Upgrayed Sweeps the Congress as NRHA Futurity Contenders Take Shape
Emily Carey4 hours ago
Upgrayed and Casey Deary swept the All American Quarter Horse Congress Open Reining Futurity, taking home a healthy check for owner Jose Fernando Fagundes. The pair marked a 224.5 on Oct. 3 in the Columbus, Ohio, dirt to win $50,000 in the All Star Reining Stakes Level 4 Open Futurity, an additional $83,214 in the Oswood Stallion Advantage Open Reining Level 4 Futurity and $50,000 in the NRHA Open Reining Level 4 Futurity.
Upgrayed wasn’t the only horse who left Columbus with momentum. Im Gunna Bee (Kaci O’Rourke), Spooky Booo (Cade McCutcheon), Bad Companyy (Kole Price) and Sixty Six Stops (Jordan Larson) tied for reserve at 223.5 in the NRHA Open Reining Level 4 Futurity and the All Star Reining Stakes Level 4 Open Futurity. The first three also tied for reserve in the Oswood Stallion Advantage Open Reining Level 4 Futurity, each earning more than $75,000 across the three classes. Sixty Six Stops added titles in the NRHA Open Reining Level 3 Futurity and the All Star Reining Stakes Level 3 Open Futurity. Eight Oh Five and Jack Daniels won the Oswood Stallion Advantage Open Reining Level 3 Futurity for $39,798, and All Cocoa No Cream and Joe Schmidt swept the NRHA, All Star and Oswood Level 2 Open futurities.
Congress is one of the last big stops on the pre-futurity trail and all eyes are turning to the NRHA Futurity, set for Nov. 23-Dec. 5 at the Oklahoma City Fairgrounds as it celebrates its 60th anniversary. For the horses that left Columbus with a check, the Congress was a major confidence boost heading to Oklahoma City.
