The "Runaway Creek Outstanding Bridle Mare" Award

In 2007, Runaway Creek established, with the approval of the NRCHA, a special award to honor the great Bridle mares of the NRCHA.  The award was given each year through 2011 by Runaway Creek.  In future years, NRCHA will find a new sponsor or retire the award to a future NRCHA Hall of Fame. 

CR Morrison & Runaway Creek designed a beautiful perpetual trophy that has added to it, the High Scoring mare in the Open Bridle at the NRCHA World Championship Snaffle Bit Futurity each year.  In addition, the past 9 champion mares from 1974-2006 are displayed on the front of the trophy along with the Breeder, Owner and Rider. 

The trophy provides a historical record of those great mares of the NRCHA that have completed their training and shown their outstanding abilities as Bridle horses by being the top mare at the most prestigious of all NRCHA bridle events.

Runaway Creek  also donated $1000 in added money each year to the high scoring mare and in addition a C.R. Morrison Trophy was also given to the owner to keep.

Runaway Creek is committed to following the NRCHA traditions and has always placed a great emphasis on promoting our great mares.   We were honored to have bee able to support the NRCHA in this way and hope this award and added incentives have encouraged other mare owners to do the same.

2011 -  Flo N Blu Boon (11th)

Rider Doug Williamson • Owner: Garth & Amanda Gardiner • Breeder:  Sylvan & Barbara Williamson

2010 - Shine Smartly (Champion) 

Rider: Shawn Hays • Owner: Walter Greeman & Tammy Jo Hays • Breeder: Carol Rose

2009 - Voo  Doo Chic (Reserve Champion)

Rider: Kevin Stallings • Owner: Rogers Heaven Sent Ranch • Breeder: Jim Babcock

2008 -  Smart Shinetta (3rd)

Rider: Todd Crawford • Owner: Lyle Lovette • Breeder: Jeff Cornelius

2007 - Cielo Quemada (7th)

Rider:  Ken Wold • Owner: Cladia Aquino • Breeder:  Falcon Seaborn Ranches

THE PAST NRCHA SBF CHAMPION BRIDLE MARES

2006 - Smart Plain Pep

Rider: Tim Unzicker • Owner: Runaway Creek Quarter Horses  • Breeder: Ward Ranch

2003 - Starlights Playmate

Rider:  Todd Crawford • Owner: Kalpowar Quarter Horses • Breeder: Dick & Tricia Goldstein

2001 - Just Quick Colonel

Rider: Kathy Gould • Owner: Katrina Templeton • Breeder: Ward Ranch

1991- 1992 - Dot O Lena

Rider: Jon Roeser  • Owner: John Showalter • Breeder: Orvil Little

1983 - Star Polly Bar

Rider: John Brazil Jr. • Owner: John Brazil Jr. • Breeder: Cal Poly

1980 - 1981 - Smoke's Belle

Rider: Pat Hubbert • Owner: Pat Hubbert • Breeder: Laura Bruce

1979 - Kit's Smoke

Rider: Benny Guitron • Owner: Bert Crane • Breeder: Laura Bruce

1975 - Burnt Girl

Rider: Bobby Ingersoll • Owner: Strain Ranches • Breeder: Strain Ranches

1974 - Wrong Key

Rider: Les Vogt • Owner: Fred Mungia • Breeder: Fred Anderson

Dual Smoking

1997 - 2012

May 10, 2012, - Today we said goodbye to our beloved friend, companion and the Sire of many wonderful equine athletes. 

Following his long struggle with a debilitating elbow injury that ultimately led to Laminitis, he was humanely euthanized and is buried at Pine Hill in Bowie, TX. 

Smokum's legacy lives on through his offspring that many of you have the good  fortune to have in your own barns.  But he was much more than a stallion.

     He was a beautiful kind soul that was pure joy to be around.  He looked after all of the babies at the ranch and always came to you to say hello.  

He was athletic in ways that may have been his demise, playful but never mean spirited, and always grateful for everything you did for him. 

We will be forever thankful for the wonderful memories he shared with us over many years.  He will be missed in ways that cannot be expressed in words.  

We want to thank the many people that believed in him, cared about him and fought the good fight for him.  

Mike Hoag, DVM, Rhodes Murphy, DVM, Darren Baber, Paul Keller, Sheila Murphy, Nikki Montgomery,

Brittney Cunningham, Greg Bruce, Cody Kirshner, & Charlie McKinney just to name a few.

We would love to hear from those of you that have one of his sons or daughters. 

Please send us your photos and anything you would like to share about them.

Our 2 year old grandson Vincent giving his buddy Smokum his bath

RC Ms Smoking Oak

2010 Valley Quarter Horse Association

Raffle Filly donated by Runaway Creek

Photography by Ron Radmer

2008 AQHA Mare

Dual Smoking  X  Oaks Smoken Oak  by Docs Oak

Congratulations to her new owner - San Juan Capistrano Trainer Cindy Forrest

2008 Valley Quarter Horse  & Youth Drawing Raffle Colt

(L-R) Dual Smoking ( Sire of Raffle Colt w/ Justin Fiscus), Bert Hornback,

Tony Mendoza & RC High Brow Smoke (Raffle Colt won by Danielle Rissman)

Runaway Creek Quarter Horses teamed up with Cindy & Tony Mendoza to support the Valley Quarter Horses Association & their youth program.  This colt by Dual Smoking was donated by Runaway Creek and trained by Tony.   Chris Dunn horseshoeing donated the shoeing.   We are very pleased with the positive response given this colt from our breeding program & that this raffle was such a big success for the VQHA and their youth organization.  VQHA is a great organization that has put on top AQHA competitions for decades.   It was an honor for us to support them with this donation.

Smart Plain Pep teams up with Ti m Unzicker in 2008 for their first

Worlds Greatest Horseman competition.  They Finish 6th in the finals!

Smart Plain Pep aka "Rain" was retired following the 2006 NRCHA World Championships after becoming both an Open Two Rein & Open Bridle top 5 finalist.   Tim had expressed to us following their 2006 Reno Open Bridle win that this mare was the one that had come along in his career that he felt could take him to the Worlds Greatest for his first trip.  In spite of that we collectively decided to forego the opportunity as she had so much on her plate with two major World show events ahead of her.  As it turned out that was the right decision.  She performed in both Prelims and finals in both events.  But watching Tim take his last ride in the Open Bridle finals hit us hard and it weighed on us that we might be taking away a once in a lifetime opportunity for both of them. 

Early in the 2007 breeding season, her first foal , an embryo transfer, was well on its way.  Circumstances with the second stallion pushed her second breeding out in time and we made a last minute decision to wait until 2008 to breed her again.  That decision had potentially opened up  the ideal opportunity if Tim thought he had enough time to get her ready.  It was really an unfair request on our part.  After all, she had never been trained in Steer Stopping and had not been ridden for over 7 months.  We knew it was allot to ask of them both but Tim knew her best, so we felt we owed it to him to make the decision.  We called him just before the SBF and asked if he wanted to take a run at the Worlds Greatest in 2008.  He said absolutely and that he had enough confidence in her that he would love to have her back.   We delivered her at Reno and her excitement when Tim walked up to her stall let us know it was the right decision and well worth the gamble.  

In just those few months, she came back tougher than ever and took to the Steer Stopping with a vengeance.   Although they had limited time to prepare, particularly with the unpredictable Colorado winter to contend with, the two were good enough to make it into the finals in 10th place and ended up finishing 6th in the finals. They had the time of their life and we are so proud of them both.   

As it turns out, she was the only mare to make finals which made it particularly satisfying for us.   A horse like Rain comes along once in a lifetime.  One you can call on to step up another level and every time she delivers.   She is now home working on giving Tim his next champion.