2006 NRHA Open Derby Champions
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In what was probably one of the most competitive NRHA events ever, it took a 221.5 to qualify for the open Derby, and, for the first time at a major NRHA open event, four women made it back out of 27 finalists.
So maybe it was to be expected that history would be made on the evening of May 20. By the time the dust had settled in the Oklahoma State Fair Arena, a new Derby champion had been crowned, and for the first time it was a woman, who won not only the open event but was the first rider to also win the intermediate and limited open titles.
But it doesn’t stop there. The horse she maneuvered to a 232 was a 5-year-old stallion that was European-bred, -born, -raised and -trained, which had never happened at a major NRHA competition. Open Finals
WHEN ITALIAN ROBERTO CUOGHI DECIDED TO SEND HIS STALLION Master Snapper, to Oklahoma City for the NRHA Derby, many of his friends told him he was crazy to spend all that money to compete against the Americans. But when he approached his trainer, Wisconsin-native Kelly Zweifel, she told him to do it now.
“I said if you want to do that, don’t wait until he’s got too many shows on him. Let’s go ahead and do that while he’s still fresh and doing so good,” said Zweifel, who has trained out of Cuoghi’s stables in Vignola, Italy, with her husband, Italian Pietro Artinghelli, for the past eight years. The American riders and horses didn’t intimidate Zweifel. “You have to think you can win every time you go in,” she said. “If you’re going to bring a horse over here, you have to think that he’s tough enough to compete. Otherwise, it doesn’t pay to do it.”
“Goccia” had already proven his worth in Europe, having won about 50,000 euros with his wins at the 2004 Italian Reining Horse Association Futurity and the 2005 IRHA Derby and Maturity. But neither event was sanctioned at the time by NRHA, so the bay stallion entered the 2006 Derby with zero earnings to his name.
By Snapper Cal Bar and out of Colonel Mistress by Great Master Wake, Goccia was bred to be a cutting horse in Europe. However, when he didn’t take to the sport, he was sold to Cuoghi as a reiner. Zweifel remembers seeing the then-2-year-old bay stallion for the first time.
“He caught your eye,” she said. “He had such style.” Although Zweifel has exclusively shown Goccia, his European wins also didn’t count for the 34-year-old trainer. She came to the Derby with $28,617.52 in NRHA lifetime earnings, which she achieved while apprenticing for trainers Jack Brainard and Tim McQuay in the mid-1990s. Because of the lower earnings, Zweifel qualified for not only the open event but also the intermediate and limited open.
In the preliminaries May 18, Zweifel and Goccia were in the second group of 188 horses entered in the open NRHA Derby. Todd Crawford and Mister Nicadual were leading from the first group the day before with a 225. “I knew I was going to have to mark big to make the finals because by the time I went there were like 13 horses already over 220. I knew we really had to run,” Zweifel said. And run they did, marking a 227.5 and taking the lead, which held for the remainder of the preliminaries. It didn’t take long for people to start asking who this woman was.
Zweifel was 12th in the open draw, and by the time for her go, 2006 National Reining Breeders Classic open champions Shawn Flarida and Einsteins Revolution were leading with a 226. As Zweifel and Goccia walked into the arena, many in the Derby crowd began to cheer. Moving into their first circle, it wasn’t long before everyone joined in, and applause, whistles and shouts of approval filled the coliseum.
“He was running so hard in that circle, he pulled his shoeoff,” Zweifel recalled. But it didn’t bother the little bay stallion, as he continued his astonishing performance of high-speed, precise spins and explosive stops. As Goccia completed his back-up, Zweifel stepped out of the saddle and began to walk out of the arena. The crowd erupted, rising to its feet to give the duo an ovation it genuinely deserved. As Goccia reached over to give his trainer a nudge, NRHA announcer Keith Bradley’s trademark lilt filled the coliseum.
“The score … ,” as Bradley paused for effect, “ … for No. 235, Master Snapper ridden by Kelly Zweifel … a 232.” The coliseum erupted with cheers and applause.
Many in the crowd stuck around to see Zweifel accept the Derby trophy and become the first woman to win the championship title.
Although Zweifel is proud she made history, she was happier for Cuoghi and Goccia. “I think this win is going to keep them quiet (in Italy),” Zweifel said with a smile. “They were thinking, ‘He’ll go over there. That’s really nice his owner can afford to send him. But he won’t win.’ This win made it all worth it.
“As for being the first woman, yeah, that’s great but it really doesn’t make a whole lot of difference. When it comes down to it, we’re all reiners out there.”