Jay McLaughlin & Art Nicholas

The 5-year-old stallion (Shining Spark x Kings Masterpiece x Peppy San Badger) and McLaughlin, a former Missouri trainer now based at Carol Rose Quarter Horses in Gainesville, Texas, clicked from start to finish in a combined reining and cow horse run. They nailed a solid reining performance then backed it up with a strong cow horse work.

While Genuine Masterpiece had done enough to make a name for himself by placing well in several high-profile finals, this was his first official major-event victory.

“That horse just felt ready when he went in the gate,” McLaughlin said. “When I trotted into the middle and loped off, I could tell we were there to show. He was just perfect the whole way.”

Reserve Champion Solano Cat and Ralls, Gainesville, Texas, dominated the fence work part of the finals with a spectacular 224.5 effort, but they couldn’t overcame a glitch or two in their reining and finished 2.5 points off the pace with a 213-224.5-437.5. Sharon and Herschel Reid, Pilot Point, Texas, own Solano Cat (High Brow Cat x Smartest Solano x Smart Little Lena), 5-year-old gelding bred by Mark Marek, Austin, Texas.

Genuine Masterpiece breeder and owner Wagonhound Land & Livestock, Douglas, Wyo., is much more well-known at this point for success with cutting horses, including one of the year’s hottest new cutting sires, WR This Cats Smart. Genuine Masterpiece (Shining Spark x Kings Masterpiece x Peppy San Badger), affectionately called “G-Man” by McLaughlin, gave the Wagonhound brand and its owner Art Nicholas their first non-cutting World Championship as an owner and as a breeder. Nicholas credited Carol Rose with a big assist for making sure all arrangement took place so that her stallion with his mare actually consumated the deal.

“These are the kind of horses that we are trying to raise,” Nicholas said. “When we are lucky enough to get somebody like Jay to ride them, it all comes together.”

Genuine Masterpiece represents Wagonhound Land & Livestock’s “first serious effort” with a working cow horse, Nicholas said. He added “G-Man” set the bar high. “It’s tough to have this much success right out of the chute,” Nicholas said. “Now you are really expecting it. This is an event I like. It puts all the components together. We are big fans of the cow horse program.” His program also currently has a young reining prospect.

McLaughlin previously earned an AQHA World Championship with another cow horse. He earned an AQHA Junior Reining World Championship last week at the same show while riding A Shiner Named Sioux, a Palomino stallion owned and bred by Carol Rose. McLaughlin moved from Missouri in early 2009 to work as resident cow horse trainer at Rose’s Gainesville, Texas, base. He has achieved considerable success since then.

While out-pointed in the cow work during the finals, “G-Man” and McLaughlin’s solid 218 reining effort made the difference in their win. That success might have been in part because of an extra emphasis that included McLaughlin showing Genuine Masterpiece to a 218 and an eighth-place finish during last week’s AQHA Junior Reining finals.

“He had never been a reiner in his life, other than at the cow horse shows,” McLaughlin said. “Before he came here, he’d never seen a judge’s chair. When I trotted into the middle [during the Junior Reining], he had never seen a judge’s chair and he wasn’t sure what to do. He was good all the way through.”

Ralls finished as the Junior Working Cow Horse event’s Reserve Champion and third-place finisher aboard Solano Cat and Im A Smokin Mister (219.5-214.5-434). He said Solano Cat’s 224.5 fence work run was simply outstanding.

“Those cows are strong and really powerful,” Ralls said. “I got a little worried I was going to run out of horse, but we got through it. We got it done.”

Regarding he and Solano Cat’s 213 in reining, Ralls said, “I had that scotch on that one stop there. It didn’t help. But that happens. It did today.”

Ralls added that he’ll take second and third in the finals any time. “I’ll take it and I’m happy to have it.”