Congratulations Shevin and Who Whiz Who!

“‘Baby (Spooks)’ is just amazing,” Michell gushed after the derby win. “He’s very consistent, and I just love how he moves. I love a lot of runs. It’s not just his run. I love reining, and I love how he goes. It’s exhilarating, but it’s so challenging. I start stressing out 24 hours early.”

Her only goal is to make the finals, she said, before admitting that she’s superstitious and has a few traditions before her stallion’s run.

“I don’t talk to anybody,” she said. “I sit in the same place.”

Spooks Gotta Whiz is a 2007 bay stallion by Spooks Gotta Gun-Prettywhizprettydoes by Topsail Whiz.

In 2014, he’ll be 7, the minimum age for Federation Equestre Internationale competition.

Shawn said the stallion’s hard stops are the key to his wins, but his circles were particularly strong in the finals.

“He’s so focused when we run in there,” he said. “He puts his little head down – it’s so cute. As far as (speed transitions), I don’t know if it gets any better.”

The score of 226.5 was good for the win. Second place was tied between Shiners Voodoo Dr and Tinker With Guns, both with a 226.

Shiners Voodoo Dr is a 2007 palomino stallion by Shining Spark-Voodoo Chic by Smart Chic Olena. He was bred by Rogers Heaven Sent Ranch of Tucson, Arizona, and is owned by Xtra Quarter Horses of Purcell, Oklahoma. He was ridden by Todd Bergen.

Tinker With Guns is a 2006 sorrel stallion by Colonels Smoking Gun-Tinker Nic by Reminic. He was bred and is owned by Rancho Oso Rio of Scottsdale, Arizona, and was ridden by Andrea Fappani. He won the derby, which is restricted to horses ages 5-7, in 2011.

Baby Spooks was bred by AQHA Professional Horseman Clint Haverty of Krum, Texas, whose breeding program was featured in the June issue of the Journal.

Clint’s mare Prettywhizprettydoes, a 2002 bay mare by Topsail Whiz, is out of Blonde At The Bar by Hollywood Jac 86. On her bottom side, Blonde At The Bar is out of Billie Bar Flash by Flashy Star Bar.

“That’s really good old-time breeding,” Clint told the Journal in an exclusive interview. “Billie Bar Flash was a great producer, and I won quite a bit on her back in the 1980s in reining competition.”

Billie Bar Flash earned $10,713.46 in NRHA competition, while Blonde At The Bar racked up $13,991.03 in earnings. Prettywhizprettydoes earned $20,296 in reining competition, much of it with Clint’s son, Zane, and wife, Liz.

Article courtesy of The American Quarter Horse Journal.

“We keep getting better and this has been the most exciting show for us yet,” said Marissa. “My favorite thing about Reining is how fast we can go and how the horse loves it.”

Marissa, an eighth grader, trains with Barbara Akin and Mark Anderson. She also enjoys competing in Stock Horse of Texas (SHOT) and NRCHA events and just plain having fun with Sandy.

“When we get back to Waco, the first thing Sandy and I are doing is going swimming in the pond.”
“I’m very proud of Sandy for all her hard work and am thankful to my parents for all of their support.”

Article and photo courtesy of The Reiner. Click here to see the full issue.

The Level 3 and 2 titles at the Ariat Tulsa Reining Classic went to Yonathan Baruch showing Stoney Russell’s Who Whiz Doll with a score of 222 and $4125 in earnings. Baruch, who is a native of Israel is widely known in the sport and well liked by many, so his win was celebrated throughout the event. Who Whiz Doll is by Who Whiz It.

Congratulations Stoney, Yonathan and Who Whiz Doll!

Visit the Ariat Tulsa Reining Classic News Page for Press Releases from the show.

Who Whiz McMurtry, owned by Kathy Biesecker and ridden by Jeremy Gates, won the Level 4 Champion at the 2012 Northeast Futurity with a score of 147 and took home over $1700! Who Whiz McMurtry is by Who Whiz It and out of Gunners Cool Whip.

Congratulations to Kathy, Jeremy and Who Whiz McMurtry!

By Larri Jo Starkey – June AQHA Journal

In 2010, Spooks Gotta Whiz put himself in the record books with his win at the National Reining Horse Association Futurity.

In April, the 2007 bay stallion added to his record by capturing the open title at the National Reining Breeders Classic for owner Michell Kimball of Encinitas, California.

But then, Spooks Gotta Whiz should be good. He comes from an excellent family line, says his breeder, AQHA Professional Horseman Clint Haverty of Krum, Texas.

Spooks Gotta Whiz is by Spooks Gotta Gun and out of Clint’s homebred mare Prettywhizprettydoes.

“That’s a real nice nick there,” Clint says. “(Spooks Gotta Gun) is a really strong producer, and he’s proven it by his breeding to these Topsail Whiz mares I have.”

In the early 2000s, Haverty Ranch was heavily vested in the Topsail Whiz bloodline with the stallion Who Whiz It, a full brother to Prettywhizprettydoes.

A client challenged Clint to find a young stallion that would complement the Whiz mares, and the search led him to trainer Robbie Schroeder, then in Gainesville, Texas, who had a promising prospect in training.

Clint, a member of the National Reining Horse Association Hall of Fame, had ridden Colonels Smoking Gun to a reserve championship in the 1996 NRHA Futurity, and Spooks Gotta Gun is out of the same dam, Katie Gun.

Clint tried Spooks Gotta Gun three times before making up his mind. Finally, the deal was made with the stallion’s owner and breeder, Eric Storey of Henagar, Alabama, and Spooks Gotta Gun headed to Krum.

Clint Haverty on Spooks Gotta Gun as a three year old

“I was always a little snakebit with ‘Spook,’ ” Clint says.

“At the NRHA Futurity his 3-year-old year, he had a wonnderful first go and all he had to do was cruise to make it to the finals. On the way to show him in the second go-round, I stopped at a gas station to get a cup of coffee and came out two minutes later – my truck and a lot of my stuff had been stolen! The morning just sort of went downhill from there. We had a huge overspin in our pattern and for an hour, they kept announcing and changing our score, but I think we missed the open finals by half a point.”

Clint stood Spooks Gotta Gun at stud at different times for different owners, riding and putting in some training on the stallion now owned by Silver Spurs Equine of Cave Creek, Arizona.

“One of the first mares we bred him to was Prettywhizprettydoes,” Clint’s wife, Liz, remembers. “That initial crossing resulted in Spooks Gotta Whiz, affectionately known as ‘Baby Spooks.’ ”

Clint’s mare Prettywhizprettydoes, a 2002 bay mare by Topsail Whiz, is out of Blonde At The Bar by Hollywood Jac 86. On her bottom side, Blonde At The Bar is out of Billie Bar Flash by Flashy Star Bar.

“That’s really good old-time breeding,” Clint says. “Billie Bar Flash was a great producer, and I won quite a bit on her back in the 1980s in reining competition.”

Billie Bar Flash earned $10,713.46 in NRHA competition, while Blonde At The Bar racked up $13,991.03 in earnings, including an NRHA youth championship in 2000 with Clint and Liz’s son, Zane. Prettywhizprettydoes earned $20,296 in reining competition, much of it with Zane and Liz.

“She’s kind of a family horse,” Clint says. “She really took care of everybody.”

“Our horses are a big part of our family,” Liz adds quickly. “We have so much history with them.”

Liz Haverty riding PrettyWhizPrettyDoes

When then-owner Marlo Reimer of Colorado sold Spooks Gotta Gun to Duane Hicks of Marietta, Oklahoma, Duane wanted to purchase a colt to promote his new stallion. That colt was Spooks Gotta Whiz, headed for the record books.

“Several people have been instrumental in riding this horse and training him,” Clint says, listing the work of the late John Slack, Tanya Jenkins, Jordan Larson and current trainer Shawn Flarida. “Everybody who’s had him has done a nice job with that horse. You can’t find any better trainers than the people who have ridden this horse.”

At the NRBC in April, Prettywhizprettydoes’ second foal, a full brother to Spooks Gotta Whiz, was first in the limited open. Spooks Gotta Run, a 2008 bay stallion, is owned by Michael Jeffcoat of Waurika, Oklahoma. Spooks Gotta Run’s earnings combined with Spooks Gotta Whiz’s earnings have unofficially pushed Prettywhizprettydoes’ offspring earnings to more than $300,000, though those records couldn’t be verified at press time.

Clint and Liz have watched every run that Spooks Gotta Whiz has made with pride and pleasure, debating how much the stallion resembles Prettywhizprettydoes and how much he resembles Spooks Gotta Gun.

“I rode both of them and trained both of them,” Clint says. “I can see the similarities between him and Spooks Gotta Gun, and I can see the mare in him. It’s just cool watching.”

And now Clint has another one to watch: Spooksgottaprettyboy, a full brother to Spooks Gotta Whiz, is 2. The NRHA Futurity is just a year away.

The NRBC Open Finals were held Saturday, April 21, at the Great Southwest Equestrian Center in Katy, Texas. The field of 33 finalists posted high score after high score – in fact, the average of all the scored runs in the finals was over 223!
NRHA Leading Rider Shawn Flarida claimed his fourth NRBC Open title on Spooks Gotta Whiz, a 5-year-old stallion by Spooks Gotta Gun out of Prettywhizprettydoes. Flarida and Spooks Gotta Whiz laid down a 236 to win the Open title.
During the awards ceremony, Flarida was presented with an oversized check for $75,000, a year’s use of a four horse trailer from Twin Cities Featherlite, a saddle sponsored by Pard’s Western Shop, a Gist Silversmiths buckle, Rios of Mercedes boots, a Catena watch from Catena USA, a Whisper Bit, and product from Santa Cruz Biotechnologies Animal Health and SmartPak. Flarida and owner Michelle Anne Kimball also took home the signature blue NRBC crystal as well as other NRBC memorabilia.
While many other horse and rider teams have been together for years, the NRBC was actually Flarida’s andSpooks Gotta Whiz’s debut reining! “I got him in January, and this was my first time to show him. He’s a superminded horse and his foundation was phenomenal.
Tanya Jenkins started him and did really well, and then Jordan Larson did a great job on him and won the NRHA Futurity,” he said. “Michelle called me and asked if I’d be interested in riding him. I said I didn’t think I could do any better than the other people who had ridden him, but I’d love the opportunity. She said ‘I think he’d look really good with a green shirt,’ so I said I’d love to try him.”
The Reserve Championship and $56,000 went to Andrea Fappani and Tinker With Guns, who finished the finals with a 233.5. Tinker With Guns, a 6-year-old stallion by Gunner out of Tinker Nic, is owned by Rancho Oso Rio.