Kathleen Moore has owned 6-year-old mare Jazlyn since the she was a yearling, and until her July 24, 2026, victory at the NCHA Summer Spectacular in the Non Pro Classic Challenge, she had shown her exactly once.
Marking a 225, Moore outdistanced the rest, earning $19,658 and pushing Jazlyn north of the $500,000 mark in lifetime earnings. For Moore, it was a sentimental win for a horse who’s approaching the end of her limited age-event career.
“Winning this is very, very special,” Moore said. “Anytime you can win in Fort Worth is special. But just because she’s a special mare, and it’s her 6-year-old year, that’s even more of a reason to celebrate.”
An Opening Moore Didn’t Ask For
The ride happened by accident. James Payne, who has trained and shown Jazlyn her entire career, cut a bad cow in the Open Classic Challenge first go and got “run over.” He called Moore and told her the mare had plenty left, so she might as well show her.
Moore wasn’t sure she wanted the opportunity.
“Are you sure?” Moore said. “It just makes me nervous, because I know she’s a good mare and I just don’t want to screw anything up and do her an injustice.”
She said yes anyway.
“That first go, I wanted to go throw up before I showed her,” Moore said.
Finals Time
The herd on Friday afternoon did nothing to settle her nerves. Moore watched the four runs ahead of her come apart on difficult cattle.
“I was sitting up in the cow box and I was like, ‘I’ve got to leave,'” Moore said. “I thought, ‘I can’t watch this anymore.'”
With the knowledge of her peers’ luck in the herd, Moore slowed the run down and picked her way to three cows she could work with Matt Miller, Clay Johnson, Lloyd Cox and Payne turning back for her.
“You can’t do it without them. It’s a team effort, so they help me all the time and they’re pretty dedicated. I appreciate it,” Moore said.
The Making of a Mare
Moore bought Jazlyn (Hashtags x MK Cats Kitty x Spots Hot) as a yearling out of a Western Bloodstock sale, and Payne has ridden her ever since. It has not always been smooth.
“Her 3-year-old year, during the summer, she was so bullheaded,” Moore said. “She’s got an attitude, but I think that’s what makes her good, and she’s not going to let the cows get by her.”
Payne and the mare spent that season disagreeing with each other. By her 4-year-old year, Moore said, they had come to terms.
“They started to, ‘Hey, I can deal with you. You can deal with me,'” Moore said. “But she’s got a personality, and she’s a hard knocker, and she’ll go to fight.”
That partnership produced 2024 wins in the NCHA Super Stakes Derby Open and NCHA Derby Open, 2024 NCHA Open Horse of the Year honors, and a Finals-topping 228 at the 2026 Breeder’s Invitational Classic/Challenge in May—a run Payne said proved the mare had found another gear at 6.
Now, Jazlyn’s aged-event career is nearing its end, but her production career is just getting started. Moore said the mare has foals on the way, though none on the ground yet.
2026 NCHA Summer Spectacular Non Pro Classic Challenge Results
| Place | Horse | Score | Owner | Rider | Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jazlyn | 225.0 | Kathleen Moore | Kathleen Moore | $19,658.82 |
| 2 | Smart Metallic Rebel | 222.0 | Matt and Megan Miller | Megan Miller | $17,245.21 |
| 3 | Bet On Blk | 218.0 | Plantation Farms LLC | M Todd Quirk | $14,831.61 |
| 4 | Dont Stop Swingin | 216.0 | Philip & Mary Ann Rapp | Mary Ann Rapp | $13,315.86 |
| 5 | Axil Rollz | 214.5 | Greg Smith | Kade Smith | $12,249.05 |