JOHN DEERE / NCHA WORLD FINALS BEGINS…. WORLD CHAMPION CUTTING HORSES TO BE DETERMINED

Weatherford, Texas Pair Take First Round Titles

Feb. 15, Houston, Texas --- The hottest action at this year's Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo isn't in the Astrodome… its in the Astro Arena where the $200,000-added John Deere NCHA World Championship Finals are underway. The four day event features the nations' top fifteen Open Division and the top fifteen Non-Professional Division horses and riders competing head to head for a share of more than $256,000 in added money and the prestigious John Deere/NCHA World Championship crown, tops in the cutting horse industry.

Two Weatherford, Texas competitors posted high scores in their respective divisions, and set the tone for the field for the remaining three rounds. In the Non-Professional Division, Debbie Patterson rode Gun Smokes Wimpy to an exciting score of

225 to win the round and claim $6,410 in go-round earnings. This brings Pattersons' total earnings for the year to $36,558, fourth among the fifteen Non-Pros qualified to compete in this year's John Deere/NCHA Finals.

Don Boone of West Columbia, Texas entered the competition with the lead in the World Championship race with total earnings for the year of $62,172. Mary Jo Milner and husband Jim Milner, Southlake, Texas, entered the Houston competition holding second and third respectively. Mary Jo has $56,235 in earnings aboard Hicapoo, including $5,128 for second in tonights' go-round. Husband Jim earned $41,352 over the year, but did not place in tonights' competition.

In the prestigious Open Division, featuring the industry's top professional riders, Weatherford, Texas resident Mike Mowery piloted Miss Reylena to a blistering 231 to claim the top spot in the go-round. Miss Reylena is owned by John Harrah of Reno, Nevada. Mowerey's earnings for the first go-round pushed his total to $32,566, ranking him fifth behind Lindy Burch aboard Bet Yer Blue Boons, with total earnings through the first go-round of $60,381.

The John Deere / NCHA World Champion in each division will be determined based on total money earnings over the past year of competition, plus earnings from this year's finals. Entering this weeks finals event, only $2,500 separated the top two Open competitors, Burch and Bet Yer Blue Boons, and Kay Floyd riding Don't Have A Cow. With more than $200,000 added to this years' event, the Open Championship race will be a close one.

Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, the National Cutting Horse Association oversees cutting competition for more than 13,000 members. The John Deere / NCHA World Finals, held in conjunction with the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, are the culmination of the point year for the cutting industry and represent one of the industry's most prestigious events.

For complete information on the John Deere / NCHA World Championship Finals, visit the NCHA website at www.nchacutting.com, or call NCHA at

1-817-244-6188.

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