For Immediate Release

December 14, 2001

From the NATIONAL CUTTING HORSE ASSOCIATION

Contact: Amy Vorhes

817.244.6188 ext. 113

(Fort Worth, TX) -- Argyle, Texas, resident Debra Furst was aptly named to win the 2001 National Cutting Horse Association World Championship Futurity's Amateur division on December 14.

Furst, who with her husband, Jack, own the three-year-old mare she rode to her first Futurity championship, advanced through three elimination rounds for a right to compete in the Amateur Finals. She rode A Zack Cut Jewel, a daughter of Zack T Wood out of Jewels Little Lena by Smart Little Lena for 216 points and the win in the Finals.

The pair advanced through rounds one and two with 216.5 points in each go. And after a safe two and a half minutes in the Semi-Finals, it was Furst and A Zack Cut Jewel who earned the most points of the 16 qualified teams of horse and rider. Her check for first place was $20,927, and the remaining 15 riders split the rest of the $233,253 purse.

One-half point behind Furst's 216 points was Georgia Husby of British Columbia, Canada. Husby rode CD Royalty to a 215.5-point score not more than two hours after trainer Rodie Whitman earned $3,937 on the mare in the Limited Open Finals. Husby's mare is by CD Olena out of Miss Royale Dry by Dry Doc.

Additional prizes include a Remington bronze from Sam's Club, Gist Silversmith's trophy buckles, Professional's Choice products, M.L. Leddy's saddles and briefcases, and a score of other items. The $345,000 added money for the NCHA World Championship Futurity is provided by the Fort Worth Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce in cooperation with the City of Fort Worth.

The National Cutting Horse Association's 40^th Annual Futurity will wrap up 20 days of fierce competition on the evening of December 16 with the Open Futurity Finals and Champions Party thereafter where all of the show's champions will be the guests of honor.

In addition to world-class cutting, the NCHA also hosts the Cowboy Christmas Extravaganza trade and gift show, nine cutting horse sales, a Cowboy Santa, and a celebrity cutting. All of the NCHA's sponsors are on hand, including Sam's Club, Chevy Trucks, John Deere, Flowmaster, Sooner Trailers, and many, many more.

For more information about the National Cutting Horse Association, the 40th Annual NCHA World Championship Futurity, or the long list of activities that accompany the 20-day show, please call the NCHA at 817-244-6188 or visit www.nchacutting.com.