2006 - Kelle Smith wins second title in four years with a horse her mother found (Continued)

Her husband had primarily trained her 2004 NRHA Non-Pro winner, See Ya At Seven, a gelding by Hollywood Eighty Six out of Pure Lil Peppy, and her 2004 NRHA Derby Champion Chexanicki, a mare by Bueno Chexanic out of DS Fancy Footwork. She did not start riding See Ya At Seven until October of his 3-year-old season, but she rode JD Conquista Anna from the start. “This one has been more my project,” Smith said. “I started riding her myself in June of her 2-year-old year. Obviously, with Sam’s help, she was always just wonderful.”During the summer, Smith and JD Conquista Anna earned $1,818 and $1,444 checks with No. 1 and No. 2 finishes during two Ohio reining events, and $1,730 with a No. 7 finish in the Non-Pro finals at the Tulsa Reining Classic.

At October’s All American Quarter Horse Congress in Columbus, Ohio, the mare broke her gait in the finals, but still finished eighth to earn $2,091. “She’s never been bad. It’s just been little problems, until tonight,” Smith said. “Actually, she was perfect in the go-round, too.” She also picked up another $5,944 in Oklahoma City by guiding another finalist, Smart Chic O Bar, a mare by Smart Chic O Olena out of Sonitalena Bar, to a tie for ninth in the finals with a 214.5. She and that horse marked a 217.5 in the first go, matching the firstgo score she posted with JD Conquista Anna. Mandy McCutcheon, Aubrey, Texas, finished as the Reserve Champion and the third-place rider, to earn a combined $52,176 in the Non-Pro finals.

She set the bar high from the No. 7 draw in the 31-horse finals with a 219.5 on I Spin For Chics, a stallion by Tangys Classy Peppy out of Chics Koko Angel by Smart Chic Olena, owned by her father, Tim McQuay. McCutcheon and SLJ Sweet N Juicy, a daughter of Smart Like Juice out of Jacks My Sugar Daddy, that she and her husband, Tom McCutcheon, own, placed third with a 217.5 from the No. 1 draw. Knowing his wife would compete with JD Conquista Anna from the No. 22 draw, Sam Smith felt confident after those runs. “I knew if the mare competed the way she’s capable of, she would win,” he said. “The way that this mare had been working here, I had told someone she could make a couple of mistakes and still mark a 219.” Everything clicked during Kelle Smith’s finals run with Anna Banana.

She asked the horse for more than she had ever asked for in the past. The mare had no problem reading non-verbal cues during a high-octane run featuring plenty of speed and precision on the circles and the spins, plus several outstanding slides. “She was always saying, ‘What next, Kelle? What next?’ There was nothing I would change, except maybe I could be in a little better shape and ride a little harder. I was running out of breath and struggling near the end,” Kelle said. “I finally decided to say ‘whoa’ just a little bit early.” Asked about Kelle’s performance, Sam Smith said he does not tell his wife how to ride. The couple owns 10 horses. Sam trains others for a long list of clients. He does help Kelle train, but she adds her own twists, too. “She’s not my student,” he said of the longtime horsewoman he married in May 1998. “She has studied reining and has developed her own style and her own deal that really works for her. When she gets a horse that fits her, like this mare, they’re just real hard to beat.” Since 1999, Kelle Smith has earned $253,434 in reining.

The Smiths plan to keep JD Conquista Anna, with Kelle continuing to ride her in several major derby events. “That will be her life for a few years,” she said. Sam Smith said the mare is an outstanding broodmare prospect, but conceded due to his wife’s recent and probable future success with her, JD Conquista Anna’s days as a mother will probably wait for a while. Kelle enjoyed the fact that she had 19 horses between her first and her second finals rides in Oklahoma City. She was still nervous after she and JD Conquista Anna marked their 221 from the No. 22 draw. There were still nine horses and riders to go.

She watched part of one of her fellow riders’ runs, then left the stands because she couldn’t bear to watch the rest. “They are your friends and you want them to do well, but you cheer for yourself a little bit more,” Kelle said. Aside from Kelle Smith, the person who probably smiled the most after her victory was her mother. “My mom has been a very big part of my entire life showing,” Smith said. “We went to horse shows from the time I was 4 years old. I wanted her to be proud. That’s the first thing that I thought of when we won.” Asked how the pair planned to celebrate a victory on the horse that her mom found at a sale, Smith said, “We’ll go shopping.” The next day in Oklahoma City, another Futurity Prospect Sale took place in a barn adjacent to the Coliseum arena.

Kelle's 2003 Press Releases
Kelle's 2004 Press Releases • Kelle's 2005 Press Releases
Kelle's 2006 Press Releases • Kelle's 2007 Press Releases