David Renier and Cowpuncher Cadillac Capture Amateur Select Ranch Trail Championship

September 30, 2026 | Filed under: Current Articles,Featured | Posted by: Delores Kuhlwein

Photo by The Equine Chronicle. Supplemental photos by NSBA.

By Sarah Welk Baynum

After two reserve finishes earlier in the show, David Renier and Cowpuncher Cadillac earned their first championship of the 2026 All American Quarter Horse Congress in the Amateur Select Ranch Trail.

Renier and “Blue,” his show partner of five years, have built the kind of familiarity that allows the stallion to adjust easily between riders while still giving Renier the dependable ride he relies on in the show pen.

“We’ve been together for five years now,” Renier said. “He’s honestly the best horse. He can dial it up for Jimmy and then come back for me and just show correct. As long as I can keep my nerves in check, he does exactly what I ask him to do. He’s incredible.”

That confidence in his longtime partner carried into today’s Ranch Trail pen, where Renier said the pattern immediately looked like one that would suit the pair.

“I actually felt really good going into it,” Renier said. “I watched a few before me, and the pattern flowed really well. It looked like it would be a good pattern for us, so I just went out there and did what I needed to do, and it came out good.”

Among Blue’s strongest moments in the pattern were the serpentines—an element Renier knew played to the horse’s strengths.

“He loves the serpentines,” Renier said. “He’s really good at that. He saved me on my extended trot-over, too. He’s just good all the way around.”

The championship adds another highlight to a partnership that has already produced plenty of success, but Renier and Blue still have more ahead of them at Congress. Jimmy is slated to show the stallion in additional stakes classes, while Renier will return to the pen for the Trail Stakes.