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Boyd Rice of Spearman, Texas, warms up Third Cutting before he enters the pen for the 2009 NCHA Super Stakes open championship. Third Cutting is owned by Carl and Shawnea Smith. |
Two new winners were crowned April 19 at the 2009 Super Stakes. In the finals of the National Cutting Horse Association event, horses representing sires Boonlight Dancer and Athena Puddy Cat claimed victories in the open and non-pro divisions, respectively.
In the open division, Bill Riddle held the lead on Glenn and Debbie Drake’s Eyez On Me throughout the first set of cattle and well into the second set with a 219. The horse had won the semifinals with a 218.5 and looked solid in the pen.
Beau Galyean was eighth in the draw of the second set, riding the open NCHA Futurity winner Metallic Cat for Alvin Fults of Amarillo. The dynamic stallion by High Brow Cat dominated the cattle during his time in the ring, scoring a crowd-pleasing 226, a score that looked untouchable.
Boyd Rice, riding 10th in the working order, mentioned to his wife that between 219 and 226 was plenty of room.
“She said, ‘Yeah, but there’s a lot more above it,’” Rice said with a laugh.
Rice rode Third Cutting by Boonlight Dancer into the herd, and each cow built on the next for a run that had the crowd screaming for more. The judges gave it a 230, a score Rice has never seen before, and the Super Stakes win.
The victory was sweet for owners Carl and Shawnea Smith, Jacksboro, Texas. Third Cutting originally was intended as an amateur ride for Carl Smith. After a week of training, Rice called Smith and told him to start looking for another amateur horse, because Third Cutting was meant for the open arena.
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Megan Miller celebrates with her parents, AQHA Past President Frank and Robin Merrill, after winning the 2009 NCHA Super Stakes non-pro title on Itawtathenapuddycat. |
In the non-pro, Megan Miller scored her second title of the Super Stakes. On April 7, she won the classic non-pro
division with Travs Scooter, a mare trained and previously shown by Miller’s husband, Matt.
On April 19, she returned in the non-pro finals with Itawtathenapuddycat by Athena Puddy Cat. A tough set of cattle had gotten the best of most of the other riders, but Lindy Ashlock on Rey Nounce had scored a 219.
Miller worked fourth in the second set of cattle, scoring a matching 219 that held up through the end of the event. She was giving interviews, talking about how happy she was to be co-champion, when the announcer called a corrected score. After a judges’ review, Itawtathenapuddycat had a 219.5, and Miller had sole possession of the title.
“It’s been a dream show, for sure,” Miller said. “A dream come true of mine. I can’t hardly believe it, really.
“This has been a special horse. He has done really well all year with Matt,” she said. “He has gotten better and better with every go-round. I feel like he’s getting stronger and stronger as he gets older.”
For more about the Super Stakes, see the June issue of The American Quarter Horse Journal.
