FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: Judy Mayes

817-244-6188

The Smith Family Continues A Winning Streak As Greg Smith Wins The Chevy Trucks/NCHA Western $3000 Novice Championship

Ogden, Utah (April, 29, 2001)-- It was two of a kind at the Chevy Trucks/NCHA Western $3000 Novice Championship at the Golden Spike Arena as Dual Play Lena came out on top again with an impressive score of 222 with Greg Smith riding. Kade Smith, his son, had just won the junior youth championships on Saturday night on the five-year-old Dual Pep gelding. The two from Hailey, Idaho have already won over $5000 this week on Dual Play Lena which is owned by Gina MacDonald from Ketchum, Idaho. Smith's cutting career has garnered him NCHA lifetime earnings of over $340,000. The Cutting finalists in this class were competing for a purse of over $21,000.

Coming in close behind to capture Reserve Champion was Josh Sleeman on Saucy Lil Playgirl with a 221. The mare is a seven-year-old Freckles Playboy mare. Phillip Johnson, the horse's owner, from Enumclaw, Washington was excited for his horse to win a major NCHA show and to take home a check for $2623. Josh hails from Yelm, Washington, and has accumulated NCHA lifetime earnings of over $35,000.

For nearly a decade, Chevy Trucks has been a corporate sponsor of the National Cutting Horse Association. As part of Chevy's relationship, a 2001 one-ton Chevy Duromax Diesel will be given away to one lucky cutting competitor entered in the event.

The Chevy Trucks / NCHA Western National Championships is an invitational event for top-ranking contestants, who have qualified in 11 divisions during NCHA regional competition. Qualifiers are eligible to show in the Western National Championship in Ogden and its sister event - the Chevy Trucks / NCHA Eastern National Championships, held in Jackson, Mississippi. Daily go-rounds begin at 8:00 a.m. each day until Saturday, May 5 at the Golden Spike Arena.

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 competitions, have standardize rules and preserve the cutting horse's Western heritage. Today, the Fort Worth based NCHA represents more than 12,000 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, please contact Judy Mayes at 817-244-6188, or visit the NCHA website at www.nchacutting.com