Debbie Crafton topped the NRCHA Stallion Stakes Non Pro Derby finals with three, top-five finishes, highlighted by a championship win aboard Boot Scootin Flo. The finals, held April 10, in Las Vegas, capped an intense week of competition.
Crafton and Boot Scootin Flo earned $22,000 for the win, posting a composite score of 651.5. The pair marked a 220 in the herd work, a 216.5 in the rein work and a 215 in the fence work to secure the title.
Boot Scootin up the leaderboard
For Crafton, the win comes down to the partnership she has developed with her horses, especially Boot Scootin Flo (Scooter Kat x Hustle And Flo), known as “PJ.” The victory pushes the mare’s lifetime earnings past $45,000.
PJ and Crafton have consistently shown up together. The pair teamed up in the spring of 2025 and kicked off their partnership at the NRCHA Derby in Scottsdale, Arizona, before heading to the NRCHA Hackamore Classic in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where the pair made history as Crafton crossed the million dollar earnings mark, becoming the second female non pro to achieve the milestone.
“She’s been in the money everywhere,” Crafton explained, “and she’s just getting more mature, more solid.”
That consistency carried into the Stallion Stakes, where the 2021 mare delivered across all three phases.
“She was really good,” Crafton said. “I trusted her a little bit more maybe than I have in the past, and she was very honest and was very good in the rein work. Then she worked the cow really good down the fence. I was really proud of her. It was a good finals.”
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Crafton’s stacked pack in the finals
Crafton drew second in the fence work finals, but with multiple horses still to show, her focus remained on executing each run.
“Knowing that I was Draw 2,” Crafton began. “Knowing that I was sitting in a really good spot on her, it was mentally, ‘Let’s just go do our job, and this will land where it’s supposed to land. Let’s make sure we do our job and be solid. And the rest is in God’s hands—wherever we land is where we land.’”
Handling multiple finalists is no small task, but Crafton approached it with a steady mindset.
“So having multiple horses in there like that, I don’t have time to think about where I’m at, where I’m sitting,” she said. “I honestly had not looked at the scores to know where I needed to be, anything. I just go out and do my job.”
Crafton also secured third place aboard SJR Sumkinda Mist (SJR Diamond Mist x Sumkinda Pinkcadilac), earning $12,000. The mare, nicknamed “Fancy,” has had a strong start to 2026, including a win in the Tres Osos Derby Non Pro at the NRCHA Celebration of Champions.
“She’s absolutely a beautiful individual… good-boned, strong, deep through the heart girth, big hip and extremely physical,” Crafton said during the NRCHA Celebration of Champions. “And really great-minded—never says no.”
While Fancy has been a reliable mount in Crafton’s stables, the non pro had only recently bought 2022 gelding Covered In Smoke (CR Gotcha Covered x Sheza Smokin Hot Gal) and 2022 gelding Kit Kat Lynx (Kit Kat Sugar x CR Tuff Lil) in February from Shawn Hays at the NRCHA Celebration of Champions.
It was a gamble for her to bring the young geldings to the Las Vegas derby, but Crafton has faith in their ability.
“We just really teamed up.” Crafton said about Covered In Smoke, who finished 5th and earned $6,750. “I could really feel that we were coming together and understanding each other so much more. And I was really proud of him. I thought he’d done a really good job and I’m really looking forward to the next horse show on him.
Another recent addition, Kit Kat Lynx (Kit Kat Sugar x CR Tuff Lil), showed promise despite a challenging finals.
“We had tough luck in the herd,” Crafton explained. “He reined really good. I just went ahead and showed him because it was a good confidence builder for both of us.”
With three horses in the top five, Crafton’s performance underscored both the depth of her program and her ability to consistently compete at the highest level.