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Dreams come true every year at the NRHA Futurity, and there’s no doubt there could be another fairytale ending in the books for 2022. Abby Lengel, of Whitesboro, Texas, currently leads the Open Level 4 preliminary round with a 226 on her mare Bringnthaheat.

In the Open Futurity, Bringnthaheat and Abby Lengel took the top honors with a score of 226 in the first go round. For the effort, the pair earned $2,366. The mare, who is owned by Lengel, is sired by Million Dollar Sire Inferno Sixty Six and out of Tackie Dreams.

After receiving so much from the reining industry, Lengel felt called to return the favor. A little brainstorming later, she decided to auction off her to benefit NRHyA. "I'd been trying to figure out something I could give back to the sport..."

"This was the first time to show her and I wasn't sure what to expect, but I couldn't be any happier with how it went."

The 2018 gelding owned by Tx Horses Unlimited LLC, of Burleson, Texas, marked a 222 to win the Futurity Levels 4 & 3 Open on Saturday, Sept. 3 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

“It was my very first Level 4 Futurity finals and my only 3-year-old that I had,” Lengel said. “She has a lot of heart because she wasn’t ready for that, and she did it anyway.”

...She continues to excel, placing high in the biggest NRHA competitions, all while keeping the trust of the horse as well as the horses’ mental health front of mind.

Climbing the ranks since her youth and rookie days, Abby Lengel's open mindset and genuine appreciation for opportunities are a model for other aspiring trainers.

The Last Cowboy is a documentary competition show that chronicles the lives of riders competing in the high-stakes sport of horse reining. Run for a Million serves as the culmination of the series, where the riders compete for a $1 million purse.

The emotion was evident in Abby Lengel’s face as she heard a score of 226 ½ called after finishing her last stop. Aboard Jody Puno’s ARC Gunna Mark Ya, Lengel took the high score of the day, placing the duo atop the leaderboard of both the Level (L)3 and 4 Open Derby go round.

The Eastern Colorado native runs her own business on a ranch staffed entirely by women. She was named NRHA’s Professional Horsewoman of the Year in 2018.

Abby Lengel rode ARC Gunna Mark Ya to claim the Level 4 Open Derby championship, as well as the Level 3 Open Derby championship with a score of 226 – the highest marked score of the show.

Abby Lengel and Jody Puno’s ARC Gunna Mark Ya continued their impressive performance from the first go round with a score of 224 in the L4 finals, claiming the L4 reserve championship and the co-reserve title in the L3.

The Tulsa Reining Classic Derby Open was held Sept. 2 at the Expo Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. After 83 horses went through the ring, the score that landed on top was the highest marked the whole week in the Ford Truck Arena.