Joseph Harrison went one-two in the American Rope Horse Futurity Association (ARHFA) World Show Pre-Futurity heeling on Magnums Shinin Spark and Hes Got Sann, good for a $46,215 payday.
Harrison and Magnums Shinin Spark scored a 228.01 in the final round to beat the pack and end with a score of 915.61 on four head for $25,925. He and Hes Got Sann’s 228.73-point run in the finals paid out $20,290 for second.
Magnum’s Moment
Magnums Shinin Spark, “Magnum,” is the small but mighty palomino son of Magnum Chic Dream and out of Shinin by Shinin Spark.
“He’s very small, but he is cute,” Harrison said of the 4-year-old. “He’s got that eye appeal when you ride him off in there. Even though he is a little bit small, nobody notices that right away because of how pretty he is, and when he operates, he is pretty eye-appealing in the run also.”
Bred by Larry and Denice Bledsoe and owned by Gucci Equine, Magnum changed hands a few times before landing in Harrison’s string over a year ago. He had been ridden in the reining pen before that.
“Yonathan Baruch actually rode him in the reining deal. When I bought him last summer, he probably could have gone to the reining futurity. Jonathan did a great job with him. He’s a little thief. He’ll steal more than he can win because he’s so cute.”
Their final run was huge, and the 228.01-point score put them straight to the top.
“He is real low to the ground and real stoppy,” Harrison said. “I felt that he was plugged into the steer before the turn. Clay (Smith) always does such a good job setting me up for the big bang.”
Sannman in Second
Hes Got Sann, “Sannman,” is the red roan son of Sannman out of Smoth Way Cat by Smooth As A Cat.
“He’s a pretty sweet little horse. After this week, I think I’ve won somewhere between 80 and 90 thousand on him.”
Sannman is owned by Roper Goodson and was bred by Lawrence E. Johnson. He came to Harrison about a year ago along with another recent winner in his string.
“They brought me two of them, actually, and now I have them both,” Harrison explained. “They brought the bay stud that I won the Solo Select deal on a couple weeks ago—we call him Batman, his name is Dont Stopp Trackin. Anyway, they brought him for me to look at, and they brought Sannman too. I felt like he had a little more wow factor to him and a little more stuff in his britches, so that’s the one I picked, and I’ve been riding him ever since.”
Sannman and Harrison came in about four points behind Magnum but made up ground with their 228.73-point run in the final round.
Million-Dollar Man
Back in June, after the Old West Rope Horse Futurity in Utah, Harrison crossed the $1 million mark in ARHFA earnings and was recognized for doing so during the Nov. 1 final-round opening ceremonies.
“That was awful nice of Jay and Lindsey (Wadhams) and them to give me that the other night,” he said with a smile. “That was one of the very coolest things that I’ve ever received, and I really appreciate them for it. It had been long enough ago that I had kind of forgotten about it myself.”
“I asked Jay the order of events that night and Gary Wells was standing there, and they both knew it was going to happen,” Harrison continued. “When I asked about it, I said, well, I don’t have any awards coming because I ain’t going to get the Heel Horse of the Year award—(Jeremy) Buhler’s got me there—so I’ll just hang out at the back of the bus whining like a sissy, and neither of them said anything. So I truly didn’t know; it was an awesome surprise and award.”
