For Immediate Release

December 9, 2001

From the NATIONAL CUTTING HORSE ASSOCIATION

Contact: Amy Vorhes

817.244.6188 ext. 113

(Fort Worth, TX) -- Scores for the second round of the Non-Professional class in the 40^th annual National Cutting Horse Association World Championship Futurity reflected the careful and cautious nature of the competitors in their quest to reach the final round.

The high score of the first go-round was set by Mary Bradford of Weatherford, Texas, who rode Doc Alley to 221.5 points. Coming back for the second portion of cumulative competition, the 120 returning riders and their trainers seemed to use a "chess" mentality. That is, they calculated how much they would need to mark for a safe return to the Semi-Finals and then concentrated on making clean, quiet runs.

Paula Wood, resident of Stephenville, Texas, and wife of cutting horse trainer Kobie Wood, ended up winning the second round of the Futurity Non-Pro with 218.5 points, giving her a high cumulative total of 437.5 points. Wood is riding the DNA son of Duals Blue Boon, My Blue Hagan. She will also go on to the Semi-Finals riding Law And Order, having accumulated 432 points on that Duals Blue Boon daughter.

Wood, who ranks among cutting's Top 20 all-time non-professional money earners, won the 1997 NCHA Non-Pro Derby on Chita Cash and was the 1993 Non-Pro World Champion with Smart War Lena. Kobie Wood ranks fourth among open competitors in all-time earnings, with over $3.2 million.

Of the 355 Non-Professional riders and 569 Open entries, only two non-professional riders stepped up and qualified in both the Open and Non-Pro Semi-Finals. Mary Ann Rapp will be showing Ruby Duece in the Non-Pro Semis, and Cat N Gail in the Open and Non-Pro Semis. Justice will show Freckles Lena Boon in both divisions.

Sixty-one non-professionals met or exceeded the 428-point bubble needed to advance to the clean-slate Semi-Finals of the division, which will be held on the evening of December 13. The winner of the Non-Pro Finals on December 15 will receive $46,757. The Limited Non-Pro Finals will feature 10 riders on December 14 and pay total money of $79,052.

Amateur competition begins at 8 am 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.