Chiquita Pistol / Tag Rice win Futurity Open Championship with 225-point work

Total of $1,610,370 paid out in Open division

(Fort Worth, TX) – Tag Rice and Chiquita Pistol were just warming up yesterday when they scored 223 points in the Open semi-finals of the 2002 Chevy Trucks / National Cutting Horse Association World Championship Futurity.

The pair rode fifth in the Open Finals tonight in the group of 28 and marked 225 points with the full attention of the judges and the audience. Rice, 28, of Buffalo, Texas, finished second and fourth in last year’s Futurity behind his father, Ronnie, also of Buffalo. Chiquita Pistol is a three-year-old Smart Little Pistol mare out of Miss Chiquita Tari, by Pay Twentyone. The mare is owned by Wallace “Tooter” Dorman of Oakwood, Texas.

The score held, and the group received a check for $200,000, a trophy saddle from M.L. Leddy’s, a hand-woven saddle blanket from Cowboy Tack, a Futurity Champion buckle from Gist Silversmiths, money clip from Gist Silversmiths, a pair of custom-made chaps from Murray Leather, a 200X Futurity Hat from Stetson Hats, the Marion Flynt Memorial buckle, the B.A. Skipper Memorial Trophy, clothing from Cinch Jeans company, and many other awards.

The Reserve Champion of the 2002 Chevy Trucks / NCHA World Championship Futurity Open division was Spookys Smarty Pants, ridden by Gary Gonsalves of Paso Robles, California, Spookys Smarty Pants is a three-year-old Smart Aristocrat mare out of San Starlight, by Grays Starlight, owned by Jeff Barnes of Wilton, California. Gonsalves rode Spookys Smarty Pants for a score of 222.5 points as the 26^th rider of 28 for the evening. Their payout was a check for $142,589 in addition to a prize package similar to the Champion’s.

In all, $1,610,370 was paid out in the Open division of the 2002 Chevy Trucks / NCHA World Championship Futurity.

This year the Open Futurity class began with 589 entries. The Open division is traditionally the largest of the five during the Futurity. The record-breaking total of 1,469 entries paid up for the 2002 Chevy Trucks / 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 Open Finals was broadcast live on DISH Network through Cowboy TV, and was also accessible through NCHA’s website at www.nchacutting.com. The Finals began at 6:30 pm Central Time in the historic Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas.

The Futurity paid out well over $2,777,000 through the course of 19 days, November 27 - December 15, 2002. It was the very first showing of these three-year-old cutting horses, but surely not the last time cutting enthusiasts will see these fantastic athletes in action..

The show and its accompanying activities ran for 19 days, culminating on December 15 with the Open Futurity Finals. In addition to world-class cutting, the NCHA also hosts the Flowmaster presents the Kick-off to the Chevy Trucks World Championship Futurity, 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 41^st Annual Chevy Trucks / NCHA World Championship Futurity, or the long list of activities that accompanied the 19-day show, please call the NCHA at 817-244-6188 or visit www.nchacutting.com.