John Deere / NCHA World Championship Finals
John Deere / NCHA World Finals Offers Record
$256,400
Fort Worth, TX
– Nothing tops the John Deere / NCHA World Championship Finals, held in the
Astroarena during Houston’s world famous Livestock Show & Rodeo, for drama
and excitement. But this year’s event, February 15 – 18, will be a blockbuster,
with a purse double the size of last year’s and showdowns for the title of
World Champion in both Open and Non-Pro divisions.
Less
than $2,500 separates number-one-ranked open horse Bet Yer Blue Boons, owned by
Oxbow Ranch of Weatherford, TX, and Dont Hava Cow, owned by Kay Floyd of
Stephenville, TX. Ridden throughout her career by Lindy Burch, 11-year-old Bet
Yer Blue Boons was recently installed into the NCHA Hall of Fame. Her lifetime
earnings of more than $296,000 place her among cutting’s 50 all-time leading
money earners; in 2000, alone, she won $57,817.
Dont Hava Cow, a
6-year-old mare ridden by Glen Blankenship, earned $55,453 in her quest for the
2000 World Championship title, and she still has a chance to topple Bet Yer
Blue Boons, if she earns enough money in the John Deere / NCHA World Finals.
Featuring the top 15 money earners in each (open and non-pro) division, the
John Deere / NCHA World Finals consists of four go-rounds. In a race as close
as this year’s open competition, and with a hefty $256,400 purse, the lead for
World Champion can change from day to day. If a horse wins all four go-rounds,
she or he will add a whopping $32,050 to their year-end total ($6,410 per
go-round plus the high cumulative average award).
Lindy Burch, one
of cutting’s Top 15 all-time leading riders, with more than $2.3 million,
earned primarily in limited age events, is seeking her first World Championship
title. Burch, however, is no stranger to Houston. In 1999, she shattered a
World Finals record, when she scored 233 points, topping the previous high mark
by 2 ½ points. The coup was one in a long list of accomplishments for Bet Yer
Blue Boons, whose dam, Royal Blue Boon, is cutting’s all-time leading producer.
Bet Yer Blue Boons
and Dont Hava Cow are both sired by Freckles Playboy, one of cutting’s all-time
leading sires, with nearly $19 million in foal earnings. Both Dont Hava Cow and
Freckles Playboy are owned by former Non-Pro World Champion Kay Floyd.
While the race
among non-pro competitors is not as close as the hotly contested open division,
Mary Jo Milner, currently ranked second (with $51,107), still has a chance to
bump Don Boone (with $62,172) out of the top spot. Milner’s husband and NCHA
President, Jim Milner, also has a shot at upsetting Boone. Jim is sitting in
third place with earnings of $41,353. The Milner’s, whose son Joey is also a Non-Pro
John Deere / NCHA World Finals competitor (currently ranked 11th),
live in Southlake, TX.
Don Boone, of West
Columbia, TX, has placed among Non-Pro Top Ten contenders eight times in the
last nine years and was Reserve Non-Pro World Champion in 1993. Mary Jo Milner
is a two-time Non Pro World Champion (1981 and 1986) and was Reserve World
Champion in 1973,1974, and 1978. Jim Milner was Non-Pro World Champion in 1974,
and Reserve Champion in 1977 and 1981. Fourth-ranked Debbie Patterson ($30,148)
is a three-time Non-Pro World Champion – 1987, 1995 and 1997; her father, the
late Pat Patterson, and brother, Kenny, are both former Open World Champions.
John Deere, the
title sponsor for the NCHA World Championship Finals, is the official
“equipment provider” for NCHA. Additional awards donors include Gist
Silversmiths, Billy Cook Saddles, Cowboy Tack, and Stetson Hats.
For more information about the National
Cutting Horse Association and/or the John Deere / NCHA World Championship
Finals, call the NCHA offices at (817) 244-6188 or visit the NCHA website at www.nchacutting.com. Or you can click
this link to go to the John Deere / NCHA
World Championship Finals information page for a schedule and list of
competitors.