® North American] Affiliate Championship with both horses and they were great there. We came here hoping to make the [Bob’s Custom Saddles] Showdown, and it is really the icing on the cake that we ended first and second in the class. I am super grateful to the owners for the chance to show these horses and also to [NRHA Professional] Mike Boyle for all his help and mentorship that he has given me over the last year.”

Next year, Torri plans to pass the stallion’s reins back to his owner and let her show in the rookie and masters classes and hopefully qualify back to Oklahoma City for the Adequan® NAAC. “He is a very special horse. He can run in the open class and then go back and carry his non pro around and give her confidence in the showpen. We all love him, and he is definitely not going anywhere,” smiled Sims.

Sims also claimed the reserve honors in the Adequan® NAAC Intermediate Open, scoring 220 aboard her second mount Mizzen Whiz Ya (Gunnatrashya x Mizzen Whizzen), bred by Marilyn Copland and owned by DR Quarter Horses. ”I had an injury last year, and I just started riding with Mike this year, so I got both horses in training at the beginning of the year, and they both have been great for me.” Next for Sims this week is to walk through the Gateway of Champions in the Jim Norick Coliseum aboard the Boyles’ owned open futurity entry Guns For Girls (Colonels Shining Gun x Easy Lil Lady).

Winning the NRHA Intermediate Open was NRHA Professional Dan Yarbrough riding Quincy Clagg’s Gunna Score (Gunnatrashya x Stop Little Sister), a 4-year-old gelding bred by NRHA Corporate Partner Toyon Ranch LLC. The duo performed a strong run, scoring a 220.5 to top their class.

“My horse was so good today,” said Yarbrough. “He is a fine horse to show and this was only our second time in the show pen together. My customers, who are good friends of mine, bought him about six weeks ago, and I showed him once before coming here, and he was good, so we thought we would give it a try and bring him to Oklahoma City. This is the first class I have ever won here, so it is a pretty special win. We entered more classes, so we will see how the week goes, but it is for sure a good start for us.” Yarbrough has a busy week at the show as he is also showing a futurity horse.

“My mom and I own a futurity horse, Heza Dirtslinger (Gunnatrashya x Covergirl Chic), that I will be showing in the open futurity, so I am very excited about that. It is a family affair for us, and I am very thankful for all the support I get from my wife and my family. Even though my parents aren’t coming this time, they are very supportive of me and my business, and I am very grateful for that.” Yarbrough also thanked the Clagg family for letting him show their gelding in the Open classes.

On December 4, Rookie Levels 1 and 2, Intermediate Non Pro, and Intermediate Open riders who placed in the top 10 of their Adequan® NAAC classes will ride into the Jim Norick Coliseum in hopes of taking home a championship in the Bob’s Custom Saddles and/or Toyon Ranch Showdowns. The winners of each category will receive $5,000.

For more information about the World’s Richest Reining, including tickets, schedule, and more, visit nrhafuturity.com.