Ascencion Baneulos Wins Open Herd Preliminaries

Reno, NV - September 28, 2003 - Renowned cutter Ascencion Baneulos made his debut at the NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity last year, qualifying for the Open Finals. In 2003, he has returned to the Reno Livestock Event Center for his second foray into the reined cow horse world and the first result was a resounding win in the herd work. Because of the amount of entries, the herd work was split into two days but none of the 244 other exhibitors could top Banuelos' score of 223 on Peponitas Top Gunner, a paint stallion owned by Ronald Woods of Minden, Louisiana.

Said Banuelos “I had not decided yet before I rode into the herd if I was going to ride with one hand or two. As I rode in, I decided it was my event, I might as well take charge.” He added, “I was tired of marking 12’s and 13’s (on his other 2 horses). I wanted to see what they (judges) would do if I just had him (the horse) turned down”.

Peponitas Top Gunner was turned down, indeed, as Banuelos held his one hand completely still, working the horse entirely on his honor. This showmanship risk was handsomely rewarded as the next closest scores for the Herd Work round were a pair of 217’s, earned by Sandy Collier early in the 6th set on Friday, on Hesa Lota Reminic, (Reminic X Shesa Lota Cash) owned by Ken and Linda Wilson, and Jon Roeser in the 13th set on Heart Of A Fox, (As Smart As The Fox X Tivios Reminic), owned by Twisselman and Roeser.

Banuelos confided that Peponitas Top Gunner was just entered three weeks ago in the Futurity, in a Slot Entry, and has not done rein work before. He laughed, “Reining is a difficult thing! I have a lot of confidence with the two cow events however, so I can still compete!”

He added, “I love the Snaffle Bit Futurity. This is actually my vacation away from cutting!”

The Open Futurity, which pays $100,000 to the champion, continues on Sunday and Monday with the rein work. Tuesday and Wednesday, the cow work will cap the preliminaries and top finishers will advance to the finals in the Open, Intermediate Open and Limited Open divisions. The Intermediate and Limited Open Finals are slated for Friday, October 3 and the Open Finals will be on October 5.

Complete Results of the day's competition as well as the remaining Sundowner Drawdown Winners are on the NRCHA website at www.nrcha.com.

The National Reined Cow Horse Association, the governing body of cow horse competition, is responsible for promoting the sport, insuring high standards of competition and educating members and the public about the history and tradition of the cow horse. Through the support of a Corporate Partner family that includes Bayer Corporation, Bailey Hat Company, Bob's Custom Saddles, Cinch, Inc., Classic Equine, MD Barns, Platinum Performance, Inc., Nutrena, Skyline Silversmiths, EQ Solutions, Sundowner Trailers, National Ropers Supply, Quarter Horse News & Western Horseman magazine, the Reno Hilton, Dan Gamel's RV Centers and Coachmen RV's, horsecentral.com, Rios of Mercedes and the Silver Legacy, the association works to keep the vaquero tradition alive in today’s equine industry. For information on the National Reined Cow Horse Association, call 580-759-4949 or visit the NRCHA Official Web Site at www.nrcha.com.