Kathleen Moore and Purdys Rebel won the 5/6-Year-Old Non-Pro Championship at the Cattlemen’s Derby & Classic on Friday, March 10, in Graham, Texas.
Coming off a win in the Arbuckle Mountain Futurity 5/6-Year-Old Non-Pro aboard her homebred mare Teles Shez Spicy on Feb. 24, Moore, of Madill, Oklahoma, and Purdys Rebel marked a 220.5 to take home $9,000. Moore’s relaxed attitude of “whatever happens, happens,” appears to be working.
“I’ve found for me, if I don’t have big expectations, it usually works out better,” Moore said. “Every time I’ve been on a good horse, and I start thinking to myself that I’m gonna win, it doesn’t go well. I get nerved up and then it always goes poorly. There are just so many variables, so you just do what the cows let you do. If it’s gonna happen, it’s gonna happen. I’ve had a hard time dealing with that, but I’m working on it.”
Moore previously won with the sensitive and quirky Purdys Rebel (Metallic Rebel x Purdy Bet x Bet On Me 498), who was trained by James Payne, in the 2022 National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Summer Spectacular 4-Year-Old Non-Pro. Payne will occasionally show her in the Open, depending on the mare’s attitude, but Moore doesn’t like doubling up on her because she feels it’s too hard on the horse.
“She’s still quirky, but she’s matured a lot,” Moore said of Purdys Rebel. “Things don’t stir her up as much as they used to. It’s like she’s thinking, ‘I’ve been here before, it’s OK.’ She’s just a cow horse. She’s in tune with what’s going on with the cow. So yeah, she’s still quirky, but she’s mellowed out.”
Purdys Rebel’s earnings are at more than $111,000, according to EquiStat. Moore is closing in on the million dollar mark, with $994,732 in earnings.
Moore wanted to thank everyone who helps her and says it takes an army to make it all work.
“I appreciate all the help— the person who gets the horse ready[and] James [Payne] gives 110%. They care about what they do and to do the best they can,” Moore said.
Quarter Horse News
by Sonny Williams
View article on QHN