Taylor Zimmerman and Ruf Jewels take Level 3 Non-Pro Futurity Championship
Last to ride into the Jim Norick Arena during the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Non-Pro Section 2 finals Taylor Zimmerman and Ruf Jewels marked a 218.5. That score outperformed her earlier rides that night and topped the Level 3 class. Zimmerman earned a check worth $40,000 for the win.
“I had no idea. I was just thrilled with the score. And then he [the announcer] said it, and I was like, ‘Oh, wow’,” she said.
The young rider was exiting the show pen when it was announced that she had topped the Level 3. Her score also earned her $21,438 for a seventh-place tie in the Level 4 division with Kim Muehlstaetter who rode Shining Vintage (Colonels Shining Gun x Vintage Galaxy x A Sparkling Vintage).
Taylor Zimmerman scored a 218.5 on Ruf Jewels. * Photo by Amy Olson
Zimmerman credited her win to patience and consistency. She laughed about the fact that they never expected Ruf Jewels (Not Ruf At All x Gotta Get A Diamond x Spooks Gotta Whiz) to be ready for the futurity.
“We kind of thought he wouldn’t make a futurity horse,” she said. “He went through the Triangle Sale, actually, and we didn’t end up selling him because he didn’t bring what we wanted for him.”
She then went on to explain how she asked Debbie Brown to work with him, thinking he could be ready for some derbies next year.
“I think him and Debbie mesh really well and so she was patient with him, and he was just trying,” Zimmerman went on to explain. “He tries his heart out. He might not be the most talented horse in there but he gives everything he’s got and I think she could feel that.”
The duo made earlier runs this year at the 100X Reining Classic in Tulsa, Oklahoma and the Southwest Reining Horse Association Futurity in Ardmore, Oklahoma. Then, they rested up to be ready for the NRHA Futurity.
“I feel like from Ardmore to here is when you can kind of crash and burn so I was trying to just keep everything consistent,” Zimmerman said. “Debbie Brown’s my trainer, and Cade McCutcheon and they just have done an outstanding job keeping him prepped.”
She had many others to thank for the excellent horse and year but somebody that stood out was her grandfather. “We’ve bred and raised him [Ruf Jewels]. I showed his mother as a youth and he’s out of my grandfather’s old stud Not Ruf At All. To watch my grandpa’s breeding program do even more, it’s so fun, it’s a testament to the quality of horses we have now,” she said.
Taylor Zimmerman has many family ties to Ruf Jewels. * Photo by Amy Olson