PASO ROBLES — From the new to the seasoned, trainer Phillip Ralls proved to be best at the 2014 Protect The Harvest / Lucas Oil Snaffle Bit Futurity and World’s Richest Stock Horse event Aug. 19-24 at the Mid-State Fairgrounds.

Ralls, who won last year’s World’s Richest Stock Horse event on Dom Dualuise, repeated the feat on Christian Larson’s 7-year-old gelding again this year before concluding the week with an Open Futurity championship aboard Call Me Mitch, Estelle Roitblatt’s son of Metallic Cat.

“To come back and win again was even better — the World’s Richest to me was always a big one,” said Ralls, 33, whose father, Ron Ralls, won the first World’s Richest Stock Horse event in 2006 in Fresno. “I was there helping my dad the first year they had it, and he ended up winning it. It was kind of always on my bucket list, to have a horse good enough to someday win.”

The NSHA futurity, not far from Ralls’s Paso Robles-based operation, is the “pre-futurity” for 3-year-old horses headed to Reno, Nev., for the National Reined Cow Horse Association World Championship Snaffle Bit Futurity on Sept. 22-Oct. 4.

Ralls and “Mitch” went comfortably into the cow work with a 433 composite after a 217 in herd work and a 216 rein work score. Going last down the fence, their 220.5 was fourth best, lifting them to a 653.5 total and the Futurity Open title by a two-point margin over Justin Wright and CR Stylish Danny Rey (Dual Rey x Flyin Stylish),owned by Eric Frietas. The win earned $18,526.

Ralls found Mitch as a yearling at the Fort Worth sales and from the get-go he liked his athletic ability and presence.

“When they first let that horse out of the stall, I was extremely impressed — as soon as I saw him, I liked him,” Ralls said. “I think you’ll find a lot of horses that end up rising to the top of their game were horses that people liked immediately. They just have that extra charisma, that extra presence.”

“It’s always a guessing game buying yearlings,” he added. “But I’ve worked hard at a process of elimination to figure out what I like in individuals and what I don’t. Conformation is always a big thing in our sport — you want to see a horse that is strong, athletic, and with a personality that shows through, even as a yearling. You want to see a horse that’s going to be kind of calm and poised and confident. Those horses ultimately are the ones that are going to step up to the plate when you need them to.”

Pre-futurities can answer a lot of questions, and this one was no different.

“You don’t know what you’ve got until you get into the arena,” said Ralls, who’ll show a second bright futurity entry, Nu Flashin Diamond, owned by Mark abd Kelly Gowing. “To be honest, I’ve had some talented horses that just didn’t end up making good show horses as far as them not being confident in the pen. You just don’t know until you put them in there and ask them, use them, a little bit.”

He says Mitch has always been very level-headed, quiet and good-minded.

“He has done everything that I’ve asked him to do,” Ralls said. “And when you get done, you know he’s probably going to go back to the stall and sleep most of the day. He’s very kicked back and relaxed — he acts like it’s all in a day’s work. That, more than anything, is what gives me confidence going into Reno. I don’t feel like I have to do a lot of repair work after the pre-futurity. I feel like I got to show him a little bit, but I feel like I got a little more in the tank, if I needed it.”

Ralls also discovered Dom Dualuise as a yearling at the Fort Worth sales.

“He was sort of the same kind of horse,” Ralls said of Dom Dualuise (Dual Rey x Smart Little XX), a 2010 NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity Finalist whose career highlights include a 2010 NSHA Intermediate Open Futurity win as well as the 2011 NRCHA Hackamore Open Reserve Championship. “You knew as soon as he walked into the ring. He may not have been the most flashy with the big pedigree and the whole deal, but the same thing — you just liked him as soon as you saw him. That horse has been as solid of an individual as you could ever hope for,” he adds. “He’s been honest and willing to give you everything he has his whole career — a very special horse in our program.”

Larson, who resides in both Park City, Utah, and Scottsdale, Ariz., is president and CEO of a privately held real estate investment trust after 35 years in the investment and management industry.

“My investment is not in the horse,” Larson said after its second World’s Richest win. “My investment is in Phillip Ralls. There are a lot of great horses that are out there and end up nowhere. Phillip and his keen — what I call ‘primal instinct’ — with horses and his ability to communicate to that horse to establish and keep that same consistent relationship, is critical in the execution of this.”

“He is always tuning that horse up, always keeping him focused on his job,” Larson adds. “I think there are a lot of good older riders who are not reinventing themselves and retooling or tuning. Phillip is always reinventing, retooling and re-observing what has to happen to get to the goal.”

Other major winners at the NSHA pre-futurity event included Laurie Ward on Mak Daddy (Smoke Elan x Rock N Roll CD) to the Futurity Non-Pro Championship with a 628.5 composite total (208 herd/209.5 rein/211 cow). The win earned $2,736.

In NSHA Derby competition, Jake Gorrell and Playin It Smooth (Smooth As A Cat x Starlight Playmate) edged Zane Davis and Brother Jackson by a half-point for the win, using a huge 223.5 down the fence for the win. The win earned $7,675 for Gorrell and owner Kalpowar Quarter Horses. The horse debuted at the NSHA Futurity last year, and finished eighth in the NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity Open.

The Non Pro Derby champion was Shannon McCarty on Hick Oleana (Hick Chicaroo x Miss Ann Olena). The duo, competing together only for a year, won the Non-Pro, Intermediate Non-Pro and Novice Non-Pro classes, totaling $2,938.

MORE ONLINE: http://bit.ly/409B_nsha

2014 Protect The Harvest / Lucas Oil Snaffle Bit Futurity, Derby & World’s Richest Stock Horse Show
Aug. 19-24, 2014 * Mid-State Fairgrounds, Paso Robles, Calif.

WORLD’S RICHEST STOCK HORSE
Horse/ Rider/ Score/ Owner/ Money
1. Dom Dualuise/ Phillip Ralls/ 665.5/ Chris Larson/ $8,500.00
2. Skeets Oak Peppy/ Clayton Edsall/ 652/ Clayton Edsall/ $5,000.00
3. Jans Rey Cuatro/ Nicolas Barthelemy/ 645/ Sheri Jamieson/ $2,000.00
4. Judge Boon/ Jon Roeser/ 640/ Loren Macey / James Baker/

OPEN FUTURITY
1. Call Me Mitch/ Phillip Ralls/ 653.5/ Estelle Roitblatt/ $18,525.98
2. CR Stylish Danny Rey/ Justin Wright/ 651.5/ Eric Freitas/ $14,250.75
3. Shiners Lil Nickle/ Zane Davis/ 651/ Michelle Cannon/ $11,400.60
4. Cat Ful Of Diamonds/ Lance Johnston/ 649/ Gary & Kay Ann Watt/ $9,500.50
5. Good Time/ Corey Cushing/ 648/ Lynne Wurzer/ $7,125.38
6. Smokin Little Ringo/ Monica Caetano/ 647.5/ John Pascoe/ $4,750.25
6. Remedys Shinin Cash/ Jake Telford/ 647.5/ Julie Strenge/ $4,750.25
6. Mo Style/ Tucker Robinson/ 647.5/ Lisa Conley/ $4,750.25
9. OMG Cee Me/ Lance Johnston/ 646.5/ Christine & Todd Rogers/ $3,325.18
10. Over A Barrell/ Nick Dowers/ 645.5/ Joyce Diegel/ $3,325.18

INTERMEDIATE OPEN FUTURITY
CR Stylish Danny Rey/ Justin Wright/ 651.5/ Eric Freitas/ $2,022.00

LIMITED OPEN FUTURITY
Smokin Little Ringo/ Monica Caetano/ 647.5/ John Pascoe/ $906.00

LEVEL 1 LIMITED OPEN FUTURITY
Pill Poppin Prize/ Russell Probert/ 633.5/ Gigi Gortner/ $2,061.00

OPEN DERBY
Playin It Smooth/ Jake Gorrell/ 657.5/ Kalpowar Quarter Horses/ $7,675.00

INTERMEDIATE OPEN DERBY
Little Red Coupe/ Terrill Heaton/ 653.5/ Brent Steward/ $1,741.60

LIMITED OPEN DERBY
Little Red Coupe/ Terrill Heaton/ 653.5/ Brent Steward/ $886.50

NOVICE HORSE OPEN DERBY
Little Red Coupe/ Terrill Heaton/ 653.5/ Brent Steward/ $774.00

LEVEL 1 LIMITED OPEN DERBY
Bugs Boony/ Richard Winters/ 620/ Richard Winters/ $1,678.50

NON PRO FUTURITY
Mak Daddy Laurie Ward/ 628.5/ Ronnie & Karin Richards/ $2,736.00

INTERMEDIATE NON PRO FUTURITY
Sister Siera/ Molly Russell/ 627.5/ Molly Russell/ $1,296.00

NOVICE NON PRO FUTURITY
Sanalea Chex/ Kathy Wilson/ 618.5/ Kathy Wilson/ $369.00

7500 AMATEUR FUTURITY
Dudes Stylish Diva/ Wyatt Fisher/ 607.5/ Wyatt Fisher/ $1,480.00

NON PRO LIMITED FUTURITY
This Cats Royal/ Linda Wood/ 642.5/ Linda Wood/ $1,620.00

NON PRO DERBY
Hick Oleana/ Shannon McCarty/ 650/ Shannon McCarty/ $1,840.80

INTERMEDIATE NON PRO DERBY
Hick Oleana/ Shannon McCarty/ 650/ Shannon McCarty/ $865.35

NOVICE NON PRO DERBY
Hick Oleana/ Shannon McCarty/ 650/ Shannon McCarty/ $231.75

7500 AMATEUR DERBY
Earthly Riches/ Donna Russo/ 636.5/ Donna Russo/ $1,458.00

NON PRO LIMITED DERBY
Prize Maker/ Polly Potocar/ 629.5/ Polly Potocar/ $1,237.50

OPEN TWO REIN
Im Bratman/ Michael Berg/ 432/ Mary Tamme/ $760.00

OPEN BRIDLE
Hesa Smokin Indian/ Lance Johnston/ 437.5/ Debbie Proctor/ $877.50

LIMITED OPEN BRIDLE
TR Dual Jewell/ Tye MacDonald/ 426/ Cindy Belmont/ $330.00

NSHA SENIOR STOCK HORSE
Cinch Up Cody/ Lauren Deregt/ 0/ Lauren Dowdy Wood

NON PRO TWO REIN
Marmosetsinstntprize/ Lauri Funk/ 421.5/ Lauri Funk/ $375.00

NON PRO BRIDLE
Little Cielo/ Stacy Duesterhaus/ 429.5/ Brendan & Stacy Duesterhaus/ $380.00

NOVICE NON PRO BRIDLE
Dirt McGrit/ Mikelle Azevedo/ 427.5/ Mikelle Azevedo/ $330.00

INTERMEDIATE NON PRO BRIDLE
Little Cielo/ Stacy Duesterhaus/ 429.5/ Brendan & Stacy Duesterhaus/ $460.00

OPEN HACKAMORE
Dual Chexx/ Monica Caetano/ 441/ Gay Versteeg/ $960.00

LIMITED OPEN HACKAMORE
Docs Cee Remedy/ Tye MacDonald/ 407.5/ Monica Duflock/ $350.00

NSHA JR WCH
Oh No He Didn’t/ Ricky Nicolazzi/ 428/ Lynn Tuffli

NON PRO HACKAMORE
Margaritta Time/ Gary Schenck/ 390/ Gary Schenck/ $450.00

5000 NON PRO LIMITED
Nics Back In Black/ Tori Simons/ 434/ Hal or Mylinda Simons/ $650.00

NON PRO LIMITED
Nics Back In Black/ Tori Simons/ 434/ Hal or Mylinda Simons/ $644.00

GREENER THAN GRASS
Heart Of A Remedy/ Kristin Bacchetti/ 427.5/ Kristin Bacchetti

YOUTH BRIDLE
Real Smart Kristie/ Kailey Culligan/ 412.5/ Shannon Culligan/ $120.00

YOUTH LIMITED
Smart Rockin Pepinic/ Chandler Daddino/ 424.5/ Chandler Daddino/ $140.00