Todd Bergen Rides Smart Luck to NRCHA Stakes Open Bridle Championship!

The reined cow horse world’s finest athletes, the bridle horses, claimed the spotlight Friday night at the South Point Equestrian Center in Las Vegas, Nev., as riders chased the National Reined Cow Horse Association Open Bridle Spectacular Championship.

The grueling three-event test, herd work, rein work and cow work, drew 28 dynamic performers who left nothing on the table as they spun, slid and chased testy cattle down the fence.

A familiar horse and rider pair topped the results sheet to claim the Championship – Smart Luck (Very Smart Remedy x Gunna Be Lucky), shown by leading NRCHA professional Todd Bergen, Eagle Point, Ore., for owner Cable Creek Ranch. They scored a total 659.5 on three events (218 herd/222.5 rein/219 cow) to earn $6,650.

It was only the second time for Smart Luck, a 7-year-old stallion, to show in the bridle. His first outing was in June 2012, at the NRCHA Derby, where he and Bergen won the Holy Cow Performance Horses Open Bridle Spectacular. The Championship in Las Vegas elevated Smart Luck’s career earnings nearly to the $200,000 mark.

Bergen had two other horses in the Open Bridle Spectacular, both owned by Shannon and Hershel Reid. He finished third aboard Solano Cat (High Brow Cat x Smartest Solano) with a total 653.5 score, earning $3,591, and took the $1,596 7th place check CD Dee Vee Dee (CD Olena x Shiners Missy Jay.