Positive Changes Planned For NCHA Select Futurity Sale
The NCHA Select Futurity Sale is widely recognized as the premier public auction event in the cutting horse industry. Countless equine stars in the cutting horse arena have passed through the ring as two-year-olds at this sale, traditionally held each year on the final Saturday of the World Championship Futurity. This year's version of the NCHA Select Futurity Sale will be held on Saturday December 15, and will feature the highest scoring 75 two-year-olds from the sale screening, scheduled for Saturday November 24 and Sunday November 25. 

The NCHA Sale Committee, along with a sub-committee appointed to review and make recommendations regarding the NCHA Select Futurity Sale, met on Monday July 16, and is implementing several improvements to the sale that will take effect with this year's event. Those in attendance at the July 16 meeting included NCHA President Lindy Burch, sub-committee Chairman Craig Morris, Terry Riddle, Bill Riddle, Kathy Daughn, Gerald Alexander, Frank Merrill, Shelley Mowery, Darren Simkins, NCHA Executive Director Jeff Hooper and Assistant Executive Director and Director of Sales Mike Kelly. 

Screening to Go To Five Judges
A five-judge system will be used this year to score two-year-olds entered in the sale screening. In the past 10 judges were utilized for the screening. Each of the five judges will mark each entrant on a scale of 0 - 10, based upon the horse's performance while working cattle out of the herd during a three minute time frame. The judges also factor into their scoring the horse's physical appearance (conformation) and sale fitness. These five scores will be added together (each of the five judges scores will be counted) for a maximum performance/appearance score of 50. This year a pedigree score will also be considered in the evaluation of each sale prospect. An independent professional evaluation (not performed by the five judges or NCHA staff) will be used. This pedigree score will also be on a scale of 0 - 10, and will be added to the horse's performance score, so that the maximum attainable score during the overall screening process is 60 points (50 points for performance, and 10 points for pedigree). 

"We feel this evaluation process will be much improved over what has been used in the past," said sub-committee Chairman Craig Morris. "The five judges we will utilize during the screening will be people who have the respect of their peers in evaluating a two-year-olds' potential. Plus we felt the inclusion of a horse's pedigree into the evaluation process was important, while still maintaining the primary emphasis on performance. When buyers go to a sale to purchase a two-year-old, the horse's bloodlines play a role in their decisions, and we want to be responsive to our buyers, and put together a catalog of 75 horses that will be a solid group of individuals in all respects."

Cattle Are Key
The cattle used in the sale screening and in the two-year-old sale will also be a focus of the Sale Committee's attention. Consignors will have four cattle per horse during the sale screening (in the past it was three) and five cattle per horse during the sale (in the past it was four). "We are going to make every effort to have the quantity, quality and type of cattle that will best allow consignors to show their horses," NCHA Assistant Executive Director and Director of Sales Mike Kelly said. "Consignors can be assured that the cattle used during the screening and the sale are certainly not an afterthought. We are concentrating on bringing in quality cattle that will allow people to show their horses, and allow potential buyers to see the ability and potential of these young horses." 

Awards for Excellence
NCHA will also be focusing attention on the top five scoring horses from the November 24 - 25 Sale Screening. Awards will be presented to the owners and trainers of the top five scoring horses from the screening. These awards will be presented in a ceremony during a party sponsored by the NCHA Professional Trainers on December 8. The highest selling horse during the NCHA Select Futurity Sale will also be in the spotlight on Saturday evening December 15, immediately after the sale. The sale topper, along with the horse's consignor, trainer and purchaser will be honored in the Will Rogers Coliseum during the Open Semi-Finals cutting. 

A "User Friendly" Sale Screening
A number of enhancements will also be introduced at this year's sale screening on November 24 - 25 in an effort to make this event more "user friendly" to potential buyers. Horses will be hip numbered for easier identification when they enter the loping pen. Catalog-style pedigree information on all entries will also be made available to those in attendance. (This pedigree information will not be provided to the judges, or announced during the screening). "Our attitude is that the more informed potential buyers are, then the more confidence they will have in the sale," noted Mike Kelly. We want to be the most "user friendly" sale in the industry." 

Building Buyer Confidence
This year, the NCHA will also be encouraging consignors to x-ray their horses prior to the sale, and provide those x-rays for pre-sale examination by potential buyers. These radiographs will be made available in a "repository" set up by the NCHA. "This repository approach is one that has been successfully utilized in Thoroughbred auctions," noted Mike Kelly. "Buyers who are considering spending up to six figures on a cutting prospect want to have a high level of confidence that they are bidding on a sound horse. Providing x-rays for review prior to bidding on a horse is a significant means of further increasing buyer confidence." 

Western Bloodstock Two-Year-Old Sale Moves Up a Week
As it was in 2000, consignors of two-year-olds not among the highest scoring 75 head during the screening process will be offered the opportunity to sell their horses in the Western Bloodstock Two-Year-Old In-Training Sale in the Watt Arena on the grounds of the Will Rogers Equestrian Center. This year's Western Bloodstock Two-Year-Old Sale is slated for Saturday December 8 (one week prior to the NCHA Select Two-Year-Old Sale). Last year, the two-year-old sale was held as one of two concurrent Western Bloodstock-produced sales on the final day of the Futurity.

"By moving this two-year-old sale up a week, we are confident that we can offer consignors and buyers the optimum time during the Futurity to sell their horses," said Western Bloodstock partner Milt Bradford. "We won't have a situation where we have two sales going on at the same time, and we can really feature these two-year-olds as they deserve." Consignments forms for the NCHA Select Two-Year-Old Sale will be available through the August issue of the Cutting Horse Chatter, or by calling Mike Kelly at the NCHA offices at (817) 244-6188.