FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
From the NATIONAL CUTTING HORSE ASSOCIATION
CONTACT: Amy Vorhes 817-244-6188 ext. 113
Evan Wells/Lenas Flit Star capture $2,000 Limit Rider class & audience approval
Young Oklahoma cutter was the high point of $2,000 finals
(Fort Worth, TX)
— With his oversized palm-leaf hat and yellow stove-top boots, 15-year-old Evan Wells stands out in a crowd. But on the evening of the $2,000 Limit Rider finals at the 2001 Chevy Trucks/National Cutting Horse Association Eastern National Championships in Jackson, Mississippi, Wells' cutting skills were the attention-getters.Wells, of Edgerton, Missouri, rode Lenas Flit Star for 223 points and the championship win on Friday, March 22 at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds Equine Center. Lenas Flit Star is a registered American Quarter Horse owned by Marvin & Beverly Maples of Kansas City, Missouri, and has earned $125,765 cutting with the NCHA. The horse and rider pair also won the first go-round of the $2,000 Limit Rider class with 220 points.
It was also a good day for Richard "Joey" Layton and Agoodun, whose 219 points in the finals were good for the 2001 Chevy Trucks/NCHA Eastern Nationals $2,000 Limit Rider Reserve Championship. The $2,000 Limit Rider reserve title was the second of the week for Layton,19, from Ada, Oklahoma. He also tied for the $10,000 Amateur reserve champion title.
The nature of the Chevy Trucks/NCHA Eastern National Championships is traditionally competitive, yet fun for the whole family at the same time. The AQHA/NCHA Affiliate Challenge program will only enhance that feeling. The Affiliate Challenge format encourages affiliates to send as many entries as they can to the Jackson cutting. In addition to the individual competition, which will pay out $286,043, all entrants in the show will also compete on behalf of their local NCHA Affiliate. The AQHA will award $27,000 to affiliates at the Chevy Trucks/NCHA Eastern National Championships, and again at the Chevy Trucks/NCHA Western National Championships.
The prizes awarded to the champions and reserve champions at the Chevy Trucks/NCHA Eastern National Championships include NCHA trophies, Gist trophy buckles, Cowboy Tack saddle blankets and breast collars, Walls jackets provided by title sponsor Chevy Trucks, and Cinch jeans gift certificates.
The 2001 Chevy Trucks/NCHA Eastern National Championships are taking place at the Jackson, Mississippi, Fairgrounds from March 12-23, 2002. Thanks to all of the added money and the potential to win a championship title in top-end competition, 979 entries were taken for the 12-day show. That number marks a strong increase in last year's numbers.
The City of Jackson, Mississippi, has been home of the Eastern Nationals cutting for 21 years. Past figures credit the Chevy Trucks/NCHA Eastern National Championships for bringing an economic impact to the city of $8 million. Additionally, over $4,000 was raised by the NCHA for the Orthopedic Division of the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson.
The NCHA and HorseCity.com have developed an interactive, educational site about the sport. Visit and learn more at www.horsecity.com/NCHAcutting/nchacutting.shtml. For more information about the sport of cutting, the Chevy Trucks/NCHA Eastern National Championships, the AQHA/NCHA Affiliate Challenge, or the National Cutting Horse Association, please contact the NCHA at 817-244-6188 or visit www.nchacutting.com.