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Snip O Chex & Ben Gerst sweep the
Open divisions at 2009 Cowboy Classic Derby
Ben Gerst had a long wait on April 7. The Dun Gotta Gun Derby’s four Open divisions, which ran concurrently, started at noon with 80 horses to go; the Whitesboro, Texas, trainer was the last of the day to show.
When he entered the arena on Snip O Chex, Gerst knew what they had to do – and they did it. The 6-year old mare (Nu Chex To Cash x Snip O Gun x One Gun), owned by Cinder Lakes Ranch, Valley View, Texas, responded to her rider’s every request and showed off her tremendous athleticism. The end result was a 225 that gave her a halfpoint edge over Shiners Lena Dust, shown by Duane Latimer for Ken and Margaret Johnson, Thorhild, Alberta, Canada, to the Reserve Championship.
They earned $6,574. Snip O Chex not only won the Open for $9,130 but also carried Gerst to the Intermediate and Limited Open Championships. Those wins were worth $3,766 and $1,775, respectively. Gerst said the last draw didn’t bother him.
“I love last, because at least it gives you an idea how hard you have to go,” he said. “I asked a lot of her and shegave me everything.” Rick Ford of Cinder Lakes Ranch was originally going to show Snip O Chex in the Non-Pro, but he thought other obligations were going to keep him away, so he turned over the reins to Gerst about a month before the show.
“She’d been off since late last year,” Gerst said. “Rick is going to show her this year, and we originally planned on him showing her here, but he wasn’t going to make it for the Non-Pro dates.”
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