NCHA and Cowboy Publishing Group give cutters $250,000
more reason to show their four-year-old horses in NCHA competition
New Western Horseman Cup Series presented during 41st Futurity
(Fort Worth, TX) – The National Cutting Horse Association World Championship Futurity has a well earned reputation as the launching pad for spectacular cutting horses. This week it also launched a spectacular new program that will recognize and reward top aged event competitors to the tune of $250,000.
W.S. Morris III and NCHA Executive Director Jeff Hooper unveiled the Western Horseman Cup to competitors and cutting enthusiasts on Tuesday afternoon at the Futurity. The innovative program organizes existing aged events across North America into seasons, culminating in a quarter-million dollar showdown to be held at the Augusta Futurity in January 2004.
Morris, whose Cowboy Publishing Group publishes Western Horseman Magazine and Quarter Horse News and operates the equine web destination Horsecity.com, told cutters, “I think this is one of the most exciting things that has happened in this industry in a long time.
“Here is a tremendous example of something the NCHA is doing for all of the shows throughout our nation that have $10,000 in added money or more, in bringing together a year-round world championship show with $250,000 of extra added money at the end of the season.”
The program for four-year-olds of 2003, detailed in the December Cutting Horse Chatter and other industry publications, and on the NCHA website at www.nchacutting.com/news/whcup_details.pdf, embraces all NCHA-approved limited age event shows with $10,000 in added money. The year is divided into the Quarter Horse News Spring Season, the Horsecity.com Summer Season, and the WesternHorseman.com Fall Season, with the top open horses and non-pro riders from each season qualifying for the finals to be held in conjunction with the 2004 Augusta Futurity.
“This is a quarter of a million dollars in real added money coming into the sport,” Hooper said. “And with our partnership with Western Horseman, Horsecity.com and Quarter Horse News, we will be able to reach a lot of people with news about the sport of cutting.
“The Western Horseman Cup gives people from all over the country an opportunity. You can stay within your own region of the country and still qualify for an opportunity for a big payday in Augusta the following January.
“Now the existing shows are packaged in a season that gives us a means to promote a lot of our riders and non-pros and horse owners. It really gives us an important tool to help sell the sport year round.
“If you look at any other major league sports, they have seasons and they have championships, and that’s what we have here. When you get to that championship event and you ride down to the herd with one shot to make $50,000, that’s going to be a big deal. Everybody is going to give it all they’ve got.
“The Western Horseman Cup gives us a great opportunity to have a televised event for cutting that doesn’t take three weeks to culminate in the championship. It’s all right there at the finals: these are stars from throughout the year.”
The sport of cutting has roots in Western ranching traditions, where good horses were a necessity for everyday ranch work and cattle handling. 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 horses' Western heritage. Today, the Fort Worth-based NCHA represents over 14,000 people and oversees more than 1,400 NCHA-approved shows with more than $26 million in total prize money awarded annually. To learn more about the Western Horseman Cup, NCHA-approved limited age events, the sport of cutting or the National Cutting Horse Association, please call 817-244-6188 or visit www.nchacutting.com.