Rudi Kronsteiner of Austria rode AQHA.UK Member Rosanne Sternberg’s Smart Spook to capture both the open and restricted gold medals at the 2007 FEI World Reining Masters.

Seventeen riders from 15 countries competed in the fourth World Reining Masters event this evening at the Oklahoma State Fair Park Coliseum in Oklahoma City.

But tonight’s win wasn’t easy for the Austrian. After his run, he ended up in a three-way tie with U.S. riders Casey Hinton on Mr Boomerjac and Gabe Hutchins on Juiced Up Doc. All three had marked a 221.

First up in the runoff was Hinton, who scorched the arena on Mr Boomerjac, marking a 222.

Next was Hutchins. However, his horse ran out of steam during the second run and ended up scoring a 211.5.

Kronsteiner brought Smart Spook back to the arena. With the stands cheering him on, he and the 2001 American Quarter Horse stallion turned in a near flawless performance, marking a 227.

“I felt better the second time,” he said. “The first time I came in, it was the first time I had shown the horse. It was a lot of pressure. But I knew the horse can do it. It was just up to me.

“The second time, I felt more comfortable because I knew how it was going to be and how the horse felt. I felt I could be more aggressive the second time because I felt more safe.”

With tonight’s win, Kronsteiner became the first person outside of the United States to win the gold in the FEI World Reining Masters open division.

“It’s just incredible,” he said shortly after his win. “I’m really proud for my country. We are really small with maybe 7 million people, and we have only about 300 NRHA members. So we are a really tiny little thing. For my country and for me, this means a lot.”

Kronsteiner was the only rider at the event that has competed in all four FEI World Reining Masters. The Austrian rode another Sternberg horse, Setting Off Sparks, to win the restricted gold medal at the 2006 FEI World Reining Masters, which was in Denver.

Kronsteiner began competing in reining 10 years ago and has NRHA lifetime earnings of $309,872.

Smart Spook is by Smart Chic Olena and out of Sugarplum Spook by Grays Starlight. NRHA $3 million rider Shawn Flarida rode the stallion to the 2004 NRHA Futurity open championship, 2005 NRHA Derby open championship and the 2005 AQHA junior reining championship. Before tonight’s event, he had NRHA lifetime earnings of $272,455.

“That horse is just so honest and so cool,” Kronsteiner said. “Shawn Flarida helped me a lot. He was yelling with me and telling me what to do. But I also want to thank the owner Rosanne Sternberg for giving me the horse. It’s nice to have such a great group behind me.”

The NRHA and Oklahoma City were the hosts of the inaugural FEI World Reining Masters in 2004. The best reiners from 16 countries traveled to the Oklahoma State Fair Park to compete for a purse of $100,000 and gold, silver and bronze medals in two divisions, open and restricted. That year, USA’s Todd Crawford and Matt Dillon Dun It marked a 220.5 to be the first World Reining Masters champions.

In 2005, the World Reining Masters moved to Manerbio, Italy, where 19 countries competed for the coveted title. Winning again was the United States with Craig Schmersal and Tidal Wave Jack posting a 231.5.

In 2006, the competition returned to the United States and came to Denver. There, 18 riders from 16 countries competed for the gold with the United States on top again when Shawn Flarida marked a 223.5 on Tinsel Nic.

The United States, Canada, Italy, Germany and Switzerland are allowed to send their top two riders to compete in the open division only. These five countries were finalists at the 2006 FEI World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany. Other country’s National Federations can send one rider, and these riders are eligible to compete in the open and restricted divisions.

Reining is the only western discipline to be recognized by the FEI. The FEI has 135 affiliated National Federations around the world

RESULTS

2007 FEI WORLD REINING MASTERS OPEN DIVISION

1. Austria: Rudi Kronsteiner on Smart Spook. Score: 221/227
2. United States: Casey Hinton on Mr Boomerjac. Score: 221/222
3. United States: Gabe Hutchins on Juiced Up Doc. Score: 221/211.5
4. Italy: Dario Carmignani on Skeets Dun. Score: 217
5. Brazil: Gilson Vendrame on Ima Little Tangy. Score: 216

2007 FEI WORLD REINING MASTERS RESTRICTED DIVISION

1. Austria: Rudi Kronsteiner on Smart Spook. Score: 221/227
2. Brazil: Gilson Vendrame on Ima Little Tangy. Score: 216
3. Belgium: Bernard Fonck on Don Quixote Escapes. Score: 215.5
4. France: David Roux on Hes One Smart Chic. Score: 212
5. Great Britain: Mark How on Moon Stone Chex. Score: 210.5