Mid-Atlantic Reining Classic takes a slide through Virginia Horse Center

The world of horses seemed to be spinning a bit faster than usual this past weekend at the Virginia Horse Center as the Mid-Atlantic Reining Classic rolled into Lexington. The event boasted $100,000 in added money.

With the likes of Shawn Flarida and Rocky Dare in the saddle, there were lots of great runs to take in. The show also included classes for rookie and novice and green riders as well.

Saturday was capped by the NRHA Open Futurity, which saw Robin Schoeller ride Untrashyable to the win with a score of 223. Reserve went to Rocky Dare on Steady Mercedes. Third was Peter J De Freitas on ConquistadorWizzler. Click here for a full list of results.

The Open Futurity had 41 riders, in various levels, to show and took several hours to complete. The crowd was enthusiastic for the runs and whooping and hollering seemed to be a talent to be perfected all its own. Unlike many shows where the crowd sits as silently as possible, yelling, clapping and showing your appreciation for the rider in the arena is encouraged. None of the horses in the open futurity seemed even slightly phased by the noise. Kids in the stands loved that they didn’t have to be silent and “Go, Daddy Go” or “Giddy-up!” could be heard from children ringside.

Click here to see a video from Saturday night’s futurity.

Different from many other reining competitions that I have seen, riders seemed to be allowed to show using two hands on the reins. Most of the riders in Saturday night’s futurity rode two-handed but a handful rode with the more tradition single hand on the reins.