Current NCHA Horse of the Year Leader, $495K-Earning Stallion LBR Hangem Syndicated
- Melanie Smith
- 2 hours ago
- 5 min read
BREAKING – June 18, 2026 — He leads the NCHA Horse of the Year race.
Nearly $500,000 earned.
Three wins in five aged events this year — a reserve and a finals appearance in the other two.
He's the most coveted young outcross sire in the business.
And today, you can own a piece of him.
Owners Solo Select, Carpenter Farms and Don Ham have officially announced the syndication of LBR Hangem.
With a passionate fan base and promising breeding future, the stallion has been syndicated with a total of fifty shares. LBR Hangem is the exact outcross the industry has been waiting for.
"Syndicating Shotty opens the door for people to come in and play on a truly once-in-a-lifetime horse," said Melanie Smith of Solo Select. "We believe his story is just beginning, and we couldn't think of a better way to celebrate this next chapter than sharing it with a group of people who love this great horse as much as we do."
Timing is Everything—And the Time is Now
"From his breeding to his training, everyone involved has made the best possible choices to set this horse up for success," said Don Ham, LBR Hangem's breeder and a current partner. "With babies on the ground out of Show Biz Kitty, Special Nu Baby, Blackish and more, he is set up for success in every way."
Affectionately known as "Shotty," the 2020 stallion is by NCHA Open Futurity Champion and $3 million sire Dual Reyish, out of million-dollar producer Hangem High Pep. He is currently sitting No. 1 in the 2026 NCHA Open Horse of the Year standings. With $495,955 in lifetime earnings and having made the finals at every aged event he participated in this year, LBR Hangem is a generational talent at the absolute hottest moment of his career.
"It will be a long time before we see another horse like this," Ty Smith said.
Demand is already proven: his 2026 breeding season booked full quickly, and he has bred the best mares in the business. For 2027, he currently has more than 250 mares on the waiting list.
Interested parties should reach out to Don Ham at (940) 390-3807 or Ty Smith at (405) 317-9363 to review syndicate documents for the full details.
"The syndication worked beautifully with The Darkk Side. It let people come play who didn't want the responsibility of owning a stallion of this caliber outright, or couldn't swing it on their own, and suddenly they were competing at the same extraordinary level and along for the whole adventure," Melanie Smith said. "They have had a ton of fun, and we expect a lot of those same syndicate members to come in on this one, too."
The Outcross of the Future
In an industry currently dominated by High Brow Cat and Metallic Cat mares, LBR Hangem offers something incredibly rare: zero "Cat" blood. He is the outcross of the future that the cutting world has been waiting for.
"When Don Ham presented us the opportunity to acquire LBR Hangem, it was a no-brainer," Ty Smith, Solo Select’s co-owner and co-founder, said. "The fact that he could be an incredible outcross on the 'Cat' mares is simply a bonus when evaluating all the great attributes he brings to the table. This is a generational horse."
Unmatched Show Pen Momentum
When Shotty is in the draw, people pay attention. Everyone in the cutting industry and beyond knows his name. Trained and shown by NCHA $5.5 million-plus rider Kenny Platt since the very beginning, LBR Hangem has proven to be electric, fast, and remarkably intelligent on a cow.
"Of all the horses I have trained, Shotty has the most cow by far," Platt said. "I don't know if I will ever get to sit on a better horse. This horse is incredibly intelligent. His ability to be precise, read a cow and have explosive but calculated moves in the show pen make him unique. I truly believe he has the qualities to be the next great sire for our industry."
After co-winning the NCHA Summer Spectacular and finishing as Reserve Champion at the NCHA Super Stakes in 2025, LBR Hangem went on to win the 2026 NCHA Super Stakes outright—a spectacular run that earned his induction into the NCHA Hall of Fame. He has also captured the Breeders Invitational title this year, adding to several other major titles.
"You can train a cutting horse but you can't teach THAT." — Announcer
His show career isn't over yet. LBR Hangem will return to the Will Rogers Coliseum one last time for the NCHA Summer Spectacular, followed by a highly anticipated appearance at The Run For A Million in Las Vegas, before making his final career run at the Brazos Bash.
Solid Digital Presence
His influence reaches far beyond the arena. LBR Hangem has built the kind of massive, ready-made following most stallions only dream of. His runs go viral on repeat, pulling in millions of views, including a staggering 4.9 million on a single TikTok reel. That reach isn't just numbers. It turns into real, worldwide demand for his future foals.
Foals Eligible for MILLIONS in Incentives
To ensure the success of his progeny, foals by LBR Hangem are eligible for a massive network of incentives in the cutting and reined cowhorse pen.
"It will be a long time before we see another horse like this."-Ty Smith
For more information on LBR Hangem and how to join the syndicate, contact Ty Smith at (405) 317-9363, Don Ham at (940) 390-3807, or email mel@soloselect.com.
The Ownership Team
Solo Select Horses
Solo Select Horses, based in Gainesville, Texas, is a full service equine powerhouse for western performance horses — breeding, development, marketing and sales all under one trusted program. Led by Melanie Smith and Ty Smith, Solo Select manages LBR Hangem's breeding program, marketing and day-to-day stallion operations. The team is known for its meticulous and intentional approach to stallion management — pairing elite horses with exceptional mares and giving every stallion in their barn the platform to reach his full potential.
Don Ham
Don Ham is one of the most accomplished and well-connected horsemen in the Quarter Horse and cutting industry, with a career spanning more than 30 years. He began managing stallions in 1991 and went on to oversee some of the breed's most legendary sires — including Zippo Pine Bar, Zips Chocolate Chip, Freckles Playboy, Smart Little Lena, High Brow Cat, High Brow Hickory, High Brow CD and TR Dual Rey.
He was the man behind the acquisition and early management of NCHA Futurity Champion Dual Reyish — LBR Hangem's own sire — for Billy Wolf, as well as all-time leading producer Show Biz Kitty. Ham co-bred LBR Hangem alongside Charles Burger and has believed in this horse from the moment he was born.
Carpenter Farms
Carpenter Farms, based in Alabama and led by Todd Carpenter, is one of the most progressive broodmare operations in the cutting horse industry. Carpenter is a 40-year media executive who founded Carpenter Media Group, an influential voice in community journalism — and he brings that same vision and execution to the performance horse world. His broodmare band includes elite producers and top performers such as Sho Boat ($250,000-plus earner) and Sweet On Stevie, a daughter of the nearly $3 million producer dam Sweet Abra. Carpenter committed to LBR Hangem before he ever owned a piece of him, breeding his best mares to Shotty first. His entry into the ownership group in 2025 added both elite mare power and a seasoned business mind to an already formidable team.
CONTACT
Melanie Smith: (940) 733-8581
