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Posted on July 25, 2021 by Molly Montag

Gingersnaps & Morgan Cromer had an electric run
Saturday, July 24, in Fort Worth. • Photo by Molly Montag.

The crowds at Will Rogers Coliseum know a special performance when it see one. And, it sure had something to cheer about in the run by Gingersnaps and Morgan Cromer in the Derby Open finals at the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Metallic Cat Summer Spectacular. The cheering began as they worked their first cow, grew in intensity throughout the run, and reached a crescendo when the Californian and the daughter of Smooth Talkin Style finished off their final cow on Saturday, July 25 in Fort Worth.

An expectant hush fell over the building while everyone waited for the score, broken by screams when a 229 flashed across the scoreboard. Cromer punched her fist in the air as she rode the little mare out of the pen. It was a great performance, one of several big runs this year from the mare owned by 7 R Ranch, LLC. She entered the show after winning the Pacific Coast Cutting Horse Association (PCCHA) Derby Open with a 230-point run that left Cromer wondering if it was the best run she’d ever had.

“I don’t know that you ever know that they’re this good. You know what I mean,” Cromer said after the NCHA Summer Spectacular victory. “I mean, you can have ten that feel like they’re ready to go show, and one of them will come out being a show horse like that.” Cromer knew the mare was good when she got the daughter of the broodmare Catnaps (by High Brow Cat) midway through her 3-year-old run. The mare came with a good foundation courtesy of Russ Miller, and also a great recommendation.

“Russ doesn’t say much, but he told me he felt she was as good as Kittens,” Cromer said. That is high praise: Kittens – a full sister to Catnaps – earned more than $286,248 during her cutting career with Miller and her owner, Bonnie Martin, of Bitterroot Ranch LLC, sharing time in the saddle. They won money at shows across the West and Pacific Northwest, and the mare also made the Open finals at the NCHA Summer Spectacular and NCHA Super Stakes.

Cromer found out how good the Gingersnaps were in February at the Arbuckle Mountain Futurity in Ardmore, Oklahoma. They showed early in a draw of the Derby Open finals against horses like 2020 NCHA Futurity Open Champion All Spice and Catolena Cashin In, who at that point had just won the Derby Open at The Ike. Cromer, knowing the firepower coming later in the draw, asked for a big-time run that day in Oklahoma and she got one, winning with a 228.

“That was probably the first run [that] I was like, ‘Holy moly!’” After that, Gingersnaps won the Breeder’s Invitational Derby Open Championship with a 226 before heading to the PCCHA Derby Open, where she and Cromer marked that big 230. “It’s one of those things where sometimes you got to pinch yourself a little bit, you know because she doesn’t take a lot of work,” she said of the mare bred by Flying V Ranch, of Val Verde, California. “She’s not one that you think is gonna outthink you. You know, I mean? She is so pure-minded.”

Now, they also have a partnership that’s raked in more than $154,683 in lifetime earnings for the mare.
“I think she’s confident that I’m going to do my part of it for her. And I’m really confident in her.”

Gingersnaps & Morgan Cromer Bring Down the House at the NCHA Summer Spectacular – Quarter Horse News

Posted on June 15, 2021 by Kristin Pitzer

Gingersnaps fired an amazing run for Morgan Cromer in the
PCCHA Derby Open Finals. • Photo by Scootem-n-Shootem

All cutters dream of having that perfect run; the one they don’t critique afterward, picking out any little mistake. Even for those who consistently mark big scores, it doesn’t happen often. But Morgan Cromer’s winning run on Gingersnaps in the Pacific Coast Cutting Horse Association (PCCHA) Core Balance Derby Open may be as close to perfection as one can get.

Cromer and Gingersnaps scored a huge 230 in the finals on Monday, June 14 in Las Vegas, garnering a $14,000 paycheck for owner 7R Ranch LLC. Such a score is not an everyday occurrence, and Cromer said there’s only so many horses out there that are capable of such a feat. “I think there are very few runs in my life that stand out, even though I’ve had a ton of them, as being great runs. You always pick something apart,” Cromer said. 

“Very few runs you can say are perfect. I told somebody the other day, that could have been the best run I’ve ever had, especially on a 4-year-old.” Gingersnaps are certainly special, Cromer added. The mare was an Open semifinalist at the 2020 National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Futurity and placed fourth in the Limited Open. She and Cromer have won two other titles this year — the Arbuckle Mountain Futurity 4-Year-Old Open and the Breeder’s Invitational Derby Open. The mare has already picked up more than $100,000 this year alone.

“This show, I tried to do what I’ve been trying to do with her, which is not ask her super hard in the go-rounds to keep her confident,” Cromer said. “She seems to be figuring that out, like, I can idle a little bit down on her, and she feels that. She’s always a little wild the first round, and so I just work her a little bit more before that.” By Smooth Talkin Style, Gingersnaps is the highest-earning cutter out of Catnaps (by High Brow Cat).

Her lifetime total rivals that of her higher-earning half-brother, National Reined Cow Horse Association (NRCHA) Snaffle Bit Futurity Open Reserve Co-Champion Snapdragons ($132,014, by Gunnatrashya). Intending to help the mare stay confident through the rest of the year, Cromer hopes to see that amount continue to rise.

“I want to thank the PCCHA for having a good show out here at the South Point [Arena and Equestrian Center],” Cromer added. “This is my home, and it’s fun to win on home turf.” With a 223.5, 2020 NCHA Futurity Open Champion All Spice (Once In A Blu Boon x Show Biz Kitty x High Brow Cat) and Adan Banuelos took Reserve, collecting a $12,000 check for owner Holmes and Hill Partnership.

The Perfect Run? Gingersnaps & Cromer Mark a 230 at PCCHA Derby – Quarter Horse News

Posted on May 30, 2021 by Kristin Pitzer

Gingersnaps and Morgan Cromer won the Derby Open at the
2021 Breeder’s Invitational. • Photo by S. Sylvester Photography

With 22 horses in the finals, the Breeder’s Invitational Derby Open promised to be a good show. The finals were full of talented horses, including last year’s National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Futurity Open Champion All Spice and NCHA Futurity Non-Pro Champion Fiddle And Steel, as well as Gingersnaps, this year’s Arbuckle Mountain Futurity 4- 4-Year-Old Open Champion. It was the latter horse, piloted by Morgan Cromer from the second draw, who went home with the Championship and a check worth $50,155 after marking a 226.

Riding from the top of the bunch is intimidating for some, but Cromer was excited because it meant she had a shot at better cattle. Her first cow was a bit stronger than she expected, but Gingersnaps was up to the task in the finals held May 29 at Expo Square in Tulsa, Oklahoma, “I was maybe a little bit timid of getting up there, and I cut more cow probably than I expected to cut,” Cromer said. “That grey cow was a lot, but she [Gingersnaps] handled it well, and it started a really strong run with a lot of difficulty.”

For her second cut, Cromer went looking for her favorite cow. It had ended up in the very back of the herd, but she decided to cut it anyway. Though that took some time, the cow handled better than she expected, adding more points to their run. A cow volunteered for their third cut, but Cromer passed it over for the one behind it, finishing their run on a strong note.

“She just really got a hold of that first cow and kind of bailed me out of a jam because I cut too much cow, and she held it anyway,” Cromer said of Gingersnaps. “She kind of handles all different types of cattle, so that’s more credit to her than me on that.”

Gingersnaps is from the first crop of NCHA Horse of the Year Smooth Talkin Style and out of Catnaps (by High Brow Cat). She’s one of three money earners out of her dam, who also produced National Reined Cow Horse Association (NRCHA) Snaffle Bit Futurity Open Reserve Co-Champion Snapdragons (by Gunnatrashya).

Bred by Flying V Ranch, Gingersnaps is owned by Max and Lori Rhyner’s 7R Ranch in Jackson, Wyoming. The mare was started by Russ Miller and has been in Cromer’s program since she was 3 years old. “She’s got the biggest heart,” Cromer said. “She tries harder than any of them. She’s a little bitty horse, but she’s cow smart. She doesn’t care what I cut her; she’s going to try to hold it. That’s a huge deal.”

Cromer thanked her help in Tulsa — Paul Hansma, Casey Green, Clint Allen and Russ Westfall. She and Gingersnaps were planning to next head to Las Vegas for the Pacific Coast Cutting Horse Association Core Balance Derby and Classic/Challenge. Finishing in reserve were Spots Hottist (Hottish x Reyann Hickory x Dual Rey) and Jesse Lennox, who marked a 224.5. The stallion, who was bred by Lone Oak Performance Horses LLC, collected $26,695 for owner Rocking P Ranch LLC.

Gingersnaps Back in Limelight at Breeder’s Invitational – Quarter Horse News