articles | WRHA Holds Strong in Las Vegas
WRHA Holds Strong in Las Vegas
May 1 2006
Author: Judy Caton
March 22nd-25th was the All American Reining Classic in Las Vegas, NV and true to form WRHA was definitely well represented.
This was the first time for this show in a brand new facility, the South Coast Casino and Equestrian Event Center. I's actually quite a concept, combining 24 hour gambling with the crazy kind of round the clock schedules we keep when at a show. I'm not sure how much gambling got done by our crowd as most of us were pretty numb by ‘bout half way through the week. I did learn that there are a couple hard core gamblers among us though--names shall be withheld to protect the spouses. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!
The equestrian facility is very impressive. The show pen is 125' x 250' stadium style arena. A well planned bar, with tiered seating for maximum view of the arena, is situated over the IN gate. The entire facility houses 1200 horses and boasts 25 wash racks with heated water. Practice riding was a challenge as the only area available to us was the 90' x 180' warm up pen adjacent to the show arena. There is another large covered outdoor arena that was currently under construction while we were there which will definitely solve the congestion experienced in the narrow warm up area at this show.
RU MissndiamondsAs with any brand new facility there is always the shake down period. They saved the testing of the electrical system for us--and it failed. Several floors in the hotel didn't have hot water for several hours one morning and the whole facility was without power for about 8 hours one day. Not to worry though, as auxiliary power kept the important stuff working. The hall lighting and elevators worked in the hotel, we had minimal lighting in the barn and arena areas and of course, every slot machine on the premises was all lit up ready to serve! The power blinked to black again on Saturday during the Open Derby Finals. First rider in, Cody Sapergia had just finished his second set of spins when the whole arena went midnight black. The lights came back up almost immediately and he was able to finish his run just fine. 
The second rider in had to call on his cowboy instincts though as darkness fell on him during his second large fast circle. Imagine that feeling! Your hauling tail around an arena with 6' concrete walls and the world goes so black you can't see your hand in front of your face. There was a collective sound of astonishment and then total silence in the arena as everyone waited to see --hear what was gonna happen next. The lights came back up to find horse and rider still moving about half a circle further along than they were when the lights went out, albeit traveling a bit slower and at least 5 feet further off the wall toward the middle of his circle. We all decided that pair should'a gotten extra points for technical difficulty!
Along with the challenges was a novelty that almost made up for everything else. The hotel boasts flat screen plasma TVs in every room and pipes in a closed circuit feed of the show pen. We could keep tabs on the show from the comfort of our beds! That was really nice since the classes tended to be fairly large. There were 102 horses in the Non-Pro Class alone. The broadcast system in the barn area had been blown out during the show that proceed us so it was impossible to know how things were moving along unless you walked over to the warm-up pen. It was a fair hike from the hotel rooms, through the casino, to the arena, so it was really nice to be able to just turn on the TV and know right away where they were in the draw, and when the drags and open arena time was. Not to mention that with a bag of popcorn and beverage of choice, you almost felt like you had VIP seating!
The show overall was run pretty well and we all decided that wed definitely come back again. For some of us this was an expensive schooling show, but wed all agree that the experience was worth the trip.
Congratulations to the WRHA members who made our presence known: Christie Batson on Ghiradelli Chic brought home a whopping $14,706 pay check for her placings in the Non-Pro Derby & 2nd in the Non-Pro, and 1st in both the Intermediate and Limited Non-Pro. Carlie McKinzie was right behind her in 4th place in the Non-Pro and 2nd place in the Intermediate Non-Pro Derby on RU Missin Diamonds. Amy Morisse on NQH Little Jac secured 9th in the Intermediate Non-Pro Derby and Larry Johnson was also in the money with 11th place on Reining in Seattle in the Intermediate Non-Pro Derby and 7th place in the Limited Non-Pro Derby. The Open Intermediate Derby found Cory Hutchings holding down 4th place on Please Nicker and Travis Wigen in 7th on Whip That Peppy.
When the dust finally settled late that Saturday night, Christian Rammerstorfer and Slide N Chic wrapped up 1st place in the Limited Open Derby with Sean McBurney on Reminic Rally in 2nd. Andrea Koehn laid down a very nice ride on Peppy's Major Duster to bring home a paycheck at 8th place also in the Limited Open Derby.
In the Ancillary Classes, Julie Daviscourt and Nobody's This Lucky locked up 1st place and Ali Sollid was in the money at 12th place on James Lean in the Novice Non-Pro class. Julie Daviscourt on Nobody's This Lucky held 8th and 5th and Judy Caton on Meerly Inwhizable took 9th and 7th respectively in the Non-Pro and Intermediate Non-Pro. Chics Can Do carried Sean McBurney to 9th place in the Intermediate Open. Watch out for these next two -- Shelby St. Hilaire on Joses Autumn Jac and Ryann McKinzie on Dancing with Cows threw down runs to tie for 1st in the Youth 13 & Under. They did the sportsman like thing and schooled through the runoff to share the win. Way to go girls! Way to Go WRHA!!
The Regional Affiliate Championships along with a Derby and Futurity will be held at the same facility, South Coast Casino and Equestrian Center, in September this year. Hopefully they will have most of the hitches worked outa their git-along by then. Set a goal to get qualified in the Affiliate program and make the trip with us this fall. Even if things have smoothed out with the facility, it's still sure to be an adventure! We are talking about Vegas here after all.
As soon as the last dot is put on this article, I'm out the door to load my trailer for our first show in Wenatchee. Lord willing that the weather holds, I'm anticipating a great time to share here next month!
Stay on Pattern!
Judy