Abingdon, Virginia’s Kenny Baumgardner rode Crewella Diville to the win in the Non-Pro Futurity at the 2026 Cinch RSNC World Finals in Fort Worth, Texas, sorting 24 head in 153.68 seconds over three rounds for $6,253, with Victor Dold of Appleton, New York, holding the gate.
Crewella Diville: A Futurity Champ Built Like a Veteran
“Ellie” is a 2022 sorrel mare by $14 million sire Reyzin The Cash, the 2015 NCHA Open Derby Champion who boasts more than $278,000 in lifetime earnings. She’s out of a 2011 High Brow Cat mare named Kat—a Dual Pep granddaughter—which strongly hints at their $7 million magic cross.
Baumgardner bought the 4-year old out of Jared Lesh’s program about four months before the Finals, and took her to two shows before leaving her with Lesh for a tune-up in the month leading up to the big event.
“I told him to give her a little speed,” Baumgardner said in his EQN Sports Desk interview following the win.
On Sunday, June 7, Lesh cameoed Ellie in the Pro Futurity, and Baumgardner took the reins in the Non-Pro Futurity.
“He’s done everything I wanted to do to her,” Baumgardner said.
Baumgardner had been searching for a horse with the feel of his 10 year-old, Rocket.
“Everybody says, ‘You’re not ever going to find another Rocket,’” Baumgardner said. “And I kept looking and looking. She’s smooth. She’s quick. She’s really good in the gate. And she’s just a great horse all around right now.”
To win the class, Ellie kept remarkably cool in the heat of chasing a title that required a perfect 10 to win. Baumgardner leaned on the mare’s speed as they sorted through the herd.
“Jared kept telling me, ‘Slow down, slow down.’ And I wouldn’t slow down. I thought, ‘You gave me speed. I’m going to use it.’ And it just worked out. We were blessed.”
Between her willingness to get after it and her sweet personality, Baumgardner is pretty smitten with his Ellie.
“This one’s got a home for a while,” he said.
Victor Dold: Champion and Reserve- Champion Gate Rider
Baumgardner and Dold had ridden together in the Northeast for years.
“I’m originally from New York, and Kenny’s from Virginia, so we’d ride a lot up in the Northeast,” Dold said.
When it came time to pick a gate man for the Non-Pro Futurity, Baumgardner didn’t hesitate.
“We knew he’s good in the gate,” he said. “We said, ‘We want Victor.’”
The “we” Baumgardner uses includes his fiancée, Cherrie Mahon, who also rode in the Non-Pro aboard a 4-year-old purchased from Lesh.
Dold, who offers his training services through Dold Equine, held the gate aboard the 2019 gelding Ronald Reygan (Rey Dual x Uno Reba by Smart Little Uno). Dold purchased the horse a day before the 2025 World Finals, where the pair made the top 10 in the Cinch #13 Gold Shootout—the first class they rode in. In 2026, Dold and Ronald returned to play a crucial role in securing the champion and reserve-champion titles for Baumgardner and Mahon.
Luck of the Draw
In the championship round, several teams ran into trouble on an ornery #5 cow. Baumgardner and Dold drew the #4, meaning Dold only had to keep the #5 cow out of the gate for the first sort.
“About the last four or five teams, [that cow] started getting really bad,” Dold said. “We got lucky, and I held it long enough. We’ll take the W.”
“It’s great. It’s awesome,” Baumgardner said of winning the Non-Pro Futurity during the RSNC’s eight-day World Finals. “They’ve really went out and put this thing together. They just keep getting better.”
Non-Pro Futurity — 2026 World Finals Champions
| Champions | Kenny Baumgardner (Abingdon, Virginia) |
| Winning run | 153.68 on 24 head |
| First-place payout | $6,253 |
| Total class payout | $19,540 |
Payouts
| Place | Team | Payout |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kenny Baumgardner / Victor Dold | $6,253 |
| 2 | Cherrie Mahon / Victor Dold | $4,689 |
| 3 | Kara Doornink / Jennifer Marshall | $3,322 |
| 4 | Cloraldo Leal / Cloraldo Leal Jr. | $1,954 |
| 5 | Marilee Seifert / Kim Christy | $1,218 |
| 6 | Kim Christy / Emily Sperle | $1,623 |
| 7 | Bubba Moore / Tucker Field | $481 |
