Contact: Amy Vorhes 817-244-6188 ext. 113
October 25, 2001
Mitchell/Sonitas First Choice get first dance at Music City Futurity
Cutters from far and near gather in Franklin, Tennessee, for event hosted by Kix and Barbara Brooks
(Fort Worth, TX) —
Franklin, Tennessee, was the place to be for aged-event cutters from October 8 - 16. The first Music City Futurity, hosted by NCHA members Kix and Barbara Brooks, featured nine days of cutting for horses from three to six years of age.The Futurity winners came from as close as Brentwood, Tennessee, and from as far as Pendleton, Oregon. The winning Open Futurity horse, Sonitas First Choice, was the judges' first choice in the 59-entry class. Brad Mitchell rode the sorrel SR Instant Choice stallion, owned by Painted Springs Farm in Brentwood, for 221 points in the third and final round.
John Paxton calls Oregon home, but ventured more than halfway across the country to show Lupes Last Ote in the Music City Futurity. Paxton's take of the Non-Pro Futurity purse for first place was $9,242.
Guy Woods' ride, Raked In Satin, was the best of 94 entries in the four-year-old Derby Open finals. The sorrel Quarter Horse gelding, owned by EE Ranches of Dallas, Texas, progressed safely through two rounds before the finals, then won the largest class of the show with 222.5 points. Gilroy, California, cutter Linda Mussallem put up 219 points in the first go-round, and came back in the finals of the Non-Pro Derby with 220 on her Paint horse, Budasa Little Smart. The 2001 Super Stakes Reserve Amateur Champion Kenny McLean, Point Clear, Alabama, took a win in the Music City Derby Amateur on his mare, Hangem High Playboy.
Matt Gaines led the list of Classic winners with Smart B Back in the Open. The six-year-old Quarter Horse mare is owned by Matt and his wife, Donna, and led the class of 77 entries after the first two rounds. They cut for 225 points in the finals for a $10,683 check. In the Classic Non-Pro, Michael Akin, Counce, Tennessee, found his way to the top on his home-raised gelding, Jazzy Chic Olena while Amateur competitor Bret Parsons rode Terris Trouble through a workoff with Larry Rayshell to go home with a win. Parsons and Raysholl each scored 217.5 in the finals, but Parsons finished higher in the workoff and took the larger check.
Music City Futurity hosts Kix and Barbara Brooks had all of the bases covered when planning their first event. The cutting at the Music City Futurity was great, but what really got people talking was the concert. On the evening of Saturday, October 13, the focus changed from cutting cows to the two-hour Brooks & Dunn concert on Saturday night, complete with transportation and libations for 900 cutters and friends. It is safe to guess that the Music City Futurity will be on many calendars in 2002.
The National Cutting Horse Association approves over 1,400 events annually for 14,000 members representing all 50 United States and 19 foreign countries. The sport of cutting has roots in Western ranching traditions where good horses were a necessity for everyday ranch work and cattle handling. The NCHA was formed in 1946 by a group of cowboys and ranchers who wanted to promote cutting competitions, standardize rules and preserve the cutting horses' Western heritage. For more information about the NCHA, visit www.nchacutting.com.