(Fort Worth, TX) — The two ladies who battled hardest for glory in the Non-Professional division of the John Deere/National Cutting Horse Association World Championship Finals both won. Mary Jo Milner, Southlake, Texas, completed the four World finals rounds of cutting in Houston, Texas, for an additional $26,538 which pushed her 2001 NCHA earnings to $120,183. Milner was officially named the 2001 NCHA Non-Professional World Champion this evening.

The other tough female cutter who stepped up during the show took home the World Finals Championship. Amy Welch King, the granddaughter of legendary horseman and five-time NCHA Futurity Champion Buster Welch, won the John Deere/NCHA World Championship Finals average by just 1/2 point over Milner. In four rounds of cutting, plus the average payout of $6,410 for first place, Welch King picked up $25,640 in four days and moved from 10^th place in the 2001 NCHA Non-Pro World Standings all of the way up to 4^th with $51,840.

Welch King rode her 9-year-old CJ Sugar stallion, CJ Sugar Lena, for earnings of $26,200 at 46 shows before showing in Houston on February 14, 15, 16 and 17. The Baird, Texas, cutter won the first and second rounds, tied for seventh place in the third round, and was second in the fourth and final round, nearly doubling her whole year's earnings in just four days.

The drive of all of the World Finals competitors to succeed and to show the world what kind of horsepower they have is exactly what got them this far. To see how the competition progressed at this year's World Finals, visit the show's page inside www.nchacutting.com. The National Cutting Horse Association's top weekend cutters are world-class competitors with a deep love of the sport. "Haulers," as they are called, spend months at a time traveling from one cutting to the next with hopes of being the highest-earning competitor in their division, and thus a World Champion.

Visit www.deere.com to learn more about the complete line of John Deere procucts. For more information about the NCHA, the World Championship Finals, Mary Jo Milner or any of the association's 1,400 shows call 817-244-6188 or visit www.nchacutting.com.