FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
From the NATIONAL CUTTING HORSE ASSOCIATION
CONTACT: Amy Vorhes 817-683-7807
Tina Russell makes it a double by winning the Eastern $50,000 Amateur
Freckles Best Lena winds up being the best horse of 104 in the class
(Fort Worth, TX) —
Tina Russell and Freckles Best Lena weren't finished when they won the $10,000 Amateur class on Monday, March 18. Russell and Freckles Best Lena topped their peers in the $50,000 Amateur class on Wednesday evening, too.Russell, who rode representing the North Mississippi Cutting Horse Association, is from Wesson, Mississippi. That puts the two-time champion at the 2001 Chevy Trucks/National Cutting Horse Association Eastern National Championships just 46 miles from all of the cutting taking place at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds in Jackson.
Together, the horse and rider pair's NCHA earnings came to $79,300 prior to the 2001 Chevy Trucks/NCHA Eastern National Championships. Russell's double wins, though, added $9,863 of the show's $286,043 total payout to that sum.
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.