The two horse and rider combinations that rose to the top in round one, Dulces Smart Lena / Phil Rapp and Hes A Peptospoonful / Brad Vaughn, used round two to verify that they are here to win. Each horse laid down runs worth 223.5 points in round one. Today, Rapp rode the Smart Little Lena stallion owned by Dulces Smart Lena Syndicate in Parks, Arizona, for another 219 points. Those 442.5 points put them in the lead after two rounds, but will not count in the clean-slate semi-finals or the clean-slate finals. Rapp is from Weatherford, Texas.

Vaughn followed up on the 223.5-point first round he had aboard Hes A Peptospoonful with an additional 218 points. Hes A Peptospoonful was ridden by Vaughn at the 2001 Futurity, and has since been purchased by David and Stacie McDavid of Fort Worth, Texas. Vaughn is from Lincoln, California, and the Hes A Peptospoonful is a stallion sired by Peptoboonsmal.

The top score of the day, though, was marked by John Mitchell riding Hope Justice's Peptoboonsmal mare, Freckles Lena Boon. Justice rode the mare to first place in the 2002 Flowmaster / NCHA Super Stakes Non-Pro last weekend and today, Mitchell marked 222 points on the 4-year-old roan mare.

The Super Stakes Open semi-finals will begin tomorrow afternoon at 3 p.m. From there, the top 30 horses will qualify to cut for their share of $704,458 in the finals on Sunday, April 21. Tickets are still available for the cutting on Saturday and Sunday.

The 2002 Flowmaster / NCHA Super Stakes & Super Stakes Classic cutting will continue through Sunday, April 21, and pay out an estimated $2.2 million over the course of the show. Entries for the 2002 edition of the annual spring Fort Worth show have jumped an incredible 7 percent from last year's number, from 1,235 entries in 2001 to 1,328 entries in 2002. The $2.2 million purse is a record payout for the Super Stakes & Super Stakes Classic show, which dates back to 1981.

Favorites from the 2001 NCHA World Championship Futurity will be returning for a second shot at a major win at Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum in the Super Stakes. They will be joined by a host of other 4-year-old potential champions in seven divisions. Meanwhile, the 5- and 6-year-old horses -- many of which have built outstanding records -- will compete in three divisions of their own. All told, 10 champions will be crowned during the 2002 Flowmaster / NCHA Super Stakes & Super Stakes Classic.

The Super Stakes is a show for only the offspring of nominated stallions. However, with 137 of the industry's top sires on the list of nominees, the show is far from "exclusive." The Super Stakes is for 4-year-old cutting horses and the Super Stakes Classic portion of the show is for horses aged 5 and 6 years old.

In addition to the hefty checks that will be distributed, winners will also receive awards from NCHA sponsors like Gist silversmiths, Cowboy Tack, M.L. Leddy's, Flowmaster, Walls, and Cinch jeans.

Flowmaster, the title sponsor of the 18-day April cutting, is a household name in car racing circles. The company came on board as an NCHA sponsor this fall. Over the past 18 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.

The sport of cutting has evolved into a thriving industry with members of many backgrounds. From CEOs to cattle raisers to former rodeo stars and professional athletes, National Cutting Horse Association members find a common thread in one of the most challenging, exhilarating and exciting sports in the world -- riding good cutting horses.

For more information about the Flowmaster / NCHA Super Stakes & Super Stakes Classic, the history of the sport or how to become an NCHA member, please call 817-244-6188 or visit www.nchacutting.com.