It’s officially fall, and this Weekly Performance Report is honed in on the All American Quarter Horse Congress, which began Sept. 26 and is running for nearly a month in Columbus, Ohio.
From the ranch riding, trail, and rail to the limited-age events in reining and the RSNC’s Congress Super Sort, there are plenty of storylines emerging from the world’s largest single-breed show.
Table of contents
This Week September 28 – October 4
Ranch, Reining, RSNC: All American Quarter Horse Congress
Columbus, Ohio | September 26–October 24 | Ohio Expo Center
The All American Quarter Horse Congress opened September 26 with its Ranch classes, and Bud Lyon put his name on the board twice. Lyon and Sumac Gunnabeflashy (Leslie Vagneur Lange) won the Senior Ranch Riding. This is coming off a recent tie in the Senior Ranch Riding at the World Equestrian Center’s Championship Show, where Lyon and Shannon Quinlan Hill
Check out ranch riding and rail highlights from the Congress below.
2026 Congress Ranch Class Champions, September 26–27
| Class | Champion | Rider | Owner |
| Senior Ranch Riding | Sumac Gunnabeflashy | Bud Lyon | Leslie Vagneur Lange |
| Senior Working Western Rail | Sumac Gunnabeflashy | Bud Lyon | Leslie Vagneur Lange |
| Junior Ranch Riding | Daytona Five Hundred | Shannon Quinlan Hill | Debbie Kuffer |
| Level 1 Junior Ranch Riding | A Freeze Warning | Matt Gouthro | Erika Collins-Sterling |
| 4 & 5 Year Old Open Ranch Riding Stakes | CBK Lyle Loves It | Bud Lyon | Kalyn Sanders |
| 4 & 5 Year Old Limited Ranch Riding Stakes | Unquestionably Smokn | Jimmy Daurio | Rebecca Bunting |
| Non Pro Ranch Riding Stakes | Ss Walk The Line | Lane Kail | Jason & Jennifer Knight |
| Non Pro Working Western Rail Stakes | LC Whiskey Man Do | Karen Johnson | Karen Johnson |
| Amateur Ranch Riding | Gunna Be First | Eric Mendrysa | Eric Mendrysa |
| Level 1 Amateur Ranch Riding | Iscream For Icecreme | Sean Garrett McGinley | Red Roan Ranch |
| Amateur Select Working Western Rail | LC Whiskey Man Do | Karen Johnson | Karen Johnson |
2026 Congress Reining Champions, September 26–27
Congress’s reining program got underway alongside the ranch classes, and Cade McCutcheon put together the week’s biggest number. He and All Nite Partier (owned by Sotol Investments LLC) topped both the All Star Reining Stakes Open Derby Level 4 and the sister NRHA Open Reining class on the same run, a 225.50, worth a combined $22,802 between the two checks.
The dac Vitamins & Minerals Freestyle Reining, one of Congress’s sellout night shows, ran Saturday as scheduled and crowned champions in both the Open and Non Pro divisions. Keith A Ceddia and Sammy Simmons’s Sls Hells Fury won the Open Freestyle on a 235.50, while Taylor Zimmerman topped the Non Pro Freestyle aboard her own Its All About Ruf, who also placed second in the Open division for owner Vaughn Zimmerman.
| Class | Champion | Rider | Owner | Score |
| NRHA Open Reining & All Star Reining Stakes Open Derby Level 4 | All Nite Partier | Cade McCutcheon | Sotol Investments LLC | 225.5 |
| All Star Reining Stakes Open Derby Level 3 | Gotta Be Big Time | Brandon Brant | Robert A Rosenfeld | 222 |
| All Star Reining Stakes Open Derby Level 2 | Trashy Little Girl | Nimroid Vannietvelt | Peter A Morgan | 220.5 |
| All Star Reining Stakes Open Derby Level 1 | Trashy Little Girl | Nimroid Vannietvelt | Peter A Morgan | 220.5 |
| NRHA Intermediate Open Reining | Lil Flashy Inferno | Jeremy Gates | David Denton | 219 |
| NRHA Limited Open Reining | MCG Get Low | Deon Locke | McGee Farms LLC | 218 |
| NRHA Prime Time Open Reining | Vulcano | Franco Bertolani | Vulcano LLC | 221.5 |
| NRHA Open Freestyle Reining | Sls Hells Fury | Keith A Ceddia | Sammy Simmons | 235.5 |
| NRHA Non Pro Freestyle Reining | Its All About Ruf | Taylor Zimmerman | Vaughn Zimmerman | 225.5 |
| NRHA Novice Horse Level 2 – Open | Pale Faced Yankee | Jesse Gentile | Bill Maxwell | 220 |
| NRHA Novice Horse Level 1 – Open | Crush Yur Gunns | Keith A Ceddia | Emma Bangas | 219 |
| NRHA Youth Reining 13 & Under | Spooks Gotta Boom | Bryndle K Sveen | Bryndle K Sveen | 217.5 |
| Level 1 Amateur Reining | No Solution Required | Valerie L Fites Sturgeon | Valerie L Fites Sturgeon | 217.5 |
| Level 1 Youth Reining | Lil Juice Cash | Tatum R Underwood | Tatum R Underwood | 213 |
Find Quarter Horse Congress results here.
Cutting: Brazos Bash
Weatherford, Texas | September 28–October 13 | Bosque Ranch Headquarters
Bosque Ranch Events opens the Brazos Bash today, billed as the biggest NCHA-approved premier aged event in terms of added money, running a full slate of limited age event classes and starting with the open division.
Find the Brazos Bash schedule here.
Looking Ahead
Reined Cow Horse: NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity
Fort Worth, Texas | October 9–24
The NRCHA’s marquee futurity event, presented by Metallic Cat, kicks off in less than two weeks in Fort Worth. From horse show classes to the Western Bloodstock sale and NRCHA Foundation Big Guns in Cowtown, there’s a lot of action packed into the Snaffle Bit Futurity.
Also that week: Reined Cow Horse: NRCHA Big Guns in Cowtown
Fort Worth, Texas | October 21 | Cowtown Coliseum, Historic Fort Worth Stockyards
A new NRCHA Foundation fundraiser launching during the Snaffle Bit Futurity: top rodeo athletes and NRCHA professionals in a fence work showcase, competing for $30,000 in prize money with an additional $40,000 going to athlete-selected charities.
Ranch Events, Reined Cow Horse: Stock Horse of Texas World Show
Abilene, Texas | October 27–November 1
The Stock Horse World Championship, Stock Horse of Texas’s marquee year-end event, combining reining, cow work, trail and pleasure patterns into a single stock horse format.
Find more information about the Stock Horse of Texas World Show here.
Did we miss something? Email PerformanceReport@equinenetwork.com to submit an event for inclusion in the Weekly Performance Report.