Nine years ago, Jim Vangilder attended the NCHA Futurity in Fort Worth as a spectator. It was the springboard that launched Vangilder, a small business owner who had never shown and at the age of 54 was just learning to ride, into the world of cutting horses.

Since then, given his relatively short span of involvement, Vangilder has made an unprecedented impact in the cutting industry, as an owner, breeder and competitor.

This December during the 2009 NCHA Futurity, Vangilder will have come full circle, once again enjoying the action as a spectator rather than a participant.

On October 16, 2009, Vangilder will hold a complete dispersal sale at his Rock Creek Ranch in Weatherford, TX. The sale will consist of 63 head of broodmares, 2 and 3-year-old prospects trained by Roger Wagner and nominated to the NCHA Futurity, 5 and 6-year-olds show horses, yearlings and weanlings. All will be sold without reserve.

Vangilder bowed out of competition earlier this year to be able to spend more time at home with his family, in Jackson, MO. The decision to disperse came two weeks ago, during the NCHA Summer Spectacular in Fort Worth.

“My intentions were to continue raising and breeding horses and let Roger (Wagner) train them and show the best two or three,” Vangilder explained. “Then when my daughter, Grace (pictured with her father in 2008), who is now 11 and loves to ride, wanted to show in aged events, she could start. But during the Summer Show, Roger was offered a great opportunity with Marvine Ranch.

“I decided it would be hard to replace Roger and that it would be a good time to sell the horses. Roger is happy and excited about the future and I expect Jon Winkelried (owner of Marvine Ranch in Fort Worth) will be very successful.

“It’s been a great experience,” said Vangilder of his association with Wagner, Rock Creek Ranch’s resident trainer and manager since 2003. “Not only is he a great trainer and showman, he’s a wonderful teacher and coach. He excels at all aspects of the business.”

Quintan Blue, NCHA earner of nearly $600,000; Pet Squirrel, with $390,000; and Merada Clone, with $411,000, are just a few of the horses to come out of Vangilder’s program, ranked #4 on the list of all-time leading owners of NCHA money earners, with $3.7 million.

“It’s a little bit ironic,” Vangilder pointed out. “I got into this business because of a 14-year-old daughter and now I am getting out because of my 11-year-old daughter. “But this is a time consuming sport, if you want to be competitive.

“Up until this year, Grace has been home schooled and it made it easy for her and her mother to travel with me, but starting this the fall, she’ll be enrolled in school (in Missouri). In seven years, when I’m 70, she will be ready to start college. That’s 84 months, not very long when you think about it. If I continued showing, I would be gone from home 21 of those 84 months. That’s one-quarter of the time.”

Vangilder, who won his first NCHA championship buckle in the 2002 NCHA Derby Amateur division on Merada Clone, with less than one year of showing, looks back on his show career with fond memories.

“When I started cutting, my goal was to win a buckle,” he noted. “That goal looked so far away and it was a big moment when I finally did win one. Then I wanted to win another one and it went from there.

“One of my proudest moment was when I won the 5 & 6-year-old non-pro championship at the 2004 Augusta Futurity on Zacks Lena. Augusta is a great place to show because the crowd is so enthusiastic. I scored 227 points, which is still the highest I’ve ever marked, and I couldn’t hear the buzzer because they were cheering so loudly.”

Other highlights for Vangilder include riding Quintan Blue and Pet Squirrel.

“Quintan Blue was incredible to show,” he said. “Pet Squirrel might not have been quite as great as Quintan Blue, but she was almost as good and also an incredible horse to show.”

Pet Squirrel will sell on October 16, along with an embryo by High Brow Cat and another by Chula Dual. Quintan Blue, who Vangilder sold to Jon Winkelried in 2006, will also be represented in the dispersal by Dualin Blue, a 3-year-old in training and with an embryo by Smooth As A Cat, as well as by two 2-year-olds in training.

For details on the sale and a complete list of consignments, check westernbloodstock.com soon.