Jim Babcock has been at the top of the Bayer Select World Championship Show heap in cutting before.

 In 2004, with Chicks Achy Braky, Jim was world champion, and he brought “Achy” this year to the Bayer Select World. But he also brought a newcomer, a 2000 bay mare named A Captive Heart, and when the dust settled and the cattle were cleared from the arena, Jim was world champion with a new partner and Achy was in the top 10.

“The younger mare is a new mare for me that I’ve been showing for a year or so,” Jim said. “She’s by another young stud that we have on the ranch called Captain Nice. She’s been cool for me all year, and I’ve had a lot of fun with her, so it’s pretty special to have two of your breeding program horses here and come through for you like that.”

Just six weeks ago, Jim broke a couple of ribs. When he stepped in the saddle for the preliminaries, it was the first time he had ridden since the injury, but he still managed to qualify both his horses for the finals. On Sunday, Jim was still a little out of practice, so he let the horses do the work.

Jim Babcock makes a cut on A Captive Heart during the Bayer Select World Championship Show.

“I wasn’t really happy with the way I started the run in the beginning,” he said. “My first cut wasn’t as smooth as it should have been, but I came back the second and third cut and had a great second cow that really gave (A Captive Heart) a chance to play and do what she knows how to do. I was kind of in her road in the beginning, but after I got loose and turned her loose, it was really good then.

“Truthfully, when I left home, I thought both horses were capable of winning if I could just stay out of their way. I had lots of horsepower, they’re real cow smart and real confident, and that’s a big thing in cutting horses – if they’re confident and cow smart, they’ll get through if you just don’t get in their road.”

Jim was a little nervous because his parents, Jean and Ross Babcock, were in the audience, as well as his fiancée, Gita Crane, who helped him prepare. He also had his neighbor, Josh Townsend, keeping his cutters in shape, and Ward Ferch keeping his reiners in training.

“I think this is a great horse show,” he said. “Everybody wants everybody else to do well, and it’s just a fun place to be. I’ve got a lot of people to thank."