LHCH PEPTOBOONSMAL

Bayboonsmal

San Shepard Story and photo by Katie Tims

The Southern Futurity was a show of firsts and lasts. On Bayboonsmal, a sorrel, yes sorrel gelding, Sam Shepard, Magnolia Spring, Ala., sewed up the Southern Futurity Open for the horse's first major aged win. The prior evening, Shepard added the final stitch to the illustrious aged career of 6-year-old Desire Some Freckles.

Perhaps being from Magnolia Spring was Shepard's secret edge in the Magnolia State of Mississippi. No matter the angle, there was no debate as this cutter took home two Open championships along with over $13,900. These were Shepard's first Southern championships. On Bayboonsmal, a mare by Peptoboonsmal and out of Sapphire Olena by Doc O'lena, owned by Jerry Lupo, Rome, Ga., Shepard hemmed in the 112 Open Futurity entrants and took home the $6,341 paycheck.

Still basking in the afterglow of her impressive Summer Spectaculars Classic Championship, Desire Some Freckles, owned by the Rockin 5 Ranch, Fairhope, Ala., ended her aged career by topping the 112 Southern Classic entries and adding $6,198.47 to her account. By Freckles Playboy and out of Genuine Desire by Genuine Doc, Desire Some Freckles was started, trained and ridden to her $200,000-plus earnings record by Shepard.

If there is a ring of truth to the idea of Southern hospitality, it certainly rang loud and clear at the event, held Oct. 17-28 in Jackson, Miss.. From the homemade, free lunch served daily on tables adorned in full fall decor to the welcoming presence of Futurity founder and organizer, Dr. Lamar Thaggard, Madden, Miss., the event lived up to every bit of its generous reputation. The $303,595.85 in prize money distributed among the 713 entries reinforced the Southern Futurity's status as one of cutting's major aged event players. In its 19 years of existence, the Southern Futurity has continued to expand and grow.

Every year, it gets a little smoother Thaggard said. The cattle have been real good, horses better it's been a good show.

A good show it was for Sueyou, the first colt out of three-time Open World Champion wonder Meradas Little Sue. Ridden by Kobie Wood, Stephenville, Texas, the stud worked his way to a very impressive 225 in the Derby finals to top the 99 fellow competitors and win the $4,645 finals paycheck. By Cash Quixote Rio, the stallion Wood rode for three World championships, Sueyou was certainly bred for greatness and is proving it to owner Corinne Heiligbrodt, Houston, Texas. Wood also rode to the Reserve Championship and $4,073 in the Open Classic on Smart Little Jaebar (Smart Little Lena x Jae Bar Gali), owned by Gary Rosenbach from Greenwich, Conn.. Brett Davis, Texarkana, Texas, captured Reserve honors and $5,073 in the Open Futurity aboard Smokin Little Rio (Doc Poco Smart x Smokin Star Rio), a mare owned by Kay Stanley, Bullard, Texas.

John Paxton barely had time to celebrate his Non-Pro Futurity win in Nashville when he cut his way to Jackson's Non-Pro Futurity Championship and $5,100. Paxton made the Futurity finals on two horses and wound up winning the 33-horse event on Haidas Little Scout, a gelding by Haidas Little Pep and out of Texas Evening by Docs Sugs Brudder.

Price Johnson, Sebastopol, Miss., captured the Non-Pro Futurity Reserve Championship on Mr Macorena (Quixote Mac x Cal O Rena).

Benjie Neely, Appling, Ga., rode to a repeat Non-Pro Classic Champion performance on Fritzs Doc Finale and earned $4,686. The two took the identical title at last years Southern Futurity. By Doc O Lena Twist, Fritzs Doc Finale was the final colt mothered by Chiquita Chex, Neely's King Fritz daughter that raised nine foals, six of which shared close to $400,000 in NCHA winnings. Chiquita Tari and Chex Party Mix were her biggest money-earning offspring. The mare died at age 27.

Neely also won the Reserve Championship in the Non-Pro Derby riding her buckskin mare, Green Eyed Sally (Chowchilla Peppy x Makin Money Rio). Carol Dewrell, Gulf Breeze, Fla., was Reserve in the Non-Pro Classic on Uno Smart (Smart Little Uno x Dallas Easy MS).

Making her debut in the Southern circle of champions and carrying home $4,394.78, was Clem World, Brenham, Texas. She posted her Non-Pro Derby win aboard Coffee In An Instant, a bay gelding by SR Instant Choice out of Faylena by Doc O'lena.

John Fondren, Bellefontaine, Miss., rode to his first aged-event championship in the Amateur Futurity. Aboard Absolute Wicked, Fondren won the title and $1,496.03. This mare is out of Docs Doubleornothin and by Absolute Acre, the stallion Fondren started, trained and is now campaigning for the NCHA's top 10 in the $10,000 Novice Non-Pro Division.

On SF Way To Go Lena (Lenas Jewels Bars x Partana), Tina Lampkin, Vicksburg, Miss., captured the Amateur Futurity's Reserve Championship.

After having just finished hosting the Music Futurity, Barbara Brooks, Brentwood, Tenn., claimed the Amateur Derby Championship and $1,899.71 on Playboys Lil Peppy, a mare by Freckles Playboy and out of Lil San Lena by Peppy San Badger.

Mike Bowman, Simpsonville, Ky., took home the Amateur Derby's Reserve placing with Oh Cay Shez Snazzy (Oh Cay Quixote x Snazzy Little Pep).

Andrew Sligh, Hueytown, Ala., topped the Amateur Classic and earned $1,947.88 on Oak Olena King, a bay gelding owned by Sligh's father, Terry. This was the last aged event for this 6-year-old gelding that is by Doc's Oak and out of Dox Fritzolena by Doc O'Lena.

Amateur Classic Reserve honors went to Ken Hanson, Temple, Texas, riding his palomino gelding, Just Dual It (Dual Pep x Bold Sis Rio).

Diverting momentarily from her leading campaign for the NCHA Junior Youth World title, Lauryn Middleton, Summit, Miss., rode Oakanitos Last to win the $50,000 Amateur class along with $2,768.80. This horse, owned by Lauryn's father, Dr. Robert Middleton, is by Oakanito and out of Lucky Bottom Roxie by Doc Bars Boy 2.

Reserve was awarded to Matt Miller, Jonesboro, Ark, on Down N Dually (Dual Pep x SR Glamorous Lady), the same gelding he rode to the 2000 Southern Futurity's $50,000 Amateur Championship.

The youngest Southern Futurity champion was 13-year-old Adan Banuelos, Jacksboro, Texas, who cut on Hickorys Tachita for the $2,000 Limited Rider title and $718.90. Banuelos is the very talented son of NCHA Hall of Famer Ascension Banuelos and his wife, Tiffany. As for the mare, her pedigree is Doc's Hickory on the top and Drys Taco by Dry Doc on the bottom. Reserve in the $2,000 Limited Rider went to Ronnie Lampkin, Vicksburg, Miss., on Shorty Quichic (Shorty Lena x Iam Bonita).

Open Futurity
Looks can be deceiving. Oh, Bayboonsmal looks competitive enough; he just doesn't look like a bay and he's certainly no roan Peptoboonsmal. The colt is a sorrel and one heck of a cutter at that. With Shepard in the saddle, this gelding performed his way to a 221 score in the finals and the Open Futurity Championship.

The gelding was bred and raised by Leo and Jo Woodbury, Cranfills, Texas, and sold as a late yearling to Jerry Lupo. Apparently, the colt looked like a bay when he was registered. Bayboonsmal had a nice ring to it, Leo said with a laugh. As he grew up, this name just didn't fit.The Woodburys have a full 2-year-old brother, Boonylensma, in training with Russ Miller Shepard received Bayboonsmal last spring, just prior to the Super Stakes. Even though he's been Bayboonsmalís trainer for nearly a year, Shepard is quick to credit Zeke Entzí foundation work. Zeke trained him as a 2-year-old and did a good job, Shepard said. He was a nice colt then and just kept right on progressing.

Lupo, who owns a heating and air conditioning wholesale business, a farm and investment properties, bought his first cutters about two years ago. With advice from Jim Bilbrey, Conyers, Ga., Lupo jumped into the industry with both feet by purchasing Bayboonsmal from the Woodburys and Gypsy Travelen Man, a 1997 stallion by Travalena out of Reminic mare, from John and Nikki Jump, Ventura, Calif.

Both horses ended up in Shepard's program. The Alabama trainer evaluated the horses, liked the feel and moved on ahead.

I'd never met the guy before he called about these horses, Shepard said. But it's worked out and I'm really tickled for him.

Gypsy Travelen Man marked a 214.5 in the first go of the Southern's Open Futurity, but lost a cow in the second round. The stallion has earned just under $2,000 in NCHA money. At the Southern, Shepard's other Futurity finalist, Oladys Dual Pep, a mare owned by Genie Andrews, Arab, Ala., won the first go but lost a cow in the finals.

The cows were a little challenging for the inexperienced 3-year-olds. In fact, a tough separation on Bayboonsmals second cow turned into nearly 30-seconds worth of spectacular play. We had to run and stop it and he handled it the whole way through, Shepard said. He's pretty solid.

Even though this was his third time in the show pen, it was Bayboonsmals first major accomplishment. The gelding was shown at the Brazos Bash at Silverado on the Brazos, where he drew next to last and was absolutely run over by the first cow. Bayboonsmal showed in Nashville but still was not performing up to Shepard's stringent par.

He's a real big stopper, has a lot of cow and has a big presence about him, Shepard said. it was disappointed that I didn't get him shown at the first two shows.

In the brief time separating the Music City and Southern futurities, Shepard switched Bayboonsmals bits and altered the horses training regimen.

I made him rock back a little more, he said. it really worked on him and he was good every go round here.

Right after Shepard won the Futurity late Saturday night, he called Lupo, who was at a hunting camp for the opening of deer season.

I got a nice buck that morning, won my football bet (the Georgia vs. Florida point spread) and won the Futurity - it was a real good day, Lupo said happily. I think he is a right classy little pony. I was proud of him.

Augusta is most likely Bayboonsmals next venue. Shepard and/or his son, Austin, plan to show the horse in next year's aged events.

As for the 5-foot-4 Lupo, he rode horses years ago but cutters haven been part of the recent schedule - yet.

I'm not that far along, he said humorously. I think it would be animal cruelty for me to get on a small horse, so I've got to wait a little while before I get on one.

Lupo lives in Rome, Ga., with his wife, Terri, and 4-year-old daughter, Amanda Lee. He also has a daughter, Traci, who is in her 20ís.

Open Derby
Sueyou won the Open Derby to make a full circle for his rider, Kobie Wood. This brown stallion is the athletic result of a multiple World Champion pairing of Meradas Little Sue, the tremendous mare Wood rode to three Open titles and one $5,000 Novice title, and Cash Quixote Rio, the equally impressive sire that Wood now owns and earlier rode for two Open, one Open reserve and the $3,000 Novice titles.

This win is the first for a horse that's been a while realizing his full potential. Sueyou was shown at last year's NCHA Futurity and then started off this year by placing third at the Bonanza. The spring and summer months, however, proved a bit of a dry spell for the talented colt.

Early on, he wasn't as strong as I would have liked him to have been, Wood said. But now he is stronger and his age has caught up with him.

Part of Sueyou's difficulties stemmed from ulcers. He was diagnosed about nine months ago, but just how long he had suffered from the ailment remained a mystery. Treatment began immediately and Wood lightened the work schedule.

I'm sure the ulcers took a toll on him, Wood said. We got that straightened up and it looks like he just got better ever since then.

And so he did at the Southern. After whizzing through the first and second rounds with matching 216 marks, Sueyou advanced to the finals in first place. His 225 score in the last go matched the show's highest and proved just how good the stallion works a cow.

According to Wood, Sueyou has just the perfect mix of his top and bottom contributors. He probably comes through that turn like his mom but stops like his dad, Wood said. He moves a whole like Cash in the stops. They both use their head and neck, but he hasn't developed that yet.

From the way it looks, the colt is just warming up for what is to come. Wood has carried the horse to a few recent weekend events where Sueyou has marked consistently in the mid-to-high 70ís. The win in Jackson was the second Southern Championship for Wood. Previously he won the Open Derby on Chita Cash in 1987.

Wood has been very successfully riding horses for Bill and Corinne Heiligbrodt for nearly 20 years. The Heiligbrodts own Meradas Little Sue and have her consigned to the Western Bloodstock sale during the Fort Worth Futurity. Wood is showing another Meradas Little Sue offspring, a filly by Smart Little Lena, at this year's Futurity.

Open Classic
Sadly enough, Desire Some Freckles has seen her last aged event. But if a horse has to move on, it may as well be in winning style with Sam Shepard at the controls. True to form, this mare marked a 225 that held as the highest mark of the show, equaled only by Wood's final performance on Sueyou in the Open Derby. Desire Some Freckles drew up 10th in a 23-horse bunch and walked away with the Open Classic Championship.

Conceivably, that could have been her last run, Shepard said. So, I was really glad to go out on a good note.

This has been quite a year for the mare. She's won well over $100,000 and has missed only one finals in the last 12 months - the one last year in Jackson.

She was a good 4-year-old,î Shepard said. But she's been a terrific 5- and 6-year old.

Shepard always had faith in the mare's ability but did not harness the raw ambition until later. As a 4-year-old, she was a little tough to get shown, he said. Sometimes, she would try to overdo things and get into trouble.

Desire Some Freckles was bred and raised by Carol Rose, Gainesville, Texas. The mare was started and trained early on by Darren Simpkins.

As a 3-year-old, Desire Some Freckles was sold to Arthur Corte and Eric Wade, Fairhope, Ala. One year later, the partnership took on three new members, Corte's wife, Beverly, along with Kenny McLean, Point Clear, Ala., and his wife, Jana. Together, the team was known as the Rockin 5 Ranch. Eventually the two couples purchased Wade's share, but kept the quintuplet tag. A strong believer in mare power, Shepard said he liked Desire Some Freckles from the first moment he saw her.

I always loved her stop, he added.

But it was the pedigree's top side that promised great potential. Although Genuine Desire was injured and was not shown a lot, she did accumulate nearly $20,000 in NCHA earnings. Desire Some Freckles grand dam, Peppys Desire, was the mare Matlock Rose and Carol Rose rode to simultaneous Open and Non-Pro 1975 World Champion titles.

As for her future, Desire Some Freckles is going to have babies. She's already produced a yearling CD Olena filly, a weanling High Brow Cat filly and has two Smart Little Lena embryos in recipient mares. Next spring, three or four embryos will be flushed - one a High Brow Cat and the others yet undetermined.

Non-Pro Futurity

Every year, John Paxton packs up a load of horses and trailers from his Pendleton, Ore., home to his winter place in Millsap, Texas. This year, he's brought along a very talented remuda that included Southern Futurity and Classic finalists, along with the Futurity Champion. His first stop in Dixie was at the Music City, where he placed both 3-year-olds in the Non-Pro Futurity finals and ended up winning it on his gelding, Lupes Last Ote. In Jackson, he again qualified both for the last go, but this time it was Haidas Little Scout's turn to claim the Championship. The horse and Paxton had already won the Non-Pro Division at the Northwest Futurity in Oregon.

According to Paxton, a former Non-Pro World Champion, Jackson presented the horse with the kind of cattle that pull moves out of the horse.

He's a showy colt, he said. I was glad he got to show that a little bit today. One arrow in Paxtonís competitive quiver was the fresh cattle worked between the Music City and Southern futurities. His brother, Bill, lives in Tallulah, La., and Paxton kept his horses there and enjoyed the luxury of productive stock.

Getting them away from practice pen cattle lets them settle down, Paxton said. That's a good thing, especially on these 3-year-olds.î

Paxton purchased both his Futurity geldings on the same day last year in Fort Worth. Haidas Little Scout was bred by Don Christmann, Millsap, Texas, and trained by Russell Harrison. Paxton, who owns an ocean container hauling business along with warehouses in Portland, Ore., does most of the training on his horses, relying on outside help for a just few finishing touches. Scott Martin spent a couple months riding Haidas Little Scout.

I work hard at it, Paxton said about training his own horses. ìI try to emulate the people I like and that I think are good trainers.

Paxtonís wife, Nancie, is still in Oregon and plans to join her husband at their Texas home by the end of November.

Non-Pro Derby When Clem Wold rode into the swirling sea of black heifers, she knew how to handle pressure. As a former 911 operator, World was able to calm the situation and ride out a Non-Pro Derby winner on Coffee In An Instant.

Friend and trainer Corky Sokol was right there helping her with a little color profiling of the cutting variety.

Corky told me anything with white on it was all right, she laughed. Considering most were solid, the multi-faceted, un-worked multi-color versions were easy to spot since World was the No. 2 draw.

Positioned in a second-place tie after the preliminary rounds, World was very confident coming into the finals.

He hasn't made a mistake here with six runs, she said.

Purchased as a yearling by Wold from Loma Blanca Ranch at a 1998 Fort Worth sale, Coffee In An Instant was trained by Roy Carter. Wold's 18-year-old daughter, Colleen, showed the gelding to the Non-Pro finals at the Bonanza and Sokol rode the horse to the Open finals in Jackson. Originally from Maxwell, Calif., Wold relocated to Brenham, Texas, about two years ago. She works with Sokol and her daughter attends Blinn Junior College, where she majors in marketing. Coffee In An Instant is scheduled to show in next year's aged cuttings, alternating between Clem and Colleen.

He's just now maturing and getting stronger, Clem said. Right now, he's peaking really well and were looking forward to the 5-year-old events.

Non-Pro Classic
Benjie Neely's brown gelding, affectionately known as Chocolate, sweetened up Jackson with back-to-back Southern Derby and Classic championships. Makes one wonder what's in store for next year. At just 5, there's sure to be another Classic, although it probably won't be with Neely. She has Fritzs Doc Finale enrolled in a sale at Fort Worth.

The pair has missed only one finals this year, at the NCHA Derby, where they lost a cow. Actually, Fritzs Doc Finale has a relatively short career since a complicated cryptorchid gelding procedure put the 2-year-old horse far behind on his training schedule. He was not shown as a 3-year-old. After cutting at the NCHA Super Stakes as a 4-year-old, where he went out in the second go, he suffered a strained suspensory ligament and was laid off for weeks. Fritzs Doc Finale hardly had a chance to strut his stuff until his champion appearance at last year's Southern. It's been clear sailing from there.

He's a really good colt and is always consistent, Neely said.

Fritzs Doc Finale was started by Tracy Surles, ridden to the end of his third season by Neely and finished by David Stewart and Austin Shepard. Neely manages the ranch she operates with her parents, Ben and Susanne, and spends a great deal of time promoting champion cutting stallion Little Trona.

Amateur Futurity
John Fondren was quite pleased to have won the Amateur Futurity and was overjoyed that he realized a second-generation dream. Absolute Wicked is the daughter of Fondrenís stallion, Absolute Acre.

She's green in the show pen, but she's got a big heart, Fondren said about his Futurity mare. Her daddy has a big heart too. It's hard to express words - the feeling of owning the daddy, about raising her and then going to show her and doing good.

Absolute Wicked was bred and raised by Dale Boltman, one of Fondrenís neighbors. Boltman started the mare with the help of Fondren and together they watched the filly blossom. ìWhen they ran some cattle into the pen, she just dropped down and looked,î Fondren said. It didn't matter what she was doing, when that cow ran in she locked in and worked.

The filly was not a very sociable creature with other horses, but that didn't seem to affect her cow work. When Boltman presented a buying opportunity about eight months ago, Fondren jumped on the deal.

I've always had a lot of confidence in her, he said.

Through the summer months, Fondren put all the fancy finish training on the mare.

Other than a couple of weekend outings, the Southern was Absolute Wicked's first show. Fondren showed her in the Non-Pro as well, where he tied for second in the first go but went out in the second. He attributed the poor performance to a collision the mare had with another horse while traveling from the warm-up pen to the working area.

She just didn't get over it or settle down, Fondren said.

The wreck didn't seem to affect her Amateur Futurity finals performance the next day. Right after I finished working, I carried her out and worked a cow, he said. She came right back to herself.

Amateur Derby
Barbara Brooks may not have started riding cutting horses until a few years ago, but she's certainly progressing along the fast track. Last year, she was Reserve at the Southern in the $50,000 Amateur on Telewhisp. This year, she was the Amateur Derby Champion on Playboys Lil Peppy.

Mentioning that her mare had gotten better and better all week in Jackson, Brooks was ecstatic about her first aged-event win.

This is so exciting! she said happily. She is a real confidence builder for me. If I do it right, I know she's going to do it right.

The solid black bunch might have seemed daunting, but it was just another day at the barn for Brooks.

We have all black cattle at home most of the time, she explained. I'm used to seeing them that way.

Brooks and her husband, Kix, purchased Playboys Lil Peppy as an early 3-year-old. The mare had been on cattle with Randy Butler for four months and moved right into Brad Mitchell's program at the Brookses Painted Springs Farm in Tennessee.

Barbara showed the mare at the Fort Worth Futurity and went on to ride her to most of this year's major aged event finals. They have won over $7,000 in NCHA money.

This triumph lies in the shadow of the horse's broken leg. After the Super Stakes, the mare kicked through her stall and injured her hind leg. Although there were superficial cuts, Playboys Lil Peppy appeared sound and continued on her training schedule.

About two weeks later, Mitchell backed the horse and noticed hesitation. They immediately took her to the vet where she was diagnosed with a green stick fracture to her cannon bone. Good news was that 60-days worth of rest and a gradual come back did the trick.

Amateur Classic
The cows were great and my horse was awesome!That pretty much summed up Andrew Sligh's win in the Amateur Classic. On 6-year-old Oak Olena King, this 20-year-old college student marked a 218 in the finals for a four-point margin.

I was excited to win this because it's his last aged event, he said.

Sligh has been showing cutters since, at just age 8, he accompanied his father to a cutting. Terry Sligh, Andrew's dad, used to be an avid cutter but has scaled down his show schedule since purchasing a Chevrolet/Dodge dealership in Oneonta, Ala. Now, the senior Sligh sends his son up and down the cutting road with trainer Todd Gann.

If it weren't for my dad, I wouldn't be able to do this sport, Andrew said.

Gann's parents, Jerry and Patty, owned Oak Olena King until the horse was 3. The Slighs purchased the gelding after the NCHA Futurity and went on to show the horse through the remainder of his aged career. Andrew won the first go of the Classic at the 2000 The Non-Pro. Now, Oak Olena King is headed to the weekend cuttings.

Andrew is quick to credit much of his success to his trainer.

Todd's like a brother to me, he said. that means a lot because if he sees me doing something wrong, he don't mind telling me up front and being honest with me.

Dividing his time between school and working at his father is business, Andrew keeps his horses at Gann's barn. Andrew's mother is Viva and he has a 17-year-old brother, Ryan.