December 15, 2003

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Amy Stapleton 

817.244.6188 ext. 113

 

 

 

WESTERN HORSEMAN CUP UPDATE:

NCHA Futurity leads off 2004 Quarter Horse News Spring Season

New field of horses & riders begin earning points for 2nd annual event

 

(Fort Worth, TX)  —  The second year of the Western Horseman Cup championship cutting series kicked off at the 2003 National Cutting Horse Association World Championship Futurity.

 

The Futurity was the debut performance for the 2000-born cutting horses – whose finishes at major NCHA-approved limited age events will be tracked through three seasons of Western Horseman Cup competition in 2004. Limited age events included in the series offer added money of $10,000 or more.

 

At the Futurity, One Smart Lookin Cat, ridden by Craig Morris for John McClaren of McGregor, Texas, earned 100 points for first place in the Open while Scott Ferguson of Hempstead, Texas, received 100 points for winning the Non-Pro. All event finalists earned points toward the Quarter Horse News Spring Season of competition.

 

The top five Open horses and five Non-Pro riders with the highest cumulative scores at the end of each season will be qualified to compete at the $250,000 Western Horseman Cup Finals. The 2004 Finals will be held in January 2005 during the Augusta Futurity. Those qualified 15 Open horses and Non-Professional riders will cut one time for a total payoff of $250,000.

 

The Western Horseman Cup was created under the support and direction of longtime cutter W.S. Morris, III and introduced at the 2002 Chevy Trucks/NCHA World Championship Futurity. Morris’ Cowboy Publishing Group publishes Western Horseman Magazine and Quarter Horse News, and operates the equine web destination, Horsecity.com. The CPG publications, as well as the NCHA’s official magazine, the Cutting Horse Chatter, and newspapers across the country, carry results and updates for the Cup.

 

The sport of cutting has roots in Western ranching traditions, where good horses were a necessity for everyday ranch work and cattle handling. The National Cutting Horse Association was formed in 1946 by a group of cowboys and ranchers who wanted to promote cutting competition, standardize rules and preserve the cutting horses' Western heritage. Today, the Fort Worth-based NCHA represents over 14,000 people and oversees more than 1,400 NCHA-approved shows with more than $26 million in total prize money awarded annually.

 

For a complete list of events, results, points, rules and running totals, just visit www.westernhorsemancup.com or check your favorite cutting horse publication!