The race for the novice sire title is one that takes years to prepare and ultimately culminates in two brief weeks. Although reining horses will be shown before the prestigious National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Futurity, the Futurity winner and finalists will take home the biggest prize money of the season and ultimately lead their sire to the title of 2024 NRHA Freshman Sire.
A Vintage Smoke sired two contenders who made it to the finals of the Level 4 Open. While the other NRHA newcomer sires Maytheforcebewhizyou and Phantom Face had no open horses, they made it to the final.
According to the American Quarter Horse Association, a Vintage Smoke gave birth to 132 foals in 2021, a record for the freshman sire class of 2024, according to the QHN Stallion Register. At the start of the NRHA Futurity, his offspring already had earnings of $171,629, according to EquiStat achieved. Some of it was earned in reining cow horse competitions, but the majority was won in reining competitions. His highest earner on November 18th was Smoke Rings N Dadark (A Vintage Smoke x Mifilberry Wine x Mifillena) with $37,562 and his second highest earner was A Vintage Design (A Vintage Smoke x Designed To Shoot x Tinker With Guns) with $22,893, both of whom are scheduled to compete in the finals of the NRHA Futurity Open on December 7th.
Masters abroad
The NRHA newcomer sire Maytheforcebewhizyou can also boast of earning money. MC Millenium Falcon (Maytheforcebewhizyou x RS Shadon Olena x Spat Olena) scored a 226.5 to win the Itialian Reining Horse Association Futurity on November 16th with Manuel Cortesi at the helm. Spook N Gold (Maytheforcebewhizyou x Vanilla Gun x Hollywood Gun Dunnit) won an Open Futurity class at the Belgium Futurity and Quarter Horse Show with Kim Obenhaus in the lead. The European sire's first winner is fitting, as is his only NRHA Futurity entry. Luk Skywalker (Maytheforcebewhizyou x RS Athena Jac x McJac Flash) was ridden by the Italian Mirko Midili and belongs to the Brazilian Thiago Boechat and Janice Laney.
Phantom face
Phantomlicious RD (Phantom Face x Bubblicious Gump BB x Little Gump) and Jeronimo Lobo already have wins to their name before the NRHA Futurity. According to EquiStat, Phantomlicious RD has been the only earner on his sire's roster since the start of the Futurity.
List of A Vintage Smoke's NRHA Futurity Open finalists
| offspring | dam | driver | owner | levels |
| Passive smoke | Wallawhizagun (from Walla Walla Whiz) | Jack Daniel's | Amy and Trey Quinn | 3 |
| A vintage design | Designed for Shooting (from Tinker With Guns) | Marcelo Almeida da Silva | Jason Reeder | 1 |
| Smoke Rings N Dadark | Mifilberry wine (from Mifillena) | Taylor Davis | Holly Bray | 1,2,3 |
| Berry first smoke | My Berry Best Gun (from Colonels Smoking Gun) | Jason Vanlandingham | Billy Lee Wolf | 4 |
| GPB Smokinvintage gun | Gunners Best Stop (from Colonels Smoking Gun) | Jason Vanlandingham | Vaughn Zimmerman / Robert Santagata | 4 |
