One of the first futurities of the season, the 100X Brazos Slide, held July 24-28 at the Extraco Events Center in Waco, Texas, attracted a whopping 55 entries for the 100X Level 4 Open Futurity. In the end, both Good Statistics, ridden by Jordan Larson, and Alpha Viking, saddled by Gabriel Diano, finished tied at the top of the leaderboard, scoring a 223 and collecting $7,400 for their owners.
Larson went into the Open Futurity with the intention of finding out how far Good Statistics was in his training while improving each maneuver. He was thrilled with how confident the stallion felt so early in the year.
“We had high hopes for him, so it's pretty electrifying when they actually go out there and show what they can do,” said Larson, who also won the Level 3 Open and another $5,175 with Good Statistics. “He's got more to him, as I'm sure other people's horses do, so we've just got to try to get him fit, keep him vigorous and build on that.”
He thanked Ixtul Quarter Horses LLC for their confidence in purchasing Good Statistics. The stallion (Gunnatrashya x Shesouttayourleague x Walla Walla Whiz) has solid family lines behind him and Larson hopes to see substantial things from him this Futurity season.
“He has a pretty fancy family and we were hoping he would follow the family tree,” Larson said. “His talent isn't circumscribed in any way, but you just never know how they're going to show up. One thing about him is he's very confident and he showed that, so that was nippy.”
Larson also thanked his wife Taylor and the team at Larson Performance Horses for their challenging work and God for allowing him to make a living riding attractive horses.
Co-Champion of the Open Futurity
It was special for Diano to win with Alpha Viking as the stallion is a home-bred stallion owned by him and his wife Maria. His mother, Lia Riccetto, owns Alpha Viking's dam and has wanted Diano to show the stallion from the beginning.
“There were a lot of offers for this horse, I mean, we're talking a lot of money for this horse, and she didn't even think about it. She didn't want to sell him,” Diano said. “She wanted me to go to a show. She said, 'No, you have to show this one until you say you don't want to show him anymore.'”
Alpha Viking (Gunnatrashya x Rock It With Sass x Wimpys Little Step) was locked in all week at the Brazos Slide, Diano said. He struggled a little with the deep ground and didn't slide like he does at home, but rather than push him and potentially scare him at this first show, Diano focused on the positives of their run.
“He felt like a derby horse,” Diano said. “It was his first time in the show pen and he was one-handed and he was incredible. If you look at the way he ran, he doesn't look like a three-year-old. He was incredible. He always had his ears forward and was enjoying what he was doing. I was so cheerful with him.” Diano was excited about Alpha Viking's future and couldn't wait for the upcoming National Reining Horse Association Futurity in the fall.
