Best of the Remudas Circuit

The Best of the Remudas Circuit offered five days of American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) Versatility Ranch Horse Competitions at five AQHA Best Remuda Award-winning ranches over two weekends, Sept. 21-22 and Sept. 27-29.

Horses are required to prove their versatility by competing in five events throughout the day, including ranch riding, ranch cutting, ranch trail, working ranch horse and ranch conformation. The circuit offered money paid back to the winner of each event and the overall winner of the show at each ranch. Whenever show secretary Marilyn Johnson came across a tie, the working ranch horse class was used as tie-breaker.

The overall champion received a saddle, while class winners received breast collars. Each individual competition winner received a Best Remuda trophy sponsored by AQHA and the Bayer Corporation.

Lessons Learned

Lesson one
If you show up to compete at a ranch horse competition, and you see Chris Littlefield's rig, you might as well just turn around and go home, because you're not going to win.

This was the lesson learned according to fellow competitor and friend Bary Clower, after Chris Littlefield topped two individual competitions and won the overall circuit.

Littlefield was accompanied by Palomino World Champion Seven S Genuine Miss, also known as "Miss T." Miss T was recently named Palomino World Champion in Breakaway Roping and Working Cowhorse. She also earned a Reserve Championship in Calf Roping. She will be shown in the Junior Cutting at the AQHA World Show.

Miss T won overall at the Pitchfork and R.A. Brown ranches, and led four of five events; riding, trail, working ranch horse and conformation. She finished fourth in cutting.

"She didn't get sore, and that's always a concern with a day after day grueling competition such as this," Littlefield explained, "where they have to go out there and give 110 percent. She was tired the last day, but she wasn't sore and she was still going strong."

Littlefield was especially proud of the horse's performance in the working ranch horse class.

"I know this was a versatility competition and they needed to do well in all five events," commented Littlefield, "but I think Miss T won the working ranch horse every day except for two. This is supposed to be a ranch horse event and I thought it was very fitting that she won the working ranch horse."

Miss T won the working ranch horse at Stuart, the 6666s and Pitchfork, finished second at R.A. Brown and finished third at Waggoner.

Competition between Littlefield and Reerve Champion Bill Smith was stiff, as it has been many times throughout the years. Littlefield maintains that Smith constantly tries to play the senior citizen card against him, telling him he needs to loosen up on the older cowboys and give them a chance to win.

"He's an ornery old, sly fox," joked Littlefield. "He will be standing over there in the corner calculating, manipulating, conniving a way to beat you. And if you even just think for a second that you've kind of got a free ride for the day, just put your hand in your pocket because he will slip up there and take all the money. I think I've paid for three of the saddles he's riding, 'cause he has taken enough of my money. Trust me, I know."

When Smith was asked about this senior citizen accusation, he just laughed and responded, "I think he should spot me some points, don't you?"

Smith had a very good chance of beating Littlefield. When the points were called out before the final day of competition, Smith was trailing by only 20.

"Then I drew a bad cow in the cutting," Littlefield explained about hearing the scores, "and that made me really nervous because I bombed in the cutting. I was like ninth in the class but that's virtually bombing because he won it."

Smith's horse, Snippys Crow, better known as "Possum," finished reserve at the Ranch Horse Association of America's finals in Abilene, Texas, in May behind Littlefield. In 2001, Possum was RHAA Champion. For the past two years, Possum and Smith were champions at the RHAA competition in Amarillo, Texas, in November. Possum is also currently leading the Senior Class in the Ranch Cutting Horse Association.

One particular day and moment remains with Smith as being the best memory from the circuit.

"It was the day at Rob Brown's in the working ranch class," Smith explained. "I just thought we had a good reining run and drew a good cow, had a good cow work, had a good fence work; just the complete run was probably the best one I had during the five shows, I thought."

Littlefield also commended Smith on that day.

"He did have a good run," Littlefield commented. "That was the cleanest dry work I've seen him make on old Possum; he turned him around nice."

This was one of Smith's first AQHA Versatility Ranch Horse Competitions, although the cowboy has competed in many ranch horse competitions within several other associations.

"I think the trail class was probably the toughest thing for a ranch horse that's never been trained for that," Smith explained. "I wished I would have went to one or two, where you would know what you're getting in to. I think the trail class is something that you can get prepared for but you just sure need to do it."

Smith, along with wife Dana, live at Spur Headquarters in Spur, Texas, where they raise cattle as well as Quarter Horses. The couple stand Ten O Sea, a 1990 buckskin stallion, and Black Chick Gold, a 1979 brown Black Chick 89 stallion. The couple are assisted at the ranch by their son, Billy.

Lesson two

Always remember to bring a spare tire, whether it be for a truck or for a trailer.

This lesson begins with Bill Smith, Barry Clower and Chris Littlefield leaving the R.A. Brown Ranch after a day of competition. Clower and Littlefield were going to drive their rigs back to the 6666s, where they would stay for the night, ready for the competition at the 6666s on Sunday. Smith was going to drive back to his ranch, with his wife, which is 20-30 miles southwest of the 6666s.

As Clower explained it, a cowboy is still a cowboy, no matter how nice the rig or how fancy the horse. At the time, Clower was driving a very nice pickup accompanied by a brand new Bloomer trailer. This rig is a huge switch from the 1949 pickup he was driving two years ago, the one he would use to haul a horse in, without a trailer.

"Bill Smith, I think, is driving the newest pickup that he's ever had," Clower explained, "and then look at Chris Littlefield driving that four-door pickup that he's got and a 30-foot aluminum trailer with some of the nicest horses that he's ever been able to ride."

Littlefield asked Clower to follow him to the next town, after they left the R.A. Brown Ranch, because he was running low on diesel fuel. The two drove in to Munday, Texas, only to find that there wasn't a single station in town with diesel fuel.

"So I'm following Chris because we know he's going to run out of fuel and I'm going to have to either push or pull him," explained Clower, "and to top it off, we run in to Bill Smith and he's pulled over there at Munday with a blow-out, and listening to his wife tell him, 'well I told you you should have gotten a spare.' "

All three gentlemen have cell phones, but no one can pick up a signal to make a call to get a new tire.

"In downtown Munday," Littlefield said, "stands Bary Clower on the very top of his Bloomer trailer, with his West Texas cowboy costume on (knee-high boots and West Texas hat), trying to get a signal because we are all trying to call this tire station we are sitting beside."

Even at the highest point in the town, a signal could not be reached. Littlefield said that they thought they had found a tire that would work sitting outside the tire station. They thought about taking it and leaving the blow-out with $10 and a note that they would return the tire the next time they drove through town.

"But we decided that wasn't such a good idea," Littlefield explained, "because Bill's wife, Dana, said that if we got thrown in jail for stealing a $30 tire that she was taking whichever one of those rigs would run the furthest and she was not coming back to get us."

After loading Smith's horses in Littlefield's trailer, the team decided to switch tires around so that Smith could haul his three-wheeled trailer without having to replace the fourth tire.

"Mind you, he's close enough in points to beat me," Littlefield pointed out. "He could have been sitting on the side of the road 'till the wee hours of the morning. But, being the supportive, friendly helping hand that I am, no, I love Bill to death. They're not going to make another one like him."

The three rigs left Munday, in a somewhat orderly fashion, and started toward Knox City, where Littlefield hoped to find fuel. Littlefield led the caravan, with Smith in the middle and Clower bringing up the rear in case anyone needed to be pushed.

Littlefield filled up in Knox City and the trio made it back to the 6666s after offering to help Smith all the way back to his ranch. Instead, Smith called his son, who would arrive at the 6666s shortly to pick up Smith, his wife and his horses.

Smith decided to call his son again, only to find out that his son was about half-way there but he thought he had dropped the transmission out of his truck. A gentleman was on his way to pick up Billy Smith and then they would be by to pick up Smith and his wife.

Littlefield told Smith that he was loading Smith's horses back in his trailer and he was going to take him home. Smith decided to ride with Littlefield and follow his wife, who would drive his rig back to the ranch.

"I had to pull out there to turn around a little bit so Dana kind of had a head start," explained Littlefield, "and the last time I looked over my shoulder, Dana was going west and had to be doing 80 with a three-tired trailer. And I said, 'Bill, did you happen to mention to Dana to maybe not get that single tire quite so hot?' I'm telling you, that girl was going home!" Sometime late that night, Smith made it back to Spur Headquarters and Littlefield and Clower got things settled at the 6666s, only to wake up early the next morning for another long day of competition.

"We got to laughing; we had $300,000 worth of equipment there and it came down to needing 30 gallons of fuel and probably a $30 spare tire," Clower commented. "So we're still cowboys, no matter what kind of horse you put us on, or what kind of truck or vehicle, we're still going to end up a cowboy on the side of the road with a flat tire or out of fuel, one or the other."

Lesson three

To compete in an AQHA Versatility Ranch Horse competition, a cowboy or cowgirl must learn to ride Western pleasure.

When thinking of cowboys working on ranches, doing the daily chores of feeding or branding, the thought of a straight back and a bow tie do not usually come to mind. One of the events competitors were required to ride in was ranch riding, which is similar to Western pleasure. Each rider had to walk, trot and lope his or her horse.

After the first weekend, exhibitors were asking several questions as to what was expected of them in this class. Competition judge Orin Barnes decided to provide answers during a ranch riding clinic at the end of the show at Pitchfork Land & Cattle Co.

"Mr. Orin Barnes did an excellent job," commented Littlefield, "because truthfully, some of the things he talked about I didn't really know, I knew a little bit about them, but I didn't know enough to understand them, and understand why."

Barnes stressed keeping a horse in frame, with its hocks kept tight underneath. He explained that a horse would be able to make it through an entire day of work, and then some, while in correct frame.

"How many judges stop at the end of the day and just go one on one with you and say, 'Here, I'm going to show you how to train your horse to be a winner.' And that's virtually what he did," Littlefield explained.

"He did it in a friendly manner, not trying to say your horse was no good or anything like that. He was doing it, in a sense, to help the individual and to help the Quarter Horse, and to help the person to have a better horse at the end of the day."

Lesson four

Even if the horse you are hauling is the youngest, or the least prepared for competition, you still have a chance to prove yourself to the champions.

Bary Clower, Palo Pinto, Texas, skipped the first weekend of competition but decided to compete all three days the second weekend, just to expose his 3-year-old to other horses and competition.

"The horse does not know near enough to go and compete against the finished horses and she showed that in a few places," Clower explained. "And I don't know near enough to go against the showman, the people like Bill Smith and Chris Littlefield, those guys that have been there."

Clower's mount was Oats N Cream, a filly that Clower and his boss, Roy Gene Evans, picked out as a yearling at the 6666s. They chose the mare because of her conformation, as well as her bloodlines.

The filly stayed at the 6666s as a 2-year-old, while trainer Joe Wolter coached her in cutting. She is now with Clower for the finishing touches in all areas.

The mare proved her cutting abilities when she won the cutting class at Pitchfork Land & Cattle during her first day of competition. The following two days, she finished fourth and third, respectively.

"Her cow abilities come from her mother and father," Clower said. "A human can't make a horse eat a cow up like she does. You can take the headstall off of her and she won't leave a cow."

Oats And Cream finished ninth overall, out of 20 different horses. She placed higher than many horses that competed in all five shows, while she competed in only three. But best of all, Clower had fun, and entertained everyone doing it.

After Oats And Cream penned her calf in the ranch cutting at the 6666s, Clower decided to show off, and be the clown that he is.

The announcer called out, "Bary, you don't get extra points for showing off."

"But will it count against me?" Clower yelled back as everyone else just laughed.

The experience

The first Best of the Remudas Circuit, organized to promote AQHA's Versatility Ranch Horse Competitions, may not have drawn huge crowds of spectators, but it did offer competitors a tremendous learning experience and a great sense of camaraderie.

"Some of us who didn't start out doing real well were doing a lot better by the last day because we had all learned so much more together," Littlefield commented. "And everybody was supportive of one another and everybody was trying to learn more every day and when somebody did good, everybody was congratulatory."

Whenever a great hand, but maybe not so great a roper, stepped up to rope in the working ranch horse class, shouts of encouragement could be heard for miles from competitors cheering from outside the arena. When Kim Lindsey and Dozen Plus Freckles turned their cow down the fence in that same class at the 6666s, a fellow competitor yelled out, "I hope you got a picture of that, because it sure was pretty!"

"We all learned a lot," Littlefield explained. "People who started off didn't know each other from anywhere, by the end of the circuit, we were all just rooting and cheering for one another; everybody was so supportive in trying to learn from each other."