FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September
27, 2005 Contact: Kristina
Gardner (817) 244-6188 x 121
Second season of Western
Horseman Cup NCHA Championship Series concludes
(Fort
Worth, TX) -- Mates Little Cokette led the open division of the Horsecity.com
Summer Season of the Western Horseman Cup, while Skip Queen headed the non-pro
ranks.
The season concluded on the weekend of September 17-18 with
the Idaho CHA Aged Event in Nampa, Idaho and the Dakota Classic in Platte,
South Dakota. It had started with the Breeders’ Invitational Derby in May. In
all, the Horsecity.com Summer Season encompassed 16 events in 13 states with
total added money of nearly $1.3 million.
The Horsecity.com Summer Season is one of three seasons in
the 2005 Western Horseman Cup NCHA Championship Series. The leading ten horses
and non-pro contestants from each season based on points earn a spot in the
$250,000 Western Horseman Cup finals, which will be held in conjunction with
the Augusta Futurity early in 2006.
Mates Little Cokette, is a mare by Smart Mate out of
Cokette, by Doc Quixote. She is owned by Darren Blanton of Dallas, Texas, and
ridden by Jason Clark. She earned 150 points during the Horsecity.com Summer
Season, with a reserve championship in the NCHA Derby, and a win at the West
Texas Derby in Amarillo.
Second in the standings with 125 points was Skip and
Elizabeth Queen’s NCHA Derby champion Rockin By Choice, ridden by Paul Hansma.
However, the SR Instant Choice gelding had already qualified for the Western
Horseman Cup during the spring season, so that will open the way for another
qualifier at the conclusion of the series.
Third in the standings with 120 points was Tap Dancing Cat,
owned by Tom and Jennifer Lyons of Grandview, Texas and ridden by Tom Lyons and
Tag Rice. The High Brow Cat gelding was a finalist in the NCHA Derby, reserve
champion at the West Texas Derby, and State of Missouri Maturity, and a top 10
finisher in the Oklahoma Early Bird Derby.
Boonbay Smash tallied 115 points for Painted Springs Farm of
Brentwood, Tennessee. Brad Mitchell rides the mare by Peptoboonsmal out of
Kimberlena. Boonbay Smash won the State of Missouri Maturity, finished in the
top 10 in the NCHA Derby, and was a finalist at the Breeders’ Invitational
Freckles Royally Doc, owned by Jim Vangilder of Jackson, Missouri
and trained by Roger Wagner, scored 110 points to round out the qualifiers. The
Freckles Fancy Twist gelding finished in the top 10 at the NCHA Derby and the
West Texas Derby and was a Breeders’ Invitational finalist.
The five open division qualifiers from the spring season
were Cat T Masterson, One Time Pepto, Quintan Blue, Rockin By Choice and Spots
Hot.
Skip Queen of Lipan, Texas, rode a pair of geldings during
the summer season to lead the non-pro qualifiers with 170 points. He was a
double finalist at the Breeders’ Invitational, riding Nurse Charles, by Kit
Dual, and Glows, by Smart Lil Ricochet. He also made the NCHA Derby finals and
won the West Texas Derby with Glows.
Jim Vangilder scored 160 points on his Mecom Blue gelding
Quintan Blue and his Freckles Fancy Twist gelding Freckles Royally Doc, but he
had already qualified for the Western Horseman Cup during the Spring Season. He
was co-champion at the NCHA Derby on Quintan Blue and made the Breeders’
Invitational finals with both horses.
Scott Ferguson of Hempstead, Texas, co-champion of the NCHA
Derby on his Highbrow Cat mare Coontail Cat, was reserve champion at the West
Texas Maturity for a total of 150 points.
Dustin Adams of Logandale, Nevada, earned 120 points with MH
Lay Down Lady, by Little Dyno, and Billies Smart Lena, by Smart Little Lena. He
qualified both mares for the Breeders’ Invitational finals and split fourth and
fifth at the NCHA Derby with MH Lay Down Lady.
Janet Westfall of Los Olivos, California, scored 90 points
with on her Travalena gelding Milesandmilesoftexas. She was a finalist at the
Breeders’ Invitational before taking reserve championships at both the Mebane
Ranches Summer Cutting and the Northwest CHA Ranch Festival.
The five non-pro qualifiers for the Western Horseman Cup
from the spring season were Sandy Bonelli, Chad Bushaw, Mary Ann Rapp, Janet
Trefethen and Jim Vangilder.
In cases where an earlier qualifier finishes in the top five
of one of the remaining seasons of the NCHA Championship Series, the vacant
slot in the Western Horseman Cup finals will be filled based on total points
earned by a contestant in all three seasons.
|
Western Horseman Cup Summer
SeasonNon-Pro Division Qualifiers |
||
|
Rider |
Home |
Total |
|
Skip
Queen |
Lipan, TX |
170 |
|
*James
Vangilder |
Jackson,
MO |
160 |
|
Scott
Ferguson |
Hemstead,
TX |
150 |
|
Dustin
Adams |
Logandale,
NV |
120 |
|
Janet
Westfall |
Los
Olivos, CA |
90 |
|
*Previously
qualified in Spring Season |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Western Horseman Cup Spring
SeasonNon-Pro Division Qualifiers |
||
Rider |
Home |
Total |
|
Sandy
Bonelli |
Petaluma,
CA |
475 |
|
Chad
Bushaw |
Weatherford,
TX |
255 |
|
Mary Ann
Rapp |
Weatherford,
TX |
255 |
|
Janet
Trefethen |
Napa, CA |
225 |
|
Jim
Vangilder |
Jackson,
MO |
205 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Western Horseman Cup Summer
SeasonOpen Division Qualifiers |
||
Horse |
Rider |
Total |
|
Mates
Little Cokette |
Jason Clark |
150 |
|
*Rockin
By Choice |
Paul
Hansma |
125 |
|
Tap
Dancing Cat |
Tom Lyons |
120 |
|
Boonbay
Smash |
Brad
Mitchell |
115 |
|
Freckles
Royally Doc |
Roger
Wagner |
110 |
|
*Previously
qualified in Spring Season |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Western Horseman Cup Spring
SeasonOpen Division Qualifiers |
||
Horse |
Rider |
Total |
|
Cat T
Masterson |
Tag Rice |
230 |
|
One Time
Pepto |
Matt
Gaines |
205 |
|
Quintan
Blue |
Roger
Wagner |
195 |
|
Rockin By
Choice |
Paul
Hansma |
175 |
|
Spots Hot |
Wesley
Galyean |
175 |
The National Cutting Horse
Association is made up of 16,000 members across the United States with a wide
range of backgrounds. The sport of cutting has roots in Western ranching
traditions, where good horses were a necessity for everyday ranch work and
cattle handling. From cowgirls to CEOs, from firefighters to professional
football players, the common ground is often in the cutting arena. Each year
more than 2,200 NCHA-approved events are held throughout the country with more
than $35 million in prize money awarded.
For more information about
the NCHA or the sport of cutting, please call 817-244-6188 or logon to http://www.nchacutting.com/.
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