LAS VEGAS – The High Roller Reining Classic, combining $300,000 in added money, top reiner competition and the excitement of Las Vegas, once again was a hit, as the Brumley Management Group wrapped up its trio of 2012 events with the Sept. 11-17 competition. The Cactus Reining Classic in April and the Reining By The Bay in July were the precursors.

Casey and Nicole Deary of Weatherford, Texas, had quite the show in Las Vegas, with Casey taking Carlos Gonzalez’ 3-year old buckskin, Wimp Daddy (Wimpys Little Step x Cody Kay Quixote), to a 224.5 to win the Level 4 division of the $70,000 added Spooks Gotta Gun Open Futurity out of a field of 33. Nicole and her mother’s Tagged My Chic (Whiz N Tag Chex x Cheeky Boom) won three out of four of Non Pro Ancillary Divisions (slate 2) and the coveted HRRC Limited Non Pro High Point Bob’s Custom Saddle.

Wimp Daddy came to Casey by way of Mexico.

“We got him in late January of his 3-year old year,” he said. “It was a miracle that he survived the quarantine (in Mexico) without a scratch. The owners were customers of mine for several years, and I coached their son. They called me and asked if I would take this horse. He came, wasn’t scared and does a lot of nice things, so the horse fits me really well.”

A pair of Californian-owned entries tied for Reserve in the Futurity. Todd Bergen took Love Em N Leavem, owned by Cam Essicks of Clements, and Andrea Fappani rode Show Me The Buckles, owned by Rebecca Martin of Wilton, each claimed reserve shares of the purse worth $6,209.

Non Pro Vicki Dias of Kingsburg and her 5-year-old gelding, A Bright Tag (Whiz N Tag Chex x Genuine Starlight), went to Las Vegas on the heels of a wildly successful Reining By The Bay performance and left as the winner of the 2011 Trifecta Non Pro Reining Championship. Sponsored by the Four Seasons Hotel Silicon Valley, the prize was awarded to the top money-earning Non Pro horse and rider combination who had competed at all three Brumley shows. Dias’s $6,614 for the three events — including $3,700 in the Reining By The Bay earnings – gave them the win.

“I was extremely shocked, surprised and excited,” said Dias, who received five nights stay for her and husband, Richard, at the Four Seasons Resort in Jackson Hole, Wyo.

Diaz, who acquired “Earnie” from Lance Griffin of Oklahoma after the 2010 NRHA Futurity, learned she had won the Trifecta from the show’s backgate manager, Art Fingerle. Her trainer, Kim Yancey, sent her there for an award, and she assumed that meant her buckle for her Reserve title in the High Roller Prime Time division.

“Art told me to go get my horse, and I’m so hard-headed I said `why? Why do I need to go get him?’,” Vicki recalled. “He just looked at me and said, `Vicki, you won the Trifecta,’ and it was so exciting.”

It will be the first time to Jackson Hole for the Diases, who have operated Dias And Dias Dairy in Kingsburg for 36 years.

“My husband is a great supporter of me with the horses,” said Vicki. “Without him, I could not do it.”

“You know, the best part about winning that Trifecta in Las Vegas was that he was there,” she added. “He NEVER goes to horse shows. I can’t remember the last time he went to one. He was disappointed after Reining By the Bay because he didn’t go to it, so this time he was there. When it it was announced I had won the Trifecta, I’m hopping up and down all excited, and he asked, `what’s the Trifecta?’”

Vicki rides daily and trains at least twice monthly with trips to Ione to work with Kim, her sole trainer the last year. It’s a three-hour drive each way, making for long weekends, but it’s worth it.

“She breaks it down into little, bitty pieces for me and then builds it back up to the point where I get,” said Vicki. “And she’s got the patience of a saint — just constantly going over it and over it and over it until pretty soon I say, `Oh my gosh, it’s happening now!'”

The run-down toward her stops has improved greatly this year, as Vicki has learned to not tighten up.

“When you’re rigid, it just doesn’t work — your body has to be totally in sync with the horse,” she said. “It’s something I’ve fought over the years. Earnie is ultra sensitive, so he makes me have to concentrate on myself. As long as I stay connected and stay soft with him, everything’s good. If not, he doesn’t read my cue.”

“The Derbies at this level are pretty new to me — I’m learning to step my game up,” she added. “With every Derby it’s getting more and more intense. And — it’s just so fun!”

More results: See website http://bit.ly/1110A_Reining