FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SMOOTH SAILING FOR RYAN SMITH

The next-to-last draw didn’t matter to Ryan Smith. The teen-ager, riding Sailor Poco Doc owned by his parents, Ronnie and Cindy Smith of Royce City, Texas, drew 33^rd out of 34 competitors in his run for the Amateur championship. When Smith rode to the herd, he demonstrated he knew exactly how to play the game.

Cutting deep for his first cow, Smith brought out a large group of cattle, sized them up and selected a Charolais for his first cut. The cow, however, circled frantically in the arena rather than challenging Sailor Poco Doc in a working situation.

Undaunted, Smith quit the first cow and returned to the herd with 1.22 seconds left on the clock, again cutting deep to bring out a red baldy which turned out to be a good selection. With 41 seconds left on the clock, Sailor Poco Doc went to work holding the cow in the middle of the arena until only a few seconds remained on the clock. Smith immediately returned to the herd and determined to cut his 3^rd cow, he chipped one standing on the edge of the herd, set it up with lightning speed and worked it for a second or two before the buzzer sounded. The work won him the championship score of 222 and a check for $5093.00

Prior to Smith’s winning run, Mike Sanders, riding Little Annies Pep, had marked a scored of 220, the closest score to Smith’s winning 222 run. Sanders, drawing 1^st in the 2^nd bunch of cattle cut a black baldy that, at first, refused to separate from a red cow. Rather than lose his self-control, Sander waited patiently, demonstrating he had nerves of steel. His patience won out. Sanders then worked 3 cows in a controlled run that earned him the reserve championship and a check for $4,878.

The 34 finalists were the top competitors from the first go-round of the Amateur 5 &6 year old division. The go-round featured 148 horses competing for a total purse of $70,069. The NCHA Summer Spectacular, a go-round and finals event for 4, 5 & 6-year-old horses, got under way July 13 at the Fort Worth Will Rogers Coliseum. During the 18-day show, which will end July 31, over 1000 competitors will compete for more than $1,200,000.

Next week, July 22-July 30, features cutting competitions on 4-year-old horses with open competitors, non-professional competitors and amateur competitors showing. Daily go-rounds are free beginning each morning at 8:00 a.m. The ticketed final performances on July 29 and July 30 are only $5.00 for general admission and $8.00 for reserved seating.

For more information on the NCHA and The Summer Spectacular, call (817) 244-6188 or visit the NCHA website at www.nchacutting.com.