FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: CONTACT: Judy Mayes

817-244-6188

Canadian Tom Baxter Takes Home the Chevy Trucks/NCHA $10,000 Amateur Championship

Ogden, Utah (May 1, 2001)--Leaving his island home of Nanaimo, British Columbia to head south to the Golden Spike Arena proved to be a great trip for Tom Baxter. The air charter pilot won the Chevy Trucks/NCHA Western Nationals $10,000 Amateur contest, beating out twenty-five finalists riding his 9-year-old bay, Travel Mate, scoring 218 points. He was awarded a check for $2,828 from the total purse of $22,771 for the class. "My wife and I were entered here last year, and had so much fun we made sure we got invited back," said the new Champion.

Mandy Williams, 19, made a return visit to the Western Nationals. This time, to take the $10,000 Amateur Reserve Championship title aboard Docs Smokin Bandit with a 217-point score. She was victorious in 1999 becoming the Senior Youth Champion aboard "Bandit". Williams, who makes her home in Grantsville, Utah, earned a check for $2,332.

For nearly a decade, Chevy Trucks has been a corporate sponsor of the National Cutting Horse Association. As part of Chevy's relationship, a 2001 one-ton Chevy Duromax Diesel will be given away to one lucky cutting competitor entered in the event.

The Chevy Trucks / NCHA Western National Championships is an invitational event for top-ranking contestants, who have qualified in 11 divisions during NCHA regional competition. Qualifiers are eligible to show in the Western National Championship in Ogden and its sister event - the Chevy Trucks / NCHA Eastern National Championships, held in Jackson, Mississippi. Daily go-rounds begin at 8:00 a.m. each day until Saturday, May 5 at the Golden Spike Arena.

The sport of Cutting has roots in Western ranching traditions, where good horses were a necessity for everyday ranch work and cattle handling. "Cutting" horses specialized in their ability to separate or "cut" one cow from a herd of others, for branding, doctoring or shipping. The National Cutting Horse Association was formed in 1946 by a group of cowboys and ranchers, who wanted to promote cutting competitions, have standardize rules and preserve the cutting horse's Western heritage. Today, the Fort Worth based NCHA represents more than 12,000 members in 22 countries and oversees more than 1,400 NCHA-approved shows with more than $22 million in total prize money awarded annually.

For more information, please contact Judy Mayes at 817-244-6188, or visit the NCHA website at www.nchacutting.com