The National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Adequan® North American Affiliate Championships (NAAC) Non Pro competition saw a three-way tie for first place. Wyatt Deary, Madison Rafacz, and Joetta Bell shared the Adequan® NAAC Non Pro Championship after scoring a 223.
Wyatt Deary and Chicsdundreamin (Magnum Chic Dream x Goody Goody Dun Drop), owned by Nancy Stillwell, tied for the Adequan® NAAC Non Pro and NRHA Non Pro and won the Adequan® NAAC Intermediate Non Pro and NRHA Intermediate Non Pro with an impressive score of 223. “My horse was really good for me and the only thing I had to focus on was to send him down in the stops, which are also my favorite maneuvers on him because it is so easy for him. He just thunderbolted down the arena,” said Deary after his run.
“He is 17 years old and can still show on the highest level and compete with the young bucks,” he continued. “This gelding is very special to our family. He came to us when his previous owner, Betty Schroeder, bought him at 7 years old after he was done showing in aged events and she would ride with us and show him. When she passed, my grandmother bought him, and he has been in our family ever since. I have been competing on him only this season, but my sister [Joy] showed him last year at The Run For A Million (TRFAM) Rookie Challenge, and I am hoping to qualify for the TRFAM Non Pro Challenge with him next year.”
The flashy palomino gelding, bred by Lisa Maberry, has had a pretty extensive show record before coming to the Deary family, including winning the 2010 NRHA Futurity Level (L) 3 Open Championship with NRHA Million Dollar Rider Arno Honstetter in the saddle. The gelding’s NRHA Lifetime Earnings (LTE) were $158,447 before coming to this year’s NRHA Futurity, and after adding another $7,707 today with Deary at the reins, the gelding is not ready to retire just yet.
“He will get some time off for the rest of this week with a lot of spa time, and then next week we will be back for the [Bob’s Custom Saddles] Intermediate Non Pro Showdown in the [Jim Norick] Coliseum,” closed the young rider.
Madison Rafacz rode Stop Like Voodoo (Shiners Voodoo Dr x Got My Own Dream), a 5-year-old gelding owned by her mother, Shannon, and bred by Redhead Reining LLC, to top the Adequan® NAAC Non Pro and NRHA Non Pro with a score of 223. The chestnut gelding has been with the Rafacz family for two years and has won over $53,382 in NRHA LTE in his short career, mostly with Madison in the saddle.
“He has been great for me this whole year, so I am happy to finish the season this strong,” said Madison, who teamed up with the gelding two years ago at the NRHA Futurity. Before coming to Oklahoma City this year, the duo captured the 2024 American Quarter Horse Youth Association World Championship and the 2023 TRFAM Youth Reining Challenge.
“I love his personality,” she said. “He can be a little bit wild sometimes, but he is a great show horse. I love showing him. We have made the finals at both [6666] NRHA Derby [presented by Markel] and the NRBC [National Reining Breeders Classic], so he has been very consistent for me.”
Next year, Rafacz will attend Southern Methodist University and compete on their National Collegiate Equestrian Association team but plans to start the 2025 season by entering several derbies before leaving for college. “I can’t thank my parents enough for all their support,” she said. “My dad prepares my horses, and my mom always gets me ready, so I couldn’t do it without them.”
Joetta Bell joined the winning step of the podium with her gelding Dream On Whiz (Magnum Chic Dream x Ms Sassy Whiz). Posting another 223 in the Adequan® NAAC Non Pro and NRHA Non Pro class, the duo couldn’t be happier with their run.
“He was so good for me,” she said. “We really liked the ground here, so I warmed him up and let him feel it, and we ended up having a really great run. I especially loved our run in.”
Bell’s 7-year-old gelding, with an impressive NRHA LTE over $217,608, was bred by Hill Country Reiners LLC and is a very easy keeper, according to his owner.
“I bought him in 2022, and I mostly just keep him at my house,” she said. “He lives outside and loves to play and just be a horse. He can be a little quirky; he doesn’t like tractors and loud noises, so I have to babysit him everywhere we go. But he loves to show! He loves being by himself in the showpen and doing his thing. So it is cool to have a horse that loves showing that much. Before shows, I take him to [NRHA Million Dollar Rider] Kole Price and his wife, Kelsey, and they help me get ready. I also like to send Kole videos of us riding and get his help that way, so I couldn’t do it without their teamwork, and I am very thankful for all their help.”
Bell also thanked her family, her daughters, and her husband for their support.
Adequan® NAAC Prime Time Non Pro
Kathleen Armenta rode Off N Running (Walla Walla Whiz x Spook Off Sparks) to win the Adequan® NAAC Prime Time Non Pro and the NRHA Prime Time Non Pro after scoring a 221. The 9-year-old gelding, owned by Armenta Quarter Horses and bred by NRHA Corporate Partner Arcese Quarter Horses, came into the event with $97,719 in NRHA LTE. The majority of “Wally’s” earnings were won with Armenta or her daughter, Sarah, at the reins, and the win today pushes his earnings over $100,000.
Adequan® NAAC Masters Non Pro
Karen Shedlauskas rode her own 5-year-old gelding, Best Jac (Jacs Electric Spark x Snip O Chex), to a score of 218 to top the Adequan® NAAC Masters Non Pro Championship as well as the NRHA Masters Non Pro Championship. Shedlauskas purchased the gelding, bred by Judy Box, from NRHA $2 Million Owners Tom and Mandy McCutcheon a year ago—just before the 6666 NRHA Derby presented by Markel—and has been riding him under the guidance of NRHA Professional Mark Rafacz since then.
“We have had some really good runs this season but always ended up with penalties, so I am very glad that today we had a clean run. It was our redemption for the whole show season,” said Shedlauskas after winning her class. “We qualified at the South Eastern ARC [Affiliate Regional Championship], and it was a last-minute decision. I hadn’t planned to do it, but now I am really glad I did! He was better than I was today, so thank God he carried me around. I wouldn’t get this far without the support of the Rafaczs, so I am very thankful to them for all their help and for getting my horse ready for me.”
The gelding with $50,086 in NRHA LTE also goes by his registered name, Best Jac, outside of the show pen, Shedlauskas shared. “When I was picking him up from the McCutcheons, I asked about his barn name, and Tom looked at me like, ‘What else could it be?! It’s Best Jac!’ We just kept it and call him Jac or Best Jac around the barn,” laughed Shedlauskas.
The Adequan® NAAC continues tomorrow with the first section of the coveted Toyon Ranch Rookie of the Year, Rookie Level 2, and Prime Time Rookie. Visit nrhafuturity.com to view the free NRHA ThorSport LiveStream, download a schedule, and more.
