Chiquita Pistol / Tag Rice claim their second Triple Crown jewel with Super Stakes 227

TR Dual Rey / Lloyd Cox cut for 221 points and Reserve title

(Fort Worth, TX) — Chiquita Pistol and Tag Rice won their second major title of the 2002-2003 National Cutting Horse Association Triple Crown of cutting this Easter Sunday in the 2003 Flowmaster / NCHA Super Stakes Open.

Only two horses in the history of the National Cutting Horse Association have ever been Triple Crown winners, but Chiquita Pistol and trainer Tag Rice are on course to be third. Rice rode the Smart Little Pistol mare to victory in the 2003 Chevy Trucks / NCHA Futurity in December, which is the first jewel of the Triple Crown. The duo’s 227-point work in the Super Stakes Open finals this evening left Will Rogers Coliseum buzzing, and put the rest of the 22-horse field on notice.

The score held, and Tooter Dorman’s mare won her second major NCHA-produced event. Dorman, of Oakwood, Texas, and Rice accepted a check for $98,996, a Sean Ryon trophy saddle, a Gist Silversmiths buckle, and a Flowmaster exhaust system. Rice also rode his own mare, Calie Del Rey, in the Open finals, for 217.5 points and sixth place.

Reserve Champion of the 2003 Flowmaster Super Stakes Open with 221 points was TR Dual Rey, ridden by Lloyd Cox. TR Dual Rey is a four-year-old Dual Rey stallion owned by Holmes & Rollins of Longmont, Colorado. TR Dual Rey and Cox earned $85,216 for their second-place finish. The classes’ total purse of $837,198 was split among 22 Open finalists.

The Open finals, were broadcast live on pay-per-view through Cowboy TV and Dish Network, and will be re-aired nine times in the next few weeks. Check your channel guide for dates and times, or visit the NCHA website at www.nchacutting.com.

The 2003 Flowmaster / NCHA Super Stakes & Super Stakes Classic cutting began at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, April 2 and continued 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.