Gina Schumacher Rebounds to Win NRHA Non-Pro Derby Championship Aboard Take Out The Trash
Lillian Jones (Kent)Jun 29, 2026
Gina Maria Schumacher won the Level 4 Non Pro championship at the 2026 NRHA Derby aboard Take Out the Trash, marking a decisive rebound after a difficult spring and her first major title since winning the 2025 NRHA Futurity on the XCS Ranch homebred CS Sailor Made.
Schumacher marked a 224.5 in the final, earning $50,000.
“I couldn’t believe [the score,] Schumacher said. “I knew it was still good, but I wasn’t sure whether it was going to be enough or not. I didn’t sleep all night after the win just because I was so excited.”
The win comes roughly eight months after longtime CS Ranch head trainer Duane Latimer departed for Thorsport Ranch, a transition that left Schumacher managing the program herself. She has since assumed full training responsibility for her horses, working alongside Robi Berti, who starts the young horses before Schumacher takes over as they develop.
Stumbling block turned stepping stone
Her first major test took place at the NRBC in April, and it didn’t go as planned. Schumacher failed to crack the top 8 in the Level 4 Non Pro, a result she attributes more to mindset than horsemanship.
“The NRBC was difficult because I really wanted to probably prove that I can do it on my own, which was totally stupid,” Schumacher said. “In the end it shouldn’t matter what other people think or say. It was more mentally than anything else.”
Compounding the NRBC result, her top mount was unavailable. Take Out the Trash, known around the barn as “Valentino,” had been sidelined with back and muscle soreness following 2025 travel to Switzerland for the World Reining Championship.
An extended vacation and rehab had Valentino back in time for the Derby, but at the time of the NRBC, Schumacher said he was fat, feral, and still handing onto his winter coat.
After Tulsa, she went straight back to work.
“The first thing I did was went to ride,” Schumacher said. “I tried to shut myself out from anything from the outside. I really tried to just focus on what I feel in my horses and really go back to my gut feeling.”
Her husband Ian watched and offered feedback throughout the lead-up to the Derby.
By the time the NRHA Derby came around in June, Valentino was healthy, fit, and, as Schumacher put it, simply ready.
“He was like, ‘Whatever you want, ma’am, anytime you want,'” Schumacher said.
His ears-up performance and 224.5-point score deeply validated Schumacher and the path she’s on. It was proof that the adjustments she made after Tulsa had worked, and that the program she’s building on her own terms is on solid footing.
“Finally, I was like, ‘Oh, I did this,'” Schumacher said.
Schumacher also finished in a tie for No. 7 riding CS Buzz Lightyear, marking a 220.5 and earning $8,517.82
Looking ahead, Schumacher will heading to The Run For A Million with Gunnastepya “Billy” and Valentino in the trailer. She’s not sure if Valentino will compete in the Non Pro or the Shootout yet, but will decide closer to the August 9–15 event.
