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Jans Shiney Rey and Erin Mendes won the 2020 NRCHA Derby Amateur in Scottsdale, Arizona. • Photo by Primo Morales.

Triple Gold! Erin Mendes Hits Triple in NRCHA Derby

Erin Mendes entered the National Reined Cow Horse Association (NRCHA) Derby hoping to make one of the Non-Pro finals with Jans Shiney Rey.

She made them, all right.

Mendes and the palomino mare won the Derby Amateur during the preliminaries, and in doing so qualified for the finals in the Non-Pro, Intermediate Non-Pro and Novice Non-Pro classes.

She ended up winning the Intermediate Non-Pro and Novice Non-Pro, and was the Non-Pro Reserve Champion. Had it not been for a huge fence run by Non-Pro Champion Toni Hagen Heath and Smokum Every Time, Mendes would’ve won that class, too.

“I wasn’t planning to [qualify] in all three,” Mendes said after the preliminary round. “I knew I had the horsepower to do it, but a lot of time operator error gets in the way of that.

Operator errors were not a problem in Scottsdale, Arizona.

In the preliminary round, they won the Amateur with a 645.5 (215.5 herd/213.5 rein/216.5 cow). They kicked it up a notch a few days later during the Non-Pro finals, marking a 652 (218 herd/213.5 rein/220.5 cow).

Preliminary Round Win

Of the preliminary rounds, Mendes said their cow work, in particular, felt really good and in control. Mendes cued the mare, and the mare took care of business.

“It was just a really fun experience when you’re really able to concentrate on what you’re doing and what your task is and be able to perform at that level,” she said. “She was just great to take down the fence.

“My second turn she came out of it so quick and was right there with me. It was such a fun feeling. “

The win pushed Jans Shiney Rey’s lifetime earnings to more than $25,000. Mendes now has an Equi-Stat record of more than $20,000.

Jans Shiney Rey’s Beginnings

Jans Shiney Rey started her career in the Level 1 Limited Open with trainer Clint Allen, who’s won more than $5 million in cutting and in recent years expanded his show schedule to include reined cow horse. 

Allen and the mare nearly won the 2018 NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity Level 1 Limited Open, falling just a half-point short, and also made the Intermediate Open and Limited Open finals. They continued their success last year, and that Augusta won the Limited Open at the National Stock Horse Association (NSHA).

Mendes bought the mare after her trainer, Monica Caetano, spotted her at the NSHA Futurity. She then rode her to a Reserve Championship in the Derby Amateur at the Idaho Reined Cow Horse Association Futurity. They also made the finals at that show in the Non-Pro and Intermediate Non-Pro.

Jans Shiney Rey is the leading earner for her sire, Jans Rey Cuatro, as well as her dam, Shiney Bit O Ivory (by Shining Spark). She was bred by Sheri Jamieson, of La Jolla, California.

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