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.

SAN DIEGO — Owning and boarding horses in San Diego County became easier Sept. 11 when the Board of Supervisors approved a revised, tiered horse ordinance that could reinvigorate the region’s equestrian industry.

In the works for several years, the Equine Policy and Ordinance Development project updated the county’s zoning ordinance with regard to equine uses in unincorporated areas. With the Board’s vote, a long-standing need to obtain a major-use permit for small stables was eliminated — only operations with more than 100 horses on 10 acres or more now face such a requirement.

DEL MAR — From yearlings to 8-year-old jumpers, young horses were celebrated Aug. 28-Sept. 1 at the Blenheim EquiSports All Seasons Tournament held at Showpark.

Between the International Hunter Futurity (IHF) Breeding and Futurity classes as well as the Sallie B. Wheeler/USEF Hunter Breeding National Championship (SBW), Showpark’s Hunter Arena 1 was bustling with babies for two days. In the SBW Championship, handlers showcased youngsters in the “triangle format”, including a standing pose to assess conformation, exhibiting a walk away from the judges at an angle, a trot across the back of the ring and a walk back toward the judges. The honorable Debbie Sands and Sharon Stewart watched the competitors on the West Coast and later hopped on a plane to judge the East Coast group.

It was a busy couple of days for West Coast breeders and their offspring. The end results were especially exciting for well-known hunter breeder, photographer and supporter of equestrian sport, Tish Quirk.

PASO ROBLES — Phillip Ralls and Dom Dualuise thrilled the house and put themselves on the wall of champions at the 2013 World’s Richest Stock Horse bridle competition held Aug. 17 at the National Stock Horse Association Futurity in the Mid-state Fairgrounds.

The California Reining Horse Association is proud to present the CRHA Challenge, sliding into the Los Angeles Equestrian Center in Burbank on Oct. 23-27. With more than $100,000 in prizes and added money, this is the show to attend! Riders will compete in a full slate of classes including NRHA Open and Non-Pro Futurity, Derby, Southwest Regional Affiliate Finals, CRHA Reiner of the Year, along with Rookie, Youth and Maturity Ancillary classes. For show schedule and further details, please visit www.CalReining.com, or email CRHAsecretary@aol.com. See the ad on page 27.

51st in a series
Last issue, Les listed details we should look for when troubleshooting our progress. Now we’ll head into turnarounds with a few keys to have in our focus.