Tell Me What U Want and Luke Hammerness got What They Wanted

On Oct. 19 Luke Hammerness sat impatiently awaiting the last Intermediate Open rider in the National Reined Cow Horse Association (NRCHA) Snaffle Bit Futurity Open Finals. Because he had qualified for the Intermediate Open Finals, Hammerness rode Tell Me What U Want through the rein work and fence work the day before along with the other Limited and Intermediate Open finalists. Seven Intermediate Open riders made it to the Open finals though, so Hamerness had to wait and see if his scores would hold up.

Tell Me What U Want (Meteles Cat x Forever And A Rey x Dual Smart Rey) and Hammerness scored a 219 in the herd, a 216 in the rein work and a 218.5 down the fence for a 653.5 composite. Their score held up through the next day but Hamerness really had to wait to enjoy their success for owner Kristyn Runyan.

“It’s pretty unreal, something we always kind of dream about but to make it happen, it’s hard. There’s really no words,” Hammerness said on Open finals night.

Luke Hammerness’ and Tell Me What U Want’s first fence turn on Intermediate Open finals night. * Video by Amy Olson

When asked what his favorite part of the night was, the first words out of his mouth were “rooting everybody on.” He later added that the wait was tough but the whole thing was pretty unreal.

“I was pumped. I mean, horse was good. He gave me everything he got, he’s just a great horse and got a lot of guts. It was great,” Hammerness said about the night prior. “We had a really tough cow last night. I had all the confidence that he would go out there and help me out. He did more than I ever deserved.”

He has his sights set on the Open finals one day but Hammerness has a lot of people to thank for his Intermediate Open Championship worth $40,000.

“Everybody that’s kind of been in our corner. The cow horse family is quite large, and everybody helps everybody out, and everybody roots for everybody, there’s so many people to thank. It’s pretty it’s unreal,” Hammerness said.

Tell Me What U Want has earned a break according to Hammerness. They hope to see what the derbies might bring next year.

Reserve Champion

Brady Weaver rode Reyguns Metallic Cat (Metallic Cat x SJR Reygun x Dual Rey) for owner/breeder Gary Ewell. They scored a composite of 651 (215 herd/ 217.5 rein/ 218.5 cow) and earned $30,000 for their efforts.