(Ft. Worth, TX)---The National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) and John Deere have jointly announced that the purse of the John Deere World Finals, scheduled for February 15 – 18, 2001 in Houston, Texas, has been doubled to $200,000 in total added money, with a gross purse (inclusive of entry fees) of $256,400.
The 2001 John Deere World Finals features the top 15 Open Division money earning horses, as well as the top 15 money earning Non-Professional riders, from the 2000 point year. The event, held annually in conjunction with the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo, features head-to-head competition to determine the prestigious NCHA Open and NCHA Non-Pro World Champions for 2000. The 2000 point year began November 20, 1999 and concludes on November 19, 2000.
The significant increase in purse money available for the lucrative cutting horse event is due in large part to the increased level of corporate sponsorship commitment made by John Deere to the NCHA. John Deere will continue to be “The Official Equipment Provider of the NCHA” throughout the term of the new sponsorship agreement with the 13,000-member NCHA.
Founded in 1837, Deere & Company has grown from a one-man blacksmith shop into a worldwide corporation that today does business in more than 160 countries and employs approximately 37,000 people worldwide. John Deere is well know for its commitment to product quality, customer service and business integrity.
“Our mutually beneficial business relationship with John Deere is extremely important to all of us at NCHA,” said the association’s President Jim Milner of Southlake, Texas. Our members look for quality, dependability and customer service in the companies they do business with, and John Deere is exemplary in all of those areas.
“It is also very significant to the NCHA that John Deere sees the value of raising the prize money awarded in our John Deere World Finals,” Milner continued. “The horses and riders that qualify and compete in the World Finals truly showcase the best of the Cutting Horse industry. This increase to $200,000 in added money stamps this nationally televised event as truly “major league” in every way. The competition at the John Deere World Finals in February 2001 will be as exciting and intense as any Cutting Horse event ever held.”
The John Deere World Finals caps a year of competition among the nation’s top cutting horses and riders. The sport of Cutting has roots in Western ranching traditions, where good horses were a necessity for everyday ranch work and cattle handling. “Cutting Horses” specialized in their ability to separate or “cut” one cow from a herd of others, for branding, doctoring or shipping. The National Cutting Horse Association was formed in 1946 by a group of cowboys and ranchers who wanted to promote cutting competition, standardize rules and preserve the cutting horse’s Western heritage. Today, the Fort Worth-based NCHA represents more than 13,000 members in 22 countries and oversees more than 1,400 NCHA-approved shows with more than $22 million in total prize money awarded annually.
For more information on the National Cutting Horse Association, contact the NCHA at (817) 244-6188, or visit the association’s web site at www.nchacutting.com.
For information on John Deere, or to find the John Deere dealer nearest you, visit the company’s web site at www.deere.com.