There was no doubt the fans were behind C.J. Murphy and his mount, Bald N Shiney, on Friday night, November 11, the last night of amateur finals competition for the 2005 World Show.

 The Sooner Trailer All-Around Amateur award was on the line, one of the most coveted awards at the World Show. All other contenders had finished their finals classes and the top five were set. Only Murphy and his bald-faced sorrel gelding could change things, and the pair had three finals to g heading, heeling and working cow horse.

A lot made Murphy the crowd’s sentimental favorite. For one thing, he was aiming for the award through cow events, roping and working cow horse, not the classic all-around events such as western riding, showmanship, horsemanship or hunt seat equitation.

 For another he’s a guy. Since the award began in 1983 only one other male has won it, Kent Taylor of Gilbert, Arizona, and Imperial Bid.

 But the real reason was Murphy’s mom. One year ago on November 12, during amateur week at the 2004 World Show, Melene Murphy, C.J.’s mom and wife of AQHA Pro Horseman Don Murphy, died of cancer. And Melene had always wanted C.J. to go after the  all-around amateur.

 Coming into the heading finals Friday night, the pressure was on.

 “I backed into the box and nodded my head, saw my start, put my hand down, and Bald N Shiney, he just stood there,” Murphy said. “I was little bit late, and I hustled up there. But when I roped my steer he got on his butt, came out of there really good and faced really well.”

 

C.J. Murphy and Bald N Shiney with family, friends and their new 3-horse, gooseneck Sooner Trailer!

With J.D. Yates heeling, their run earned them a score of 221.5 and the heading world championship. When they placed seventh in the heelin,g they knew the all-around award was won.

 “They came and told me after (the heeling) that I had enough points, so it was kind of a bit of ‘just-for-fun-go-show-in-the-cow-horse,’” Murphy said with a laugh. “We weren’t quite as prepared as we probably needed to be, but I still had fun.

 “Every aspect of this (was a family effort),” he continued. “My dad trained the horse, my sister (Nelle) has shown the horse and made it better. I just follow in the wings and do what I can to keep it going.”

 And it wouldn’t have been possible without his multiple world champion horse, Bald N Shiney, actually owned by Nelle, a 1994 sorrel gelding by Shining Spark and out of Leos Raffle Lady by Hank Leo.

 “The horse: we’ve all shown on him, we’ve all won on him, he’s just part of the family,” Murphy said. “So, when you say it’s a family effort, that’s including Bald N Shiney; he’s part of the family.

 “There’s been so many people involved in this, fellow competitors, horse trainers, friends, so many people have jumped in to help us do this,” Murphy continued. “There’s no way we could have done it on our own.

 “We did this for my mom.”

 “She was riding with him tonight,” Don added.

 So when the dust settled, it was a good run. Murphy made it back to the finals in all the classes he entered, earned a world championship in heading, a reserve world championship in tie-down, and top-10 finishes in breakaway and heeling.

What do you want to bet that his mom is proud?

All-Around Winners

1. Bald N Shiney, 46 points
C.J. Murphy, Marietta, Oklahoma
Wins a 3-horse gooseneck Sooner Trailer with dressing room; an embroidered fusion contour western WeatherBeeta blanket; and an original Lisa Perry bronze.

2. Zippo LTD, 44 points
Julia-Dawn Taylor, Dallas, Texas
Wins $2,500

3. Sweet Talkin Jeannie, 43.5 points
Joetta Leeanne Bell, Whitesboro, Texas
Wins $1,000

4. Keepin The Image, 40 points
Alisa Bernhard, Germantown, Wisconsin
Wins $1,000

5. Hot N Irish, 30 points
Carrie Russom, Corning, Arkansas
$1,000 cash

All Around FYI

The Sooner Trailer All-Around Amateur award is given to the amateur horse-and-rider team entered in a minimum of three events in two or more categories that earn the most points during the show. Points are earned based on the final placing and how many entries in the class.

This year’s show started with 39 amateur horse-and-rider pairs automatically eligible. The group included a slew of world champions, including two past all around amateur award winners. Two-time winner Nancy Murfin-Moxley of Wichita, Kansas, had two horses eligible: Real Good Mister and Im Sucha Sam. And Karen Evans Mundy of Cedar Hill, Tennessee, who’s won the award eight times, brought Ask Me For Details, the horse she won the award on in 2003 and 2004.

There were also two men in the normally female-dominated competition: Chad Sandoval of Sanger, Texas, and Jazztastic, and C.J. Murphy of Marietta, Oklahoma, and Bald N Shiney. Murphy qualified for the competition through working cow horse and roping events.

The standings changed every day, with every new preliminary and finals go. Carrie Russom and Hot N Irish took the early lead with a world championship in horsemanship on Sunday, November 6. But by the end of daytime finals on Friday, November 11, Julia-Dawn Taylor and Zippo LTD along with Joetta Bell and Sweet Talkin Jeannie had edged into first and second place.

In years past, everyone knew the winner by evening finals on Friday, because the classic all-around events were finished. But this year, C.J. Murphy’s three cow event finals left the award up in the air until the very last, and made for a gripping finale.