Super Stakes Classic Non-Pro finals feature 40 of the best riders and horses in event

Mary Ann Rapp qualifies 3 horses for SSC Non-Pro finals

(Fort Worth, TX) — Wednesday’s Classic Non-Professional finals in the 2003 Flowmaster / National Cutting Horse Association Super Stakes & Super Stakes Classic will feature 40 of the sport’s best Non-Professional riders on 40 of the sport’s top 5 and 6-year-old horses.

Leading the pack with the highest score, and also the most horses going back to the finals, is Mary Ann Rapp of Weatherford, Texas. Rapp, who has been showing quite successfully in aged events for many years, qualified three horses for the Super Stakes Classic Non-Pro finals: Straightshot Playgun, Amanda Stargun, and Playin CDs.

Rapp rode Straightshot Playgun for a grand total of 436.5 points after two rounds, giving her the highest cumulative score going into the finals. However, none of the 40 riders’ scores will make any difference for Wednesday evening’s clean-slate finals round, where $545,355 will be divided.

Glade Knight of Richmond, Virginia, rode Playin N Fancy Peppy for the second-highest score after two rounds of 435.5 points. Other riders who qualified two horses for the Classic Non-Pro finals are: Dean Sanders of Anderson, Texas; Dustin Adams of Logandale, Nevada; and Bucki James of Purcell, Oklahoma.

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