Deary Delivers in Derby Debut of OG&E Coliseum

NRHA Open Derby champions were crowned for the first time in the OG&E Coliseum at the 6666 NRHA Derby presented by Markel on Saturday, June 21. NRHA $5 Million Rider Casey Deary and Customize My Dream carried the torch for the sport of reining to become Level 4 Open Derby Champions.

Level 4 Open Derby Champions: Customize My Dream and Casey Deary

Tonight’s Level 4 Open Derby finals was a display of reining greatness. Twenty-five out of the 33 runs (76 percent) earned a score of 220 or higher from the judges. But none were able to dominate the new OG&E Coliseum as much as the final draw — Customize My Dream and Casey Deary.

The team dazzled with their powerful maneuvers and finesse, wrapping up the aged event portion of the competition with a stunning 233.5. The 6-year-old stallion, who was nominated by Garth Hystad, took home $100,000 (including nominator incentives) for the performance.

“That horse didn’t have 15 minutes worth of warming up before he came in here to horse show,” said Deary, who also showed the horse’s full brother Custom Dreams from Draw 26. “He stopped and ran backward really well. I felt like the finish work on each maneuver helped sell the deal. He turned around really good both ways, and I finally got it shut off at the right spot.

“He circled great — fast and slow — and the lead change worked really well,” Deary continued. “He rolled back extremely well both directions, and I think that helped move the needle up.”

The crowd erupted with excitement as Deary and his team were overcome with emotion. Deary called it an honor to be the first NRHA Level 4 Open Derby Champion in the new facility, but winning it for owner/breeder Devin Warren was even more meaningful.

“This horse was raised by the Warren family,” Deary said. “It was a pretty special night to win it on him, a really great opportunity for that horse to shine. There’s a lot of people praying for that whole family. It’s out of our hands, but it’s not out of God’s hands. It was special for Garrett [Warren’s son] to get to be here and watch all of it and get to be included in it. You try to make as many happy moments as you can make.”

Among the happy moments over the last week were stellar performances in the preliminary round. Customize My Dream tied for third in the prelim with a 228, while Custom Dreams, another horse from Warren’s program now owned by Custom Dreams Brazil, won the first round after marking a 229.5. Both horses are by NRHA Hall of Famer Magnum Chic Dream and out of Gunna Be Custom.

Custom Dream finished Top 5 in the finals with a 227.5, worth $22,046. Deary’s third finalist, Pale Face Vintage (Platinum Vintage x Chic Out My Gold), marked a 222.5 to land 21st and $4,680 for owner Robert Escoe.

Customize My Dream, who was the 2022 NRHA Level 4 Open Futurity Reserve Champion with Deary, now boasts incredible NRHA lifetime earnings of more than $400,000. And with such talented horses in his string, Deary is looking forward to the remainder of the show season. He said the next major stop for his Derby standouts is likely The Run For A Million.

“They’re really good,” Deary said. “They’re happy and they’re sound, so I’m going to keep going as long as they’ll let me.”

Level 3 Open Derby Champions: Good Time To Trashya and Martin Muehlstaetter

NRHA Million Dollar Rider Martin Muehlstaetter spent his Friday night celebrating wife Kim’s Level 4 Non Pro Derby Co-Championship. Tonight, the roles were reversed when Muehlstaetter topped the Level 3 Open Derby riding Good Time To Trashya for owner Jamie Walters of Laguna Beach, California.

Good Time To Trashya, by NRHA Hall of Fame inductee Gunnatrashya and out of Good Time Gota Shine, landed the title from Section 1 of the Open finals as Draw 67. He carried Muehlstaetter on a thrilling ride to a score of 227.5 to win $30,000, including nominator incentives.

“He ran and stopped beautifully on the run-in,” Muehlstaetter said of the 7-year-old stallion nominated by breeder Redhead Reining LLC of Tulsa, Oklahoma. “He turned strong both ways and circled nice both ways, and got changed leads and stopped awesome.”

Muehlstaetter described Good Time To Trashya as a sweet horse, but that enjoyable disposition doesn’t hold him back when it comes time to perform.

“He’s so great-minded. He’s just like a little teddy bear,” the Scottsdale, Arizona-based NRHA Professional said. “He’s a sweetheart, but he’s super physical and powerful. He’s a joy to ride.”

Good Time To Trashya arrived in Oklahoma City with $72,000-plus to his credit, including a third-place finish at this year’s National Reining Breeders Classic Level 3 Open. The horse was previously shown by NRHA $2 Million Rider Cade McCutcheon, but Muehlstaetter always had his eyes on the stallion.

“Stefano Calcagnini I believe started him, and he sent me a video when he was a late 2-year-old, and I loved him. I just didn’t have a customer that was ready,” Muehlstaetter explained. “Fast forward and Cade McCutcheon ended up with him, and I always followed him. Fast forward a few more years, I had a customer who was ready to step it up and bought him, and here we are.”

Level 2 Open Derby Champions: Excessive Rufness and Alejandro Ortiz Vasquez

Alejandro Ortiz Vasquez hit his stride aboard Excessive Rufness to mark a 224 from Draw 59 in the first section of the finals. The duo’s score held strong for the Level 2 Open Derby win, earning a $20,000 paycheck (including nominator incentives) for owner Manuel Jesus Castillo of Richmond, Virginia.

“He is a talented horse and he feels really, really good in the show pen,” Ortiz Vasquez said. “He has a lot of stop, and every time I go in the show pen, he feels really good. I like this horse. I trained him for one year and maybe have [shown] three times in the pen, and every time he feels really good.”

Excessive Rufness, nominated by breeder Karl Hapcic of Lipan, Texas, is by NRHA $2 Million Sire Not Ruf At All and out of Hapcic’s homebred mare Smokin Lady Gunner. The 7-year-old stallion now boasts NRHA lifetime earnings of $185,312.

The horse’s previous accolades include winning the 2021 The Invitational Level 4 Open Championship and the 2022 NRHA Derby Level 4 Open 4-Year-Old Stakes Reserve Championship with NRHA $4 Million Rider Jason Vanlandingham. Excessive Rufness then competed in the Non Pro with previous owner Robin Mazzocca until he was purchased by Castillo in 2024, and Ortiz Vasquez took over the reins.

The plan for their finals run was to keep things consistent from earlier in the week, but to push the stallion a little harder in the finals.

“The stop is really good; every time he is plus 1 in the stops, and it is his best maneuver,” Ortiz Vasquez said. “He felt really good last night, and today he feels good. He is a happy horse and every day is easy at the house and in the pen.”

Ortiz Vasquez showed in his first NRHA classes at the Affiliate Regional Championships in his home country of Mexico in 2008. He has since amassed a record of $287,820.

“It’s a lot of work at the house and here, and a lot on my personnel and my family. I feel really happy for this show,” he said.

Ortiz Vasquez said he and the owner will discuss their success in Oklahoma City, and then decide what is next for the stallion.

Level 1 Open Derby Champions: Pale Side Ofthe Moon and Jason Torpey

In the first section of the Open Derby finals, Pale Side Ofthe Moon carried Jason Torpey to the Level 1 Open Championship from Draw 58. The 6-year-old mare (Pale Face Dunnit x Bonitas Latin Chic) marked a 217.5 to edge out the competition by a half-point and secure a $10,000 payday (including nominator incentives).

“I ran through the gate, and that mare hooked up and felt really, really good. She stayed hooked and let me point her around,” Torpey said. “She ran and drug her butt three times, and she was really good.”

Torpey, who called the new OG&E Coliseum “a phenomenal facility,” said he took his preparation for the finals seriously but focused on not applying too much pressure.

“That mare is really stoic and happy and just wants to come out and do her job every day,” said Torpey, who also showed the mare’s dam. “She’s a lot of fun to go work every day. There’s really not anything she can’t do. She’s a good mover, she’s a big stopper, she’s a big turner, and she’s good-minded, so that makes it fun to show her.”

The Upstream Inc.-bred Pale Side Ofthe Moon, nicknamed “Domino,” is owned and was nominated by Torpey’s girlfriend, Layla Choat, whose family raised the mare.

“They sold her as a yearling,” Torpey said. “About a year and a half ago, we had the opportunity to buy her back. She’s just been a real asset to us so far, and a lot of fun to show. Hopefully, she’s going to turn into a broodmare down the road.”

Along with some much-deserved rest and pampering, Domino will be getting ready for the 100X Reining Classic in August.

“I guess her owner and I have to arm wrestle for who gets to show her there,” Torpey added with a laugh.

Setting the Stage

The crowd erupted when NRHA Hall of Famer and first NRHA Derby Champion Tim McQuay entered the OG&E Coliseum to set the pattern for the historic evening of reining. After a sliding stop and a set of turns, he tipped his hat to the fans, and the memorable evening began.