Articles: Press Release

Contact:
Rebecca Walton for Phelps Media Group, Inc.
at (561) 753-3389 or at pmginfo@phelpsmediagroup.com

Las Vegas, NV - September 9, 2009 - Randy Paul earned the top call in a CRI** USEF Qualifier for the second time in a row today at the High Roller Reining Classic. Paul expertly rode Taris Designer Genes, owned by Rancho Oso Rio, LLC, of Scottsdale, AZ, to a score of 147.50 to claim the division's blue ribbon. The High Roller Reining Classic is the international "crown jewel" of western riding competition, and features over $200,000 in added money and prizes. The show is being held at the exciting and luxurious South Point Hotel, Casino, and Equestrian Center and will run through Saturday, September 12.

Paul recently claimed the CRI** USEF Qualifier victory at the 2009 Reining By The Bay competition with Rancho Oso Rio's Starbucks Finest. Today he was aboard Taris Designer Genes, and the pair quickly and carefully maneuvered their way through pattern ten to claim the top prize and continue Paul's winning streak.

Today's pattern began with a gallop into sliding stop, followed by spins to the right and the left. Riders then completed two sets of circles and finished with three difficult stops. Paul and Taris Designer Genes were the second horse and rider combination to enter the arena today, and the pair impressed the judges my hitting each maneuver with precision and ease to earn a score of 147.50. Andrea Fappani tried to catch Paul's score with Tinsel Jac, owned by the Tinsel Jac Partners of Guadalupe, NL, but despite their excellent spins and stops the pair fell short with a score of 143.5. Gabe Davide and Tom Foran both tied for third place with scores of 143, just half a point behind Fappani. Foran was riding Fancy Red Short Oak, owned by Copus Performance Horses, Inc. of Santa Barbara, CA, while Davide was aboard CF Glad Rags, owned by Eileen Maxinoski, of Watsonville, CA.

Paul was excited about his second win in a CRI** USEF Qualifier because it moves him toward his goal of qualifying for the 2010 World Equestrian Games Team, and it means he is on an important winning streak.

"I'm sure glad to have this win," he smiled, "The competition here is really good, so any win you have here you have to be happy about. It's always nice to be on a roll, it's kind of contagious. You like to keep that up rather than barely sneaking in there and wondering how your horse will do."

Paul was focused on making sure each of today's maneuvers was clean, but he also wanted to keep Taris Designer Genes going because she can get distracted easily. "My biggest goal was to go in there and just nail down each maneuver; just do one maneuver at a time," he explained. "I wanted to make her wait in between and she let me do that so I was really happy with her. I didn't do anything real hard but she just nailed everything."

"She's a little bit of a better horse when you're keeping her busy and keeping her going," Paul continued. "If you're doing things too slow it gives her too much time to lose track of focus. I would have probably showed softer today if I had been on a different horse, but for her you're better off if you're busy."

Taris Designer Genes is a six-year-old mare out of Mr Bommerjac by Taris Little Vintage, and she has had a very impressive career. In 2006 she was the first mare since 1990 to win the NHRA Futurity $100,000 Added Open division, and to date she has won over $230,000.

"This is her last derby year so I've been showing her in all the derbies," said Paul. "She's had a really good career and she's just a sweetie. She's always in a good mood, she never pins her ears or anything like that which is really good for a mare."

Following the High Roller Reining Classic, Taris Designer Genes will return to Scottsdale to take a much-deserved break. "I'm probably going to take her home and just turn her out," noted Paul. "I probably won't ride her much for a little while and let her go be a horse. She'll get to go play in the pasture all day everyday."

Paul will be showing horses in tomorrow's $40,000 Added Open Futurity and Saturday's 50,000 Added Open Derby. "The High Roller Reining Classic is a great show with a great facility," he said. "The footing is excellent, the show management is very good, and everything is very user friendly."

Earlier in the day $15,000 Added Non Pro Futurity and the $7,500 Added Intermediate Non Pro Futurity were held. The top prize in the $15,000 Added Non Pro Futurity was awarded to Samantha Griffin and KJ Tag, owned by Lance Griffin of Dewinton, AB, who earned a score of 207.5. Kristin Foran of Santa Paula, CA and Wild Card Wrangler claimed top honors in the $7,500 Added Intermediate Non Pro Futurity with a score of 206.

The High Roller Reining Classic will continue tomorrow with one of this week's highlight events, the $40,000 Added Open Futurity at the South Point Hotel, Casino and Equestrian Center. Another of this year's feature events is the $50,000 Added Open Derby, being held Saturday, September 12 at noon. The horse show will come to a close Saturday, September 12.

The "Play It Forward" Texas Hold 'Em-style poker tournament will also be held this year at the South Point Hotel, Casino and Equestrian Center on Thursday, Sept. 10 from 8-11 pm during the High Roller Reining Classic. All proceeds from this charity event will benefit the Equestrian Aid Foundation (EAF), a non-profit organization assisting with basic medical needs funding for those from catastrophic illness or injury. Limited to 150 people, the "Play It Forward" Poker Tournament offers players the opportunity to win big - having fun and making a difference at the same time. Each player will receive a seat assignment in the HRRC VIP Private Poker Tournament Room where dealers will provide $2,500 in chips. At 11 p.m., chip leaders through 10th place will win a percentage of the prize pool.

Equestrian Life http://www.equestrianlife.com will be everywhere within the South Point Equestrian and Events Center, video camera in hand, streaming in depth interviews and comprehensive event coverage to their membership base of 30,000 avid horsepeople. Live streaming video coverage of the High Roller Reining Classic will begin Thursday, September 10th with the $15,000 Added Non-Pro Futurity, continuing on Friday, September 11th with the $10,000 Added Non-Pro Derby, and wrapping up on Saturday, September 12th with the $15,000 Added Open Derby.

For more information about the High Roller Reining Classic please visit http://www.highrollerreiningclassic.com.