Don Pooley, who won the 2002 NCHA World Championship on Quixote Mac, took an unheralded 9-year-old gelding and outperformed some of cutting’s top performers in the Open finals of the $25,000-added Mercuria NCHA World Series at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo on Superbowl Sunday.

On paper, with earnings of just over $24,000, Peppys Shorty Nino might have looked overshadowed in a field with combined earnings of more than $2 million. But Pooley posted a 222 for a 2-point win over Steve Oehlhof on Missy Rosenberg’s Justa Lil Freck. In doing so, Pooley’s career earnings passed the million-dollar mark, qualifying him for the NCHA Riders Hall of Fame.

Peppys Shorty Nino is a son of Peppys Boy 895 and Suggie Shorty owned by Larry and Alice Irvin. His biggest previous payday came when Mary Louise Irvin made the finals of the 2007 NCHA Amateur Classic Challenge with him.

“This is a real nice horse, but he hasn’t been shown a whole lot,” said Pooley. “Dennis Funderburgh trained this horse and did a super job. I wish everything in the barn came from Dennis Funderburgh. They’re super horses.

“I love the format (of the World Series). This is the best thing they’ve done for weekend cutting in a long time.”

Most of Julie Hansma’s $1.1 million in career earnings have come in aged events, but her personal best score of 226 on Al Poocino tonight in the Non-Pro finals of the Mercuria NCHA World Series of Cutting at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo strengthened her respect for weekend cutters.

“When I came out, I said I felt like Paula Wood, because she marks those scores all the time and I don’t, so that was very exciting for me,” Hansma said.

Hansma, who made the top 15 in last year’s Non-Pro standings and rode Al Poocino in the World Finals, added, “He’s always been ready to do that, but I haven’t had the confidence to ask him to be all that he can be. It had nothing to do with him being an underachiever, it was the pilot.

“Being primarily an aged event person, I didn’t have any idea how difficult the weekend shows are. It was good to sit and think about it over Christmas, and then be ready to go and put together everything that I’ve been unhappy with, and things that I’ve learned. It’s been a great experience.”

Hansma’s daughter, Cade won the scholarship cutting at San Antonio, marking 224 on Reytheon.

Megan Miller, Pooleville, TX, scored 219 points today on Starlight Scootie to win $14,112 as champion of the Tunica Non-Pro Futurity. Just a few hours earlier, with 217.5 points aboard Snoop Cat, Miller also collected $13,034 as reserve champion of the Tunica Non-Pro Classic.

Sasha Thompson, Buffalo, TX, scored 225 points on Miss Play Reyco to win the Tunica Non-Pro Classic and Armando Costa Neto marked 217 points as reserve champion of the Tunica Non-Pro Futurity on Arosesuchaclatter.

Starlight Scootie carried Miller to place fifth in the NCHA Non-Pro Futurity, and also 13th in the Abilene Spectacular non-pro division. The Smart Lil Scoot daughter was purchased as a yearling at the NCHA Futurity Sales by Matt Miller, Megan’s husband, who was a 2010 Tunica Futurity and Classic finalist on Smooth Going Cat and  Itawhatathenapuddycat, respectively.

Brad Rogers, Madill, OK, won the Tunica Amateur Futurity aboard Hot Aristocrat; Chris Thibodeaux scored 221 points to claim the Tunica Amateur Classic riding A Peppy Little Widow.

Click here for complete results with pedigrees.

Tonight’s widely promoted HBO special Temple Grandin draws interest from a wide audience, including cattlemen and ranchers. Born with autism, Grandin, author, PhD and Professor of Animal Science at CSU, used her ability to see the world in a different way to develop a deeper understanding of animal behavior and ultimately revolutionized the way commercial livestock are handled.

“There’s not a rancher in this country that isn’t aware of her work. We have all been influenced by Temple,” says Clint Peck, director of Beef Quality Assurance at Montana State University. “There is no question her work has helped us all understand more about our animals and how to handle them in a caring and humane manner.”

The Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) program sets cattle handling and beef quality standards that are followed throughout the beef production process—from farm to fork—to ensure cattle are receiving proper care.

“Temple’s insight into animal behavior and low-stress handling is the foundation of the BQA assessment, which is the scoring system we use to verify cattle are handled properly. Her contributions are monumental,” said Ryan Ruppert, director of Beef Quality Assurance, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. Ruppert attended the Denver premiere of HBO’s Temple Grandin on Wednesday night as a guest of Grandin.

“I thought the movie did a great job capturing the challenges Temple overcame to improve livestock care in food production. What shocked me is how different the beef industry looks today than it did in the ’60s and ’70s as a result of her perseverance. She is a true pioneer.” Read the rest of this entry »

Here are the qualifiers for Sunday’s Open finals in the Mercuria NCHA World Series of Cutting at the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo. They include 2008 NCHA World Champion Ms Peppy Cat, current active leading money earner Sister CD and 2007 NCHA Non-Pro Futurity Champion Wild Hickory Bob. The winner will collect $7,260 from the $25,000-added purse.

Calling it “one of the most important moments at Oaklawn and in Arkansas sports,” Oaklawn president Charles J. Cella announced on February 4 that Oaklawn will increase the purse of the April 3, GI Apple Blossom to $5 million, provided 2009 Horse of the Year, Rachel Alexandra, and undefeated champion Zenyatta both start.

At a morning press conference, Cella reported that he had spoken with Jess Jackson, majority owner of Rachel Alexandra, and Jerry Moss, owner of Zenyatta, and both men expressed enthusiasm, provided that their horses are in condition for the race.

Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta were unanimous 2009 Eclipse Award winners in their respective divisions (3-year-old filly and older female ) and were the only finalists in one of the closest ballots in recent memory for horse racing’s highest honor, the Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year.

Oaklawn is considered the ideal “neutral ground” for the dream match-up because both mares have used the Arkansas oval as a launching pad to future success.

Read the rest of this entry »

Dear Gussey and veteran Bill Riddle threw out a 225-point challenge today midway through the first set of the Tunica Futurity. Despite a strong field that included the NCHA Futurity reserve champion, Yadacat, Dear Gussey prevailed. Her closest rival and the reserve champion was Special Nu Baby, who scored 221 points as the last to perform in the 20-horse finals.

The $17,477 winner’s award is Dear Gussey’s first career paycheck.

“She’s representative of our entire time in the cutting horse business,” said NCHA Hall of Fame trainer Riddle, who along with his wife, Anne, bred Dear Gussey, by TR Dual Rey, out of BR Hold Everything.

Dear Gussey’s second dam is Clarks Little Fanny, by Clark’s Doc Bar, Anne Riddle’s second show horse and a major non-pro limited age finalist. The mare, foaled in 1984,  is the same age as the Riddle’s youngest daughter Havey.

“This filly looks just like her grandmother, real pretty,  just not quite as big,” Riddle noted. “None of them are totally easy to train, but she’s been pretty easy and just a good filly.

Dear Gussey is a half-sister to 8-year-old BR Juney Boon, earner of $101,498 and 6-year-old Peptastic, winner of $56,142.

Special Nu Baby, out of the great performer Nu I Wood ($405,302 NCHA), increased her career earnings to nearly $90,000 with her Tunica title. Owned by Gary and Shannon Barker, Marietta, OK, the Dual Rey daughter was an NCHA Futurity finalist (13) and placed third at the Abilene Spectacular.

Click here for complete results along with pedigrees.