BURBANK — If someone said Lindsey Spencer skated away with the 2013 California Reining Horse Association Reiner of the Year Award, they wouldn’t be far from the truth.

The Riverside area horsewoman may have taken up reining’s circles and patterns just seven years ago, but her youth from age 6 was spent alongside her older sister in competitive ice skating, where they both achieved senior level recognition in national competition. The training, discipline and awareness from that experience may have provided the 36-year-old Spencer a leg up in the show pen.

TEMECULA — Familiar faces as well as fresh ones rose to the top at the eighth annual Shootout held by the Southern California Reined Cow Horse Association, which wrapped up its 2013 show season at Casner’s Ranch on Oct. 18-20.

Sunday afternoon’s Shootout, which has open, non pro and limited non pro divisions, followed a pair of weekend shows with NRCHA and AQHA approved classes, as well as the “Cut For A Cause” on Friday. The benefit cutting raised $7,000 to go along with another $5,000 from a silent auction, with proceeds going to the Surfers Healing program.

John Farris and his gelding, Boomba Chic, returned to the arena after a year’s layoff and won the Non Pro Shootout. “Red Ned”, as he is known in trainer Glen Aspinall’s barn, won the 2012 SCRCHA Shootout, then missed 2012 competition to allow for rehabilitation of a leg injury.

RENO, Nev. — In his first trip to the National Reined Cow Horse Association Snaffle Bit Futurity Open finals, Nick Dowers claimed the $100,000 Championship aboard Time For The Diamond (One Time Pepto x Diamonds With Style x Playin Stylish), a horse he owns under the name of his family’s Triple D Ranches, LLC.

Dowers, 31, piloted the sorrel stallion to a total 661 score (218.5 herd/218.5 rein/224 cow), earning a deafening ovation every time he entered the arena.

“I wasn’t sure I would be able to hear the horn at the end of my fence work,” he said, smiling. “This is surreal. It hasn’t even sunk in. I’ve been telling my wife for a year -I got the horse to do it. If I can get things done right, I got a shot.”

LAS VEGAS — Bigger than ever, the 2013 High Roller Reining Classic came to South Point and challenged top reiners and their horses Sept. 7-14, then sent many of them home with more than $300,000 in cash and prizes awarded.

Franco Bertolani of Aubrey, Texas, was a high-profile High Roller, taking the 5-year-old CFR Centenario Wimpy (Wimpys Little Step x Miss Hollywood Whiz) to a show-leading 226.5 that earned $24,192, topping the Level 4 and Level 3 Open Derby Divisions out of a whopping 126 horses. Bertolani had first showed the horse, owned by Domenico Lomuto, at last March’s Cactus Reining Classic after getting him in February. They later marked a 226 to win the NRHA Level 3 Open Derby — his last stop before the High Roller event.

PASO ROBLES — Todd Bergen revved up Roxanne Koepsell’s Peptos Shiney Pistol at the National Stock Horse Association’s Snaffle Bit Futurity Aug. 15-18, winning the Open Futurity and its $17,088 purse at the Mid-state Fairgrounds as the NRCHA Futurity nears next week.

The 3-year-old chestnut son of One Time Pepto, out of Shining Spark mare Shiners Lil Pistol, marked a 665.50 composite, then was awarded the title by virtue of a higher cow work score over Jake Telford on Camilla The Cat, who had tallied the same composite. Camilla The Cat (WR This Cats Smart X Bit Of Starlight), owned by Newton White of Santa Fe, N.M., was bred by Art and Sandy Haskins of Clements.

In the Non Pro division, Jayson Fisher of Nipomo continued his remarkable year by taking his 3-year-old red roan, Catjumpoverspoon 10 (Hes A Peptospoonful X Catjumpedovertheboon X High Brow Cat), to titles in both the Non Pro and Intermediate Non Pro Futurities. He also kept alive his hot streak on his son’s Derby horse, Little Brown Indian (Hickorys Indian Pep X No Pleasing This Chic), winning both the Non Pro and Intermediate NSHA Non Pro Derbies.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — California youth made their leadership known at the 2013 Arabian Horse Association Youth Nationals Championship Show, held July 20-27 at the Expo New Mexico.

Golden State exhibitors returned home with 11 National Championships and 29 Reserves, as 56 young Californians in all captured finishes in the Top 10.

This year’s AHA Youth Nationals attracted 513 exhibitors from across the nation and Canada, competing on 837 horses in 2,602 classes.

WOODSIDE – -With a fly-by performed by an American Bald Eagle on opening day, spectacular Bay Area weather and the region’s best reiners vying for $180,000 in added money and prizes, the 2013 Reining By The Bay just had to thrive. And it did.

The event, held July 17-21 at the Horse Park at Woodside, was the second of a three show reining circuit by Brumley Management Group, falling between March’s Cactus Reining Classic in Scottsdale and the High Roller Reining Classic in Las Vegas set for Sept. 6-14.

WOODSIDE – Pardon the prejudice, but last August when Dana Avila was looking for a new reining horse, the 4-year-old filly that her husband, Bob, asked her to try had one major flaw. She was a she.

DEL MAR — In her last performance as a junior hunter in regional USEF National Junior Hunter competition, Samantha Sommers of Malibu was a hit.

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – A pair of California non pros were West Coast headliners from the 2013 NRHA Derby, the association’s showcase competition for 4-, 5- and 6-year old reining horses that this year set a payout record of $948,000 to owners and nominators of open and non pro finalists.

One of those non-pro finalists, Kelly Moran, took her newest ride, Wimpys Mega Step (Wimpys Little Step x Moonstone Mega) to third in the Level 3 Non Pro Finals and 10th in the Level 4, earning a combined $10,110.

“Kelly did awesome,” said her trainer since 2009, Tracer Gilson of Sanger. “Since she’s been here, she’s probably tripled her lifetime earnings. She’s a sweetheart who works really hard at it.”