 Russell Dilday and his wife, Tanna
The Porterville, Calif., trainer, who drew first in the cow work, entered the arena a half-point behind leader Robbie Schroeder and Shine By The Bay, so he knew he and Topsails Rien Maker (Topsail Cody x Jameen Gay x Toby Gay Bar) had to score big.
After two very uncooperative cows, Dilday and his stallion marked a disappointing 211, so he thought they’d wind up second, a position he earned in 2004 and 2005. But Schroeder – and others after him – drew tough cows too, so Dilday’s composite of 867.5 netted him the prestigious National Reined Cow Horse Association title and a check for $30,000.
Schroeder and Shine By The Bay (Shining Spark x Metermaid To Order x Doc O’Lena) finished Reserve, which earned $22,500 for the team and the stallion’s owners, Shine By The Bay Partnership. Topsails Rien Maker is owned by Dilday and Kevin Cantrelle, Raymond, Calif.
 Russell Dilday (left) and Robbie Schroeder
Afterward, Dilday’s megawatt smile shone even brighter than usual.
“This is the biggest thing I’ve ever won,” he said. “It’s the coolest thing that’s ever happened to me by and far.
“Slider (Topsails Rien Maker) won over $140,000 by the end of last year. He was the top-earning Topsail Cody son, so this will put him up there in the national NRCHA earnings for all time. So I’m just ecstatic. And he’s just 9 years old!”
Dilday, who was nowhere to be seen while the remaining teams battled recalcitrant cows, left the warm-up pen to get some new reins until all the runs were over.
 Robbie Schroeder and Shine By The Bay
Schroeder, who has competed in the World’s Greatest Horseman three other times, was elated with being Reserve. This was the first time the Gainesville, Texas, horseman made the finals.
“I’m just thrilled to be here in the finals, with this caliber of horses,” he said. “I’m very happy for Russell to have won it, finally. You bring the horse you think you can win it on, and Shine By The Bay is the one for me.”Read more in the April 1 issue of QHN. |
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