The NCHA World Championships wrapped up in Amarillo, Texas on February 20, 2006.
(Fort Worth, TX)—As the curtain dropped on the 2005 NCHA World Championship Finals, 11 new riders were crowned World Champions.
Bobs Hickory Rio and rider Boyd Rice ended their winning season scoring 227 on the final night to claim the 2005 NCHA Open World Championship. “I’d already won it, but I just wanted to show everybody what I had,” said Rice, who concluded the year with a total of $102,045.13 on the Bob Acre Doc son, owned by the James Kenney Horse Trust.
The win was bittersweet as James Kenney, 91, had just passed away on February 9th. “I sure wish he had been here,“ said Rice. “He sure loved that horse. He always waited for me to call and tell him what he had done.”
Mr. Kenney succumbed to injuries from a fall, and was buried in Del Rio, Texas on February 13th. Joe Howard Williamson, 2004 Non-Pro World Champion, officiated. Word from the funeral was that the focus was on the kind of man that Mr. Kenney was more than his earnings and accomplishments. Mary Jo Milner, seven-time Non-Pro World Champion, said of Kenney, “When I heard of James’ passing, I thought it was sad. But to make a difference in people’s lives and be a good example like that means more than the win.”
Kenney was a NCHA Hall of Fame member who ranked among the NCHA Open Top 10 in 1958 and 1959 aboard Joe’s Last, and again in 1966 on Jose Uno, who became NCHA World Champion in 1969 under Roy Huffaker. Kenney won the 1968 Futurity on the Jose Uno daughter, Uno Princess.
Kenney purchased the eight year-old Bobs Hickory Rio when the horse was two, and sent him to the late John Add Creacy, son of longtime friends, Lank and Eva Creacy. John Add showed the stallion successfully in limited age events. When John Add died unexpectedly at the Abilene Spectacular in 2002, his father, Lank Creacy, took over the horse. Boyd Rice started riding him in 2004 and won the $10,000 Novice World Finals on him last year.
“John Add and his dad did an exceptional job, “ said Rice. “It didn’t take long for us to get used to each other and we were ready to go. This horse is real easy to work with and he looks good on any cow you cut.” Total 2005 earnings for Bobs Hickory Rio amounted to $102,045.
Mary Jo Milner of Southlake, Texas, has won more World Championship titles than any other Open or Non-Pro rider. On February 18, 2006, she earned her seventh Non-Pro World Champion’s trophy, and her husband, Jim Milner, claimed the Non-Pro Reserve Championship title.
“I really wanted this,” said Mary Jo, who rode Red White And Boon, the roan gelding who also was ridden by the Milner’s granddaughter, Jordan, who won the 2005 Senior Youth World Championship. “I liked the idea of seven,” said Mary Jo. “It’s a complete number in the Bible – a good number.”
Jim Milner won reserve on Lethecatin, a nine year-old gelding out of High Brow Cat. Mary Jo had ridden this gelding in last year’s world finals while Red White And Boon was injured.
“Last year was a good year, too,” noted Mary Jo, who finished as Non-Pro Reserve World Champion to winner Joe Howard Williamson. “I was so inspired that Jim would let me show his horse. This sport brings out the best in people. People in this industry are just good people.”
Mary Jo’s other World championship titles were won in 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1986 and 1981, (when Jim was also Reserve Champion). Jim Milner won the Non-Pro World Championship in 1974, and was also Reserve Champion in 1977. Mary Jo was also Reserve World Champion in 1974 and 1973. Joey Milner, Jordan’s father, was Non-Pro Reserve World Champion in 2001 and 2002. Cutting accomplishments abound in the Milner family.
“I don’t really have a goal for this year,” said Mary Jo. “Sometimes you just do what feels right and go where it’s fun. Laurie (Milner, Jordan’s mother) is showing in the $50,000. We think we’ll have Joey baby-sit and go some in the $50,000 and I’ll show a young horse.”
Jordan’s brother, Jake, 13, was 2005 Junior Youth Reserve World Champion, and younger brother, Jett, 10, may have the chance to ride Red White And Boon occasionally this year, according to his grandmother. Cutting is truly a family sport.
$20,000 Non-Professional
Cody Hedlund, who is a 15-year old high school student from Acampo, California, scored high in the $20,000 Non-Pro World Finals to clinch his standing as 2005 World Champion with $21,885.
“I was feeling some pressure,” said Cody, who came into the World Finals with the lead. “Lisa (Taylor) was right on my heels in the first go-round.” But Cody won the first go-round
with 222.5 points, took the second with 224, and the third with 218.5. “It was a blast,” said Cody, who noted that his father, trainer Rock Hedlund, advised him to “just go down there and cut clean, and not try to chase anything in the corners.”
Cody’s horse was Shut Up And Cut, who is a 10-year-old gelding sired by Slip Down Lena. His parents gave him the horse as a Christmas present in 2004. Cody’s mother, Landy, also rides
the gelding in Non-Pro competition. “His nickname is Hotshot and he lopes really fast when he’s fresh,” said Cody, who is ranked fourth among 2005 NCHA Senior Youth World competitors.
Cody’s father, Rock Hedlund, was $3,000 Novice World Champion in 2003 aboard Little Bitty CD, and Reserve World Champion the same year and in the same division on Flites Riata Doc. Landy Hedlund was $20,000 Non-Pro World Champion in 1998.
$50,000 Amateur division
Suzanne Rodoni-Silverberg edged out the Reserve Champion, Lica Pinkston, by almost $10,000 to win the championship. “This was a goal that we had set,” said Rodoni-Silverberg, with the assistance of long-time friends Ginger and Chubby Turner. “I wanted to focus on aged event horses, but everybody told me that to really learn the sport and step up as fast as I could, I needed to spend a year hauling.”
Ms. Rodoni-Silverberg lives in Soquel, California, but kept her gelding, 1995 NCHA Non-Pro Futurity champion Brigapep, in Texas. She focused on the $50,000 Amateur division, while also riding High Style Travalin on the West Coast. She and trainer, Scott Weis, both qualified that mare for the finals of the 2005 Super Stakes Classic.
“That was my team,” said Rodoni-Silverberg of her horses. “Between the two of them, they have about $500,000 in earnings by now.”
$10,000 Amateur
Lisa Taylor from Pilot Point, Texas, was leading Lynn Davis by a small margin coming into the competition in the $10,000 Amateur division of the NCHA World Finals. “We knew it was going to be down to the wire,” said Taylor, who was just about $500 ahead of Davis. “I was so nervous my knees were shaking. I was just scared to death,” said Taylor.
Taylor rode SR Shortening, a thirteen year-old gelding out of Shorty Lena, and former Non-Pro Super Stakes champion, to pass Davis by $591. Last week she rode a mare owned by her husband, Pat, to win the $20,000 Non-Pro World Championship.
In reference to the $10,000 Amateur win, Taylor said, “My little horse got kind of tired. He made six runs and they were awesome. But, he wasn’t as good (today) as he has been.” It was Taylor’s sixteen year-old mare, Visalena, who carried her through most of 2005. “She got all the checks, except for six or eight,” explained Taylor, whose background is in western pleasure and who has only been cutting for less than two years.
Lisa helps in the family-owned business of Paul Taylor Saddle Shop, and plans to ride her pleasure horses again. They have a two year-old son, Tyler.
“I think the hardest thing (to learn about cutting) was to let loose and not squeeze,” she said. “I still squeeze. I squeezed my horse the whole time I was riding today.”
$2,000 Limited Rider
Tammy Bouget, from Branch, Louisiana, and wife of Boe Bouget, has been showing cutting horses for two years. She rode ten year-old WR Molly San Badger, by Haidas San Badger, in the Finals. “I rode about eight different horses,” said Bouget. “It was challenging, but fun. It really taught me to think and ride a lot better.”
Erin Robbins rode Our Little Dually, and was ranked second in the $2,000 Limited Rider division. Of Tammy Bouget, she said, “Tammy is a very dear friend of mine. She did a lot more hauling than I did; she deserved it.”
$10,000 Novice Horse/Non-Professional
Laura Fenimore, 16, of Bend, Oregon, and her mare, Tangy Starlight, came away from the finals to secure the 10,000 Novice/Non-Pro World Championship, beating out her closest competitors, Bill Burton, aboard Captain Scrumpy, and Robert Fullwood on Zacked. Fenimore scored 219 and 220 in the first two go-rounds.
“This week was special because yesterday was the date that my mom died, and today would have been my mom and dad’s anniversary,” noted Laura. Randy, Laura’s father, is passionate about cutting, and her sister, Carrie, also shows.
Laura bought Tangy Starlight when the mare was six and had $1,500 in earnings. “When I got her she was really green,” said Fenimore. It’s been a learning experience all the way. But it’s neat to have come so far. This last year, anything I would ask her to do, she would do it.”
$3,000 Novice Horse
Trainer Donnie O’Brien, and Owner Dean Terry scored big with two championships in their first run at the World. In the $10,000 Novice, their horse, Smart Play Who won the World Championship title, and then on February 20th, O’Brien rode the mare, Lena Brow, owned by Dean Terry, to the $3,000 Novice World Championship. The road to this title, however, had not been easy.
“She was out of shape and when we started showing, we got all messed up,” admitted O’Brien. “She and I weren’t even jiving. But after four or five months, we finally started clicking and she was great. There were a lot of stretches where I marked a lot of big scores on her.”
O’Brien bought Lena Brow, a High Brow Hickory daughter, from former World Champion Robert Rust, who had shown her at the NCHA Futurity. “I was at Robert’s, and he showed me the mare and said that he’d pay me to start showing her and try to sell her for him,” said O’Brien. “That’s how it all got started. And I loved that mare from the beginning.” That was when the mare was a four year-old.
“She was green when we started last year,” said O’Brien. “I just kind of trained her as we went along. By the time summer got here, she was doing well. The last three days of the season, she marked 76, 75, and 74 with two wins and a second at Silverado. She’s tough.”
“I’ve ridden horses for Dean Terry for ten or twelve years,” explained O’Brien. “We both wanted to do it and with good help and good horses, it kept working and working for us.”
$10,000 Novice Horse
Less than $600 separated Smart Play Who, ridden by Don O’Brien and owned by Dean Terry of DeSoto, Missouri, and Sprats Dualin Jewel at the beginning of the World Finals. But, Smart Play Who came through in the last round to claim the $10,000 Novice World Championship.
“I’ve cut for 20 years and this is the first time I’ve ever hauled,” said O’Brien, who rides the horse. “It started going well and we just kept going.” Chubby Turner rode Sprats Dualin Jewel to the Reserve Championship of the $10,000 World Finals. “Chubby and I had a great race. It was a lot of fun. He helped me so much, you would have thought I was in a different division instead of his. He was a little bit ahead, but yesterday I was fortunate enough to pull away to where he was going to have to do something big tonight. And, he ended up getting a bad cow.”
O’Brien has had Smart Play Who, a seven year-old stallion, in his barn since the horse was three, and had been showing him in limited age events. He also qualified the horse for the Open Finals.
“He’s always been good, and he was well-seasoned because of the aged events,” O’Brien said. “We were able to make a lot of hard runs that were consistent because of that, and he held up good. My favorite thing about him is the way he stops and moves. He’s just like a Cadillac – comfortable to ride. And it’s hard for a cow to trick him.”
Chubby Turner was happy for O’Brien. “He’s been there helping me all the way, “ he said. “I just want to congratulate him on the great job he’s done all year.”
Jordan Milner, a high school sophomore from Southlake, Texas, came to the World Finals competition with a significant lead over second-placed Tarin Rice. Jordan rode Dual Rey Me, the limited age event champion owned by Candace and Jeremy Barwick, and on the three go-rounds scored 224, 221.5 and 225 points, claiming the show championship as well as the World championship.
There are impressive accomplishments by Jordan’s two horses. Mary Jo Milner rode Red White And Boon to four consecutive Non-Pro World Championship titles (2000-2003), and was one of her horses when she was 2004 Reserve World Champion. Dual Rey Me was both last year’s NCHA Non-Pro Classic/Challenge winner and placed reserve in the Open Classic/Challenge, and was the 2004 $10,000 and $3,000 World Champion. “It’s awesome,” said Jordan, the granddaughter of Mary Jo and Jim Milner, who are ranked first and second respectively in the Non-Pro standings. “This year I got to show, in my book, two of the best horses – Red White And Boon and Dual Rey Me. It’s a great honor to show these two horses and I feel very privileged.”
Jordan set her goals early last year, after placing as Junior Youth Reserve Champion in 2004. “Last year, when I was Reserve, Jeremy (Barwick) told me that we were going to win the World next year, said Jordan. “So we accomplished that. It’s really exciting.”
Cutting is a family sport for Jordan and brother, Jake, 13, who finished the year as Junior Youth Reserve World Champion. Their father, Joey, is currently ranked 14th among the Non-Pro leaders, and mother, Laurie, keeps the family on course and drives them to the cuttings.
Winning the Senior Youth championship the same year that her grandparents are ranked first and second, has special meaning for Jordan. “My grandparents are always there for me, and Grandma let me show Red White And Boon with no hesitation. I listen to her a lot, “ she said. “We both have a lot of the same mind set. We’re both very competitive and like to do everything right. So whenever she tells me something, I take it to heart.”
Ty Moore, a freshman from Madill, Oklahoma, could not be beat in Amarillo for the Junior Youth World Championship. The former Junior Youth Rookie of the Year finished with a flourish. Ty scored 222 points in the final round of the Junior Youth division. “I really didn’t get nervous,” said Ty. “I don’t get too worried about anything. You’re going to have some downfalls. Just keep on trying.”
Ty decided the timing was right when he found himself among the leaders at the beginning of 2005. “This is my last year in the Junior Youth, and I had a good horse,” he explained. His main mount last year, the same as at the World Finals, was eight year-old Zack Be Quick, by Zack T Wood. “She’s real bright on a cow, and she’s strong,” said Ty, who has also been competitive this year in limited age events on Nurse Hen and Strong And Stylish.
Family friend Bradley Rogers, and Kathleen Moore, Ty’s aunt, introduced him to cutting. Most of his waking hours are spent riding horses. “It was long, but it was fun,” said Ty of his hauling last year.
The sport of cutting has roots in Western ranching traditions, where good horses were a necessity for everyday ranch work and cattle handling. The National Cutting Horse Association was formed in 1946 by a group of cowboys and ranchers, who wanted to promote cutting competition, standardize rules and preserve the cutting horses' Western heritage. Today, the Fort Worth-based NCHA represents over 16,000 people and oversees more than 2,200 NCHA-approved shows with more than $35 million in total prize money awarded annually. For more information about the NCHA or the sport of cutting, please call 817-244-6188 or visit www.nchacutting.com.