(Fort Worth, TX) -- The second round of Open competition in the 40^th Annual National Cutting Horse Association's 40^th Annual World Championship Futurity saw 246 horses return to vie for the big $202,226 champion's take of the show's $2.76 million purse.

Jerry Seago and Brad Vaughn each followed their round one qualifying scores with outstanding 223-point works.

Seago, who rode Prescriptions Cat for Dewayne and Nonie Sweet's B&N Ranch in Talaha, Oklahoma, marked 223 points on the first day of the second round in the Open class. The pair scored 214.5 points in the first round to move on to the second phase.

Prescriptions Cat is a three-year-old High Brow Cat mare out of Ginger Prescription by Doc's Prescription. The 2001 NCHA Futurity is the first time Jerry has qualified for the Semi-Finals in a major Fort Worth show in almost two decades. The combined score for Seago and Prescriptions Cat after two rounds is 437.5 points -- a guaranteed spot in the all-important third test, the Semi-Finals.

Vaughn and Hes A Peptospoonful, who were one of two teams to mark the high score of 221 points in round one competition. The three-year-old Peptoboonsmal stallion picked up the intensity one more notch in the second go.

Vaughn, Lincoln, California, is riding Hes A Peptospoonful for Dave Miller, who is also from Lincoln. With a combined score in rounds one and two of 444 points, not only is Hes A Peptospoonful assured a place in the Semi-Finals, the pair is also setting a pace for something spectacular in the days to come.

Of the 569 horses that began the Open class of the 40^th Annual NCHA Futurity, exactly 60 horses earned the 432.5 points necessary to move into the Semi-Finals, which will take place on Saturday, December 15. Ascencion Banuelos, the last rider of the evening on Lonnie & Barbara Allsup's horse, Angels Little Gunner, moved the bubble score from 432 to 432.5, and in the process, bumped 12 horses from the finals.

Where the first and second rounds were cumulative, the semi-finals and the finals rounds of the NCHA World Championship Futurity are each clean-slate formats. Only the strongest 20 horses will survive elimination for a chance to cut in the finals.

Ten of the original 115 Limited Open contestants, who compete simultaneously in the regular Open class until their finals on Saturday, December 14, achieved a combined total of 431.5 points from the initial two rounds and will proceed to the finals and a chance at the $65,440 Limited Open purse.

Non-Professional competitors take the spotlight Tuesday morning beginning at 8 a.m. After four days of the Non-Pro first go and two days of Non-Pro second go, Amateur competition will begin on Monday, December 10.

In sum, the over 1,450 entries paid up for the 2001 NCHA World Championship Futurity speak to the important role the Western lifestyle plays in the lives of NCHA members. Cutting is more than a hobby -- it is a business and a way of life.

The 40^th annual Futurity will pay out $2,767,734 through the course of 20 days, November 27 - December 16, 2001 at the Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas. It will be the very first showing of these three-year-old cutting horses, and the stakes are high. With $2.76 million up for grabs, competition will be fierce and the action will be spectacular.

The show and its accompanying activities will run for 20 days, culminating on December 16 with the Open Futurity Finals. 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.

For more information about the National Cutting Horse Association, the 40^th 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.