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Shiney Nu Annie carried Chris Dawson to his second Derby Open win at the NRCHA Celebration of Champions

Article by Kelsey Pecsek & Kristin Burlingame · Action photos by Primo Morales
Quarter Horse News | March 2015

Chris Dawson and Shiney Nu Annie won the Aaron Ranch Cow Horse Classic Derby Open by 3 points

Chris Dawson and Shiney Nu Annie won the Aaron Ranch Cow Horse Classic Derby Open by 3 points

When Chris Dawson traded his nearly famous pink show shirt for a variety of colors, some may have thought the talented horseman’s luck would go with it. Dawson proved those people wrong when he piloted Shiney Nu Annie to the Aaron Ranch Cow Horse Classic Derby Open win on February 16, 2015.

Sporting the modest black shirt he wore the night he and Shiney Nu Annie were named 2014 National Reined Cow Horse Association (NRCHA) Snaffle Bit Futurity Open Reserve Champions, Dawson piloted the 4-year-old mare to a 150 on the fence work only finals. That score combined with his preliminary composite of 437 (144 herd/ 149.5 rein / 143.5 cow) for a total 587, which bested the competition by a 3-point margin.

“Every time in the fence work, there’s always pressure. And shoot, I told these guys out back [his fellow competitors] that the way these cattle look, I’d take me a 140 today and throw my hat in the air!” Dawson 33, said with a laugh after his run. “It was just real exciting, and I’m blessed to have a good horse. I have to thank Dustin Ewing, Art Nicholas and Matt Koch.”

Ewing is the general manager at Nicholas’ Wagonhound Land and Livestock, of Douglas, Wyoming, which purchased Shiney Nu Annie…

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