You are here:

NCHA News

About

Produced Events

Local Shows and Events

Membership

Judges

Youth

Non-Pro World Champion

Dec 6, 2020, 12:43 PM by Sally Harrison

Non-Pro World Champions were crowned at the NCHA World Finals

It’s Miller time!

Megan Miller on Metallic Smart Cat. Seth Petit photo.

Megan Miller and Metallic Smart Cat claimed a clear victory in the Non-Pro division of the 7 Ranch NCHA World Finals at Fort Worth’s Watt Arena on Saturday night, December 5 earning both show champion and reserve world champion titles.

She posted the top score in three of the four working arounds, plus the non-working finals to earn $25,950 at the show, leading World Champion Elizabeth Quirk, who earned $14,363 on Reystylin Smooth.

Miller, of Poolville, Tex., is an NCHA Non-Pro Hall of Fame inductee with career earnings of $1,278,211. She’s a two-time winner of the NCHA Super Stakes (Itawtathenapuddycat in 2009 and Carolena Reyn in 2018) and the Super Stakes Classic (Travs Scooter in 2009 and Carolena Reyn in 2019).

Metallic Smart Cat LTE $235,839 is a 7-year-old gelding bred by Cynthia Villa by Metallic Cat out of Smart Jerri Lee, by Smart Little Jerry. Miller’s husband, Matt, showed the gelding to Open reserve championships at the NCHA Derby and NCHA Classic Challenge, and won the Pacific Coast Cutting Stakes with him.

Megan Miller and Metallic Smart Cat strung together scores of 228 / 229 / 221 / 229 / 907 at the World Finals. That helped her pass third-round winner Mary Jo Milner to take the Reserve World Championship.

Elizabeth Quirk of Denham Springs, Louisiana, earned her second Non-Pro World Championship. The 2003 NCHA Limited Age Rookie of the Year was inducted into the Non-Pro Hall of Fame in 2017, and was World Champion in 2018. She has career earnings of $1,172,313.

She earned $68,064 for her 2020 World title, riding to the herd in 54 shows prior to the World Finals.

To read more from Sally Harrison, visit her blog at sallyharrison.com.