AMATEUR WORKING COW HORSE CHAMPION

TAMMY JO HAYS AND SHINE SMARTLY HANG TIGHT TO TAKE HOME THEIR FIRST WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP TOGETHER.

BY CANDACE DOBSON, FIELD EDITOR

Tammy Jo Hays and Shine Smartly set the standard in the first hole of the draw after their combined score of 435.

“She stopped big and spun big tonight,” Hays said. “The first cow that came out was a little wild, and she wasn’t quite ready for it. But they let the second one out, and she worked it really well. There isn’t much I would have changed about our run.”

Reserve champions Patricia Ralls and Chromium Cowboy came in the arena second in the draw and combated with a powerful score of 220.5 in the dry work, but it didn’t hold up to Hays and Shine Smartly.

“I was delighted when I saw where I drew because I didn’t have to be nervous for very long, but the waiting afterwards is terrible,” Hays said. “I had knots in my stomach.”

Hays and Flower turn their cow during the finals seconds of their championship run.

“Flower” as Hays calls the mare was the reserve amateur world champion in the working cow horse last year at the World Show, and she has more than $20,000 in National Reined Cow Horse Association earnings. NRCHA Hall of Famer and Hays’ trainer, Don Murphy, also rode Flower to an NRCHA world championship in the hackamore division in 2003.

“She’s just so cowy,” Hays said. “I never have to make things happen on the cow. Sometimes it’s hard to show her in the dry work because she’s thinking about the cow.”

The Saint Jo, Texas, resident credits her success to her husband, Shawn, trainer Don Murphy, and an answered prayer she said right before her run.

“It was exactly the run I prayed for, she said.”

Hays and Flower are qualified for the NRCHA World Show in February, and plan to compete in the two-rein and the non pro bridle.

“She really loves her job,” Hays said. “It’s fun to show a horse that likes what she is doing.” 

WINNER STATS Horse name: Shine Smartly Pedigree: Shining Spark x Smartly Dressed by Smart Little Lena Owner/Exhibitor: Tammy Jo Hays, Saint Jo, Texas Trainer: Don Murphy, Marietta, Oklahoma Breeder: Carol Rose, Gainesville, Texas Total Class Entries: 44 Purse: $14,696 World Champion Prizes: Gold trophy, Montana Silversmiths buckle, Cripple Creek jacket, Tex Tan AQHA spurs, Justin ostrich Tekno Crepe boots, Professional's Choice products, Nutrena feed, neck ribbon