Huge increase in 4-year-old Open entries at 2003 Flowmaster / NCHA Super Stakes & Super Stakes Classic

Cutting begins April 2 at Will Rogers Coliseum in Fort Worth

(Fort Worth, TX) — Each of the 1,354 entries at the 2003 Flowmaster / National Cutting Horse Association Super Stakes & Super Stakes Classic is guaranteed one trip to the herd to compete. From there, the field will be whittled down through four rounds of competition until only the best of the best remain for the all-important finals round in each division.

The largest division in the second leg of the NCHA’s “Triple Crown” of cutting will be the Super Stakes Open, with 313 entries. Total entries for the four-year-old portion of the show, the Super Stakes, are 643. There will be 216 Non-Pro cutters and 114 Amateur cutters. An additional 88 entries come by way of the Super Stakes Limited classes.

The Super Stakes Classic portion of the cutting is for horses five and six years of age. There are 226 Classic Open entries, 202 Classic Non-Pro entries and 113 Classic Amateur entries, with another 62 in the Classic Limited divisions.

The event begins at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, April 2 and continues daily through Sunday, April 20. A complete daily schedule and list of classes is available on the NCHA website at www.nchacutting.com. Admission is free through April 18^th, and then tickets begin at just $5.

The Super Stakes is a show for only the offspring of nominated stallions. However, with 140 of the industry's top sires on the list of nominees, the show is far from "exclusive." Each stallion owner paid $3,500 to subscribe, the vast majority of which is added directly to the event’s purse. In addition, each Super Stakes entry paid a fee of $1,500 or more depending on the event division and time of payment, with a major part of that fee adding to the purse.

Flowmaster, a household name in car racing circles, is the title sponsor of the Super Stakes & Super Stakes Classic for the second year now. Over the past 19 years, Flowmaster's patented technology has also blazed new trails in the passenger car and tow vehicle markets. Their customers are saving 100 million gallons of fuel per year—a subject of increasing importance for everyone. Learn more about Flowmaster by visiting their booth in the Coors Light Trade Show during the cutting, or visit www.flowmastermufflers.com.

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.

For more information about the NCHA, the 2003 Flowmaster / NCHA Super Stakes & Super Stakes Classic, or the sport of cutting, please call 817-244-6188 or visit www.nchacutting.com.