Augusta kicks off Mercuria NCHA World Series

The venerable Augusta Futurity will be the newest addition to the slate of shows participating in the 2012 Mercuria NCHA World Series of Cutting. Augusta will kick off the season January 24-26.

The Mercuria NCHA World Series of Cutting offers an international calendar of shows for horses of any age competing for $50,000 in added money at each stop. The Open and Non-Pro divisions both offer $25,000-added purses. See the tentative calendar below.

The fast-paced, crowd-pleasing format has expanded the audience for cutting across America, and in Canada and Europe. The finals feature rousing music, live commentary and spectacular competition that has packed the stands from coast to coast. In the past, the finalists have ranged from World Champions to up-and-coming Limited Non-Pro riders, and every finalist earns a check.

“With the tremendous success of the World Series of Cutting over the past few years, we are delighted that Mercuria has continued its support of this popular program, and the sport of cutting,” said NCHA Executive Director Jeff Hooper. “Mercuria has a global presence with their business operations, and the addition of a show in France in 2011 underscored the worldwide appeal of the sport of cutting.”

In 2012 Mercuria Global energy will also serve as the Title Sponsor of the Mercuria/NCHA World Finals, an exciting four-round competition for the cutters in the Top 15 year-end standings in both the Open and Non Pro divisions. The event is held in conjunction with the NCHA Futurity in Fort Worth, Texas.

“We are delighted to work with the National Cutting Horse Association and to expand the World Series of Cutting,” said Jeff Miller, Director for Upstream and Investments of Mercuria Energy. “There are a lot of cutting horse fans in the oil, gas and coal communities, including some in our own company, so NCHA sponsorship is a terrific fit for Mercuria. ‘Energy, performance and dependability’ are three words that can be applied equally well to cutting horses and to our business.”

Following Augusta, the series will head to Texas for the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo on February 10-11, and the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo on February 24-25.

Other stops will include Oklahoma City for the AQHA Battle in the Saddle, the Calgary Stampede, Nampa, Idaho for the Idaho CHA Futurity, Rancho Murieta, California for the El Rancho Futurity, Columbus, Ohio for the All American Quarter Horse Congress, and Lyon, France.

Tentative dates for the 2012 Mercuria NCHA World Series of Cutting have been set.

Each show features $50,000 in added money, with $25,000 in the Open and $25,000 in the Non-Pro.