FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
From the NATIONAL CUTTING HORSE ASSOCIATION
CONTACT: Amy Vorhes 817-683-7807
Mary Jo Milner breaks $100,000 with Round Three win in Non-Pro
That Cool Cat/Kobie Wood return for second Open win
(Fort Worth, TX) — The Open field was completed with 15 entries for this evening's performance. JB Fletch, owned and ridden by Kelly Graham, joined the other 14 Open horses invited to compete at the 2001 John Deere/NCHA World Championship Finals.
The third round was won, though, by That Cool Cat, ridden by Kobie Wood for Jennifer and Joe Montana of Calistoga, California. Wood tied for the Round Two win in the Open, but went to the herd for 224.5 points and the win in Saturday evening's cutting.
Owner Joe Montana is, of course, the NFL superstar quarterback. Five-time rider of NCHA Open World Champions, Wood has trained several horses for Joe and his wife over the years. That Cool Cat is a 7-year-old High Brow Cat stallion that now has NCHA earnings in 2001 of $37,020.
The lead in the 2001 John Deere/NCHA World Championship Finals Open average is held by Allen Crouch riding Lee Garner's mare, Harriott Playgirl with 674 points after three rounds. Meanwhile, That Cool Cat is second in the average with 667 points. Ken Sitton's gelding, Rosies Lena, will officially be named the 2001 NCHA Open World Champion cutting horse on February 17.
Mary Jo Milner used her Round Three win at the John Deere/NCHA World Championship Finals to break the $100,000 barrier in 2001 NCHA earnings riding her 14-year-old Smart Little Lena/Royal Blue Boon gelding, Red White And Boon. Mary Jo Milner is the reigning 2000 NCHA Non-Professional World Champion cutter, and will be officially crowned the 2001 Champion on Sunday evening.
Milner now leads the Non-Professional standings by $48,231 with $108,645 in total winnings this year. The field includes her son, Joey, who is in second place, as well as her husband, Jim, currently holding third position in the NCHA Non-Professional World Standings.
Amy Welch King, who won Round One and Round Two in Houston, is holding the lead in the show's average by one point over Mary Jo Milner.
The drive of all of the World Finals competitors to succeed and to show the world the what kind of horsepower they have is exactly what got them this far, and it is this drive that means there will be exciting competition in Reliant Arena every evening from February 14 through February 17 for the John Deere/NCHA World Championship Finals.
Tickets for the 2001 John Deere/NCHA World Championship Finals are availabe at the HLSR box office. The event highlights will also be broadcast on OLN at 7 pm ET on March 24, and again at 11 pm ET that same evening.
The National Cutting Horse Association's weekend cutters who advance to the World Finals are dedicated 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 or any of the association's 1,400 shows call 817-244-6188 or visit www.nchacutting.com.