FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
From the NATIONAL CUTTING HORSE ASSOCIATION
CONTACT: Amy Vorhes 817-244-6188 ext. 113
Mary Jo Milner makes it a double
2000 NCHA Non-Professional World Champion takes the 2001 title, as well with $120,183 to break record
(Fort Worth, TX) — As of this evening, Mary Jo Milner is a four-time National Cutting Horse Association World Champion cutter, and an 13-time finisher in the Top 10, as well. In her cutting career with NCHA, Mary Jo has earned $1,139,184.
Milner and her family -- husband, past NCHA President Jim Milner and son, Joey, and his family -- hauled together continuously through the 2001 cutting season. The result was a Milner-family trio in the NCHA World Standings. Mary Jo's outstanding lead in the class was more than enough to ensure her fourth World Championship.
Before the grand finale of the season, the John Deere/NCHA World Championship Finals in Houston, Texas, Mary Jo had accumulated $93,645 at 116 shows. Her horse, Red White And Boon, is a 14-year-old gelding by Smart Little Lena out of Royal Blue Boon with over $500,000 to his name.
With her $26,538 addition to the regular season earnings in 2001, Mary Jo Milner became one of only two NCHA Non-Professional riders to ever top the $100,000 in one year at weekend cuttings. But Milner also surpassed the previous earnings record, held by Debbie Patterson and Gun Smokes Wimpy. Patterson finished the 2001 season in sixth place with $49,210. She rode now 18-year-old "Gunner" in Houston, and finished third in the John Deere/NCHA World Championship Finals average.
Mary Jo Milner began competing in NCHA Non-Pro events in 1972. Eight years later, she was inducted into the NCHA Non-Pro Hall of Fame. She was the Non-Pro World Champion in 1981, 1986 and 2000, and Reserve Champion in 1973 and 1974. On Saturday, February 16, 2002, Mary Jo become only the second Non-Professional World Champion to earn more than $100,000 in weekend competition in one year.
Her commitment to excellence and constant improvement give Mary Jo the drive and dedication that it takes to be an NCHA World Champion cutter.
The National Cutting Horse Association's top weekend cutters are world-class competitors with a deep love of the sport. "Haulers," as they are called, spend months at a time traveling from one cutting to the next with hopes of being the highest-earning competitor in their division, and thus a World Champion.Visit www.deere.com to learn more about the complete line of John Deere procucts. For more information about the NCHA, the World Championship Finals, Mary Jo Milner or any of the association's 1,400 shows call 817-244-6188 or visit www.nchacutting.com.