Posted on

Upcoming NRHA Futurity & Derby to Feature Guaranteed Payouts for Multiple Levels

Additional $100K Added to 4-Year-Old Division at 6666 NRHA Derby presented by Markel

Exciting changes were voted on and approved during the August 21 National Reining Horse Association Board of Directors meeting, with several being implemented by the end of 2022.

A major development is the increased added money at NRHA’s premier events, beginning with the 2022 NRHA Futurity. While the Level 4 Open Champion is already guaranteed a check for $350,000 as part of an earlier initiative between the NRHA and members of the Futurity Challenge, contestants in the Level 3 and Level 2 Open, as well as the Level 4 and Level 3 Non Pro, will also be vying for guaranteed checks that far surpass those of previous years.

In 2021, the Level 3 Open Champion was awarded $32,236, while the Level 2 title came with $15,123. This year those amounts have risen to $70,000 and $50,000, respectively.

The Level 4 Non Pro Championship was guaranteed $60,000 in 2021 but has now been elevated to $75,000, while the Level 3 Non Pro winner’s payout has nearly doubled to a guaranteed $40,000.

As with the Level 4 Open, which guarantees $150,000 to the Reserve Champion and $100,000 to the third-place contender, the new guaranteed payouts for Open Levels 3 and 2, and Non Pro Levels 4 and 3, extend through third place.

2022 NRHA Futurity Guaranteed Payouts

  • Level 4 Open Champion – $350,000
  • Level 4 Open Reserve Champion – $150,000
  • Level 4 Open Third Place – $100,000
  • Level 3 Open Champion – $70,000
  • Level 3 Open Reserve Champion – $50,000
  • Level 3 Open Third Place – $35,000
  • Level 2 Open Champion – $50,000
  • Level 2 Open Reserve Champion – $25,000
  • Level 2 Open Third Place – $15,000
  • Level 4 Non Pro Champion – $75,000
  • Level 4 Non Pro Reserve Champion – $45,000
  • Level 4 Non Pro Third Place – $35,000
  • Level 3 Non Pro Champion – $40,000
  • Level 3 Non Pro Reserve Champion – $25,000
  • Level 3 Non Pro Third Place – $15,000

NRHA President Rick Clark is excited about all the new guaranteed payouts. He said, “When we guaranteed the payout in the Open Level 4 at the Futurity, it elevated our industry, and now we are building on that for other Open levels and for the Non Pro. We needed to do this, and I feel that it will help riders in these levels to have something bigger to shoot for.”

He continued, “We are also excited to increase the championship payout at the 6666 NRHA Derby presented by Markel.” Beginning with the 2023 event, the championship payout for the Level 4 of both the Open and Non Pro will increase, with the Open Champion receiving $100,000 (up from $75,000) and the Non Pro Champion taking home $50,000 (up from $30,000).

Total of $160,000 Added to the 2023 4-Year-Old Stakes

Also debuting at the 2023 Derby will be the revamped 4-Year-Old Open and Non Pro Stakes with an additional $100,000 added. Last year the Tamarack Ranch Open featured $40,000 added with $20,000 in the Colston Paving Non Pro. With the additional $100,000, those added money totals will grow to $110,000 in the Open and $50,000 in the Non Pro.

It was the consensus of the NRHA Board that this will give 4-year-old horses the opportunity to show one more year for good money while not having to compete against older, more finished horses. As in the past, the division will be run concurrently with the Derby preliminaries, and the placings will be decided in the first round. Entry in the 6666 NRHA Derby presented by Markel will be optional.

Clark continued, “We feel that growing this 4-year-old division at the Derby will give a huge boost to our industry. It will provide more opportunities for owners, breeders and riders.”

Information regarding the NRHA Futurity and Derby can be found online at NRHAFuturity.com or NRHADerby.com. 

Posted on

NRHA Futurity to Feature APHA’s Chrome Cash Incentive

The American Paint Horse Association’s popular Chrome Cash incentive program will add $5,000 exclusively for registered Paints at the 2022 National Reining Horse Association Futurity, set for November 24-December 3 at State Fair Park in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Chrome Cash classes will be offered as part of the Level 4 Open Futurity and the Level 4 Non Pro Futurity, with $3,000 and $2,000 added, respectively. Both solid and regular registry Paints can compete in the Chrome Cash classes, which are paid out according to the NRHA payout schedule. 

NRHA Commissioner Gary Carpenter said, “Our industry moves forward on the strength of innovation. Adding Chrome Cash to the NRHA Futurity just builds on the excitement that American Paint Horses having been bringing for many years.”

APHA Executive Director Billy Smith agreed. “APHA shares that spirit of innovation with NRHA. Chrome Cash represents new opportunities for everyone who registers their reiners with APHA and appreciates flashy horses,” he said.

Entering the Chrome Cash incentives is easy:

  • Both solid and regular registry Paints are eligible to win
  • Both the owner and exhibitor must be current APHA members
  • Enter by marking the “Chrome Cash” option on the NRHA Futurity Rider Designation Form

Any horse with at least one APHA-registered parent (with the other being a registered Paint, Quarter Horse or Thoroughbred) can be registered with APHA, whether the horse has qualifying white markings or not. An AQHA-registered horse can be registered with APHA if they meet minimum requirements based on white markings. Either way, APHA registration makes a horse eligible for more opportunities.

To check if a horse is registered, update ownership, or inquire about the possibility of registration, email Chrome Cash program director Sunny Bates at sbates@apha.com or get a free, no-obligation registration quote from APHA by clicking here.

Learn more about Chrome Cash and how to register your Paint at apha.com/programs/chromecash.

The American Paint Horse Association is the world’s second-largest international equine breed association, registering more than a million horses in 59 nations and territories since it was founded in 1962. APHA promotes, preserves and provides meaningful experiences with Paint Horses.

Posted on

Tom McCutcheon’s Recent Wins Catapult Earnings Past $2 Million

In 1984, Tom McCutcheon recorded his first earnings in the National Reining Horse Association while competing in an event in St. Paul, Minnesota. In 2006 he passed one million dollars in lifetime earnings, and then in early August 2022, crossed the next million-dollar milestone.

That achievement was reached at the North American Reining Stakes, held at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Florida. The Aubrey, Texas, trainer piloted Gold Star Gunner (Gunners Special Nite x Belle Starr Dun It), a horse he owns with his wife, Mandy, to the Level 3 Open Championship and a fourth-place finish in the Level 4, collecting more than $28,000. Those earnings alone would have been enough to pass two million, but McCutcheon also finished in the money on his and Mandy’s other entry, Best Jac (Jacs Electric Spark x Snip O Chex), for an additional $3,771.

“What makes this accomplishment special to me is that the majority of money I have won has been on horses we’ve bred, raised, or are by stallions we stand,” McCutcheon shared.

McCutcheon grew up in the horse business, but his was not a world filled with elite athletes like it is today. Back then, McCutcheon’s father, Bob, and brothers Scott, Jimmy, and Terry were always training and showing. Bob McCutcheon was known for being able to salvage horses that others couldn’t make work.

“We trained everything that was marketable at that time. If barrel horses were hot, we trained barrel horses. If rope horses were hot, we trained rope horses. We rode a lot of cutters,” he recalled.

The youngest of the McCutcheon brothers by 10 years, Tom rodeoed from an early age and qualified for the National High School Rodeo Finals in calf roping, bull dogging, and cutting. When he was just 18 years old, McCutcheon went into business for himself, renting his own place. He chose to focus on reining because “anything that involved cattle seemed too expensive.”

McCutcheon eventually moved to Italy to train for several years, joining friends who made the same move, including Duane and Dean Latimer, Dale Harvey, Jim Kiser, and Mike Davis, as well as his brother, Jimmy McCutcheon.

When McCutcheon returned to the United States, he relocated to North Texas. He knew he wanted to focus on good horses, so in 1993, when NRHA Professional Gary Putman showed him a two-year-old named Lil Ruf Peppy (Peppy San Badger x Rufas Peppy), it was a quick sale. Tom’s customers Antonio and Lia Foti purchased the colt, and McCutcheon bought him from them a year later.

Advancing to the Quarter Horse Congress Open Futurity Finals in 1994, McCutcheon and Lil Ruf Peppy hit their stride in 1995, earning the NRHA Derby Level 4 Open Reserve Championship and winning the Limited (Level 2) Open.

Lil Ruf Peppy went on to become an NRHA Three Million Dollar Sire. That was the start of McCutcheon’s breeding program, and he, along with Mandy, are both NRHA Million Dollar Owners.

The couple operates Tom McCutcheon Reining Horses out of Aubrey, Texas. Their training facility is home to several respected NRHA Professionals, including son Cade, also an NRHA Million Dollar Rider, Debbie Brown, Jeremy Gates, Dakota Guthridge, and Antonio Aramburo.

Supplementing the training aspect of the farm is an Equine Spa & Rehabilitation Center and, of course, the breeding program which features 10 resident stallions. Stallions currently standing at Tom McCutcheon Reining Horses include NRHA Five Million Dollar Sire Gunners Special Nite, Lil Dreamin Magnum, NRHA Million Dollar Sire Lil Joe Cash, Rufanicki, Gunners Tinseltown, Mr Fahrenheit, NRHA Million Dollar Sire Smart And Shiney, Super Marioo, and Blo Gun.

McCutcheon’s biggest wins include:

2001 NRHA Futurity L4 Open 3rd place – $74,877 on Sailin Ruf

2016 NRBC L4 Open Reserve Championship – $51,000 on The Wizster

2001 NRBC L4 Open Championship – $50,000 on Smartest Chic Olena

2019 The Run For A Million 7th place – $35,000 on Gunna Cash Ya

2013 NRHA Futurity L4 Open 7th place – $33,434 on Dont Miss My Guns

2006 NRHA Futurity L4 Open 7th place – $30,047 on Lil Ruf Gay Badger

2018 NRHA Futurity L4 Open 8th place – $29,589 on Gotta Good Nite

2006 NRBC L4 Open 8th place – $25,037 on Major Jesse

2013 NRBC L4 Open 8th place – $22,000 on Dun Git A Nicadual

2015 NRHA Futurity L4 Open 9th place – $21,601 on Sunglasses At Nite

Learn more about Tom at TMReining.com, or follow him on Facebook.

Photos courtesy of Chelsea Schneider.

Posted on

NRHA Announces Updated Animal Welfare & Medications Policy

In the Spring of 2021, the NRHA Executive Committee began discussions on updating the current Animal Welfare & Medications policy. Since then, the executive committee, board of directors, and staff have consulted with experts in the field, committee members, and current competitors. There have been countless conversations aimed toward developing a revised policy to ensure fairness of competition by leveling penalties to those who knowingly violate NRHA rules, regulations, and policies.

At the August 21, 2022, NRHA Board of Directors meeting held in Las Vegas, a revised Welfare & Medications Policy was voted on and approved.

“The NRHA Medications Policy has been reformatted to make it easier to understand and contains amended definitions and examples to fall in line with our industry peers. It is important to have a policy that will allow our horses to be shown safely without creating an unfair advantage,” said NRHA President Rick Clark.

According to Clark, it was a goal of all who contributed to the recommended policy changes that the policies and penalties should align with other western performance industries. Another goal was simplification.

The penalty chart and classification system have been restructured to include increased penalties such as publication of offenses, suspension and disqualification. The updated policy is easier to understand and more transparent to the NRHA membership – even those who are just getting started in reining.

Exhibitors will notice increased testing at leading events and NRHA-owned events, as well. An official change in the Welfare & Medications Policy that has already been implemented is plasma-only testing, which has a quicker turnaround time.

“The NRHA Executive Committee and staff have worked to learn new and better practices to keep our horses healthy. We invested both time and research to better understand medications that can help our horses in a safe manner, and also to find what is best for the industry and horses using today’s knowledge and technology,” noted Clark.

“I am proud of the NRHA Executive Committee, Board of Directors, and staff for their work and leadership in taking this step toward presenting reining at its best on the world stage,” Clark added.

The complete, revised Animal Welfare and Medications policy, which will go into effect at the 6666 NRHA Derby presented by Markel in June, can be found here.

Answers to common questions about the Revised Animal Welfare and Medications policy can be found here. 

Posted on

Teton Ridge Launches Innovative Western Equine Sports Event to Debut During the American Rodeo 2023

The American Performance Horseman, a first of its kind competition, to be held in Arlington, Tex. on March 10, 2023

Arlington, Tex. (August 22, 2022) – Expanding upon its commitment to elevate and positively impact the western industry, Teton Ridge unveiled an unprecedented new event – The American Performance Horseman that will make its debut on Friday, March 10, 2023 in Arlington, Tex. during The American Rodeo.

For the first time ever, the top five year-end money earning professionals in cutting, reined cow horse and reining will come together to compete for $1,000,000 in prize money in a competitive exhibition format. The American Rodeo will provide a global stage for the athletes of each western equine sports discipline to compete not only for individual prize payouts, but also a first of its kind team format as well. The American Performance Horseman is a prestigious competitive exhibition that is supported by AQHA, APHA, NRHA, NCHA and NRCHA, with all associations excited for their respective communities to be celebrated and showcased to the world in this unparalleled and innovative format.

The American Performance Horseman will consist of the top five riders from each discipline, with the highest show earnings from the 2022 show season as tracked by each association. Standings will be finalized and announced following each discipline’s 2022 Futurity event.

Fusing the elements of history and competition, “The American Performance Horseman” is an ode to the past, present and future of the western performance horse sports. Riders will compete for team and individual prize money but most importantly the prestigious title of champion as part of the American Rodeo weekend festivities in Arlington, Texas.

“The American Rodeo is an unrivaled celebration of the American West and represents the richest weekend in all of western sports,” said Joe Loverro, President of Teton Ridge Sports. “As Teton Ridge continues to make great strides to bring the iconic events in the western industry to a broader audience on an elevated platform, it was only natural to create an event to pay homage to the most prestigious competitors in western performance sports and their incredible equine athletes.

The American Performance Horseman is the creation and vision of Teton Ridge. It exists to elevate western equine sports through multiple platforms, with innovative and interactive technology. “The American Performance Horseman isn’t another horse show, it’s a celebration of western horse sport and our athletes at the highest level,” stated Anna Morrison, NRCHA Executive Director. “With a shortened format showcasing the top five riders of the year in each discipline, it will pack the excitement of our industry’s top talent in an hour-long production that will bring the sports we love to an entirely new audience.”

The American Performance Horseman will offer fans a groundbreaking new way to embrace and support the legacy of the American West on the eve of The American Rodeo as a celebration the 10th anniversary of the world’s richest rodeo.

For more information on The American Performance Horseman and to sign up for the 2023 ticket wait list, please visit americanrodeo.com.

###

The American Rodeo Media Contact:

Mandi McCary / mandi@mmgnv.com

About The American Rodeo:

Hailed as The Crown Jewel of Rodeo™, The American Rodeo is an unrivaled celebration of the pioneering spirit of the American West. The national sporting event offers fans a unique choice – to cheer on western sports’ finest, champion athletes, or root for the underdog “Contenders” chasing a $1 million bonus – through every rodeo, roping and riding effort. For the first time ever, a new competitive exhibition called The American Performance Horseman brings together the western equine sports disciplines of reining, reined cow and cutting for a $1 million prize. All combined with star-studded music, a western festival and more. Acquired by Teton Ridge in 2021, The American Rodeo is an annual western sports and entertainment celebration that matches professional rodeo’s top athletes against the world’s most aspirational cowboys and cowgirls, who have put up their own money to bet on themselves in this high stake’s showdown. For more information on The American Rodeo, please visit americanrodeo.com or @TheAmerican.TR on Instagram @TheAmericanTR on Facebook and Twitter.

About Teton Ridge:

Teton Ridge is a multi-platform, wholly American-owned brand and media company devoted to the iconic American western way of life and western sports. Teton Ridge’s Sports division was created with the singular focus of elevating classic Western sports and America’s western culture on the world stage, while broadening audiences around the globe as well as at home. In 2021, Teton Ridge acquired The American, the iconic event of the rodeo circuit, to continue to expand the audiences for rodeo sports and make it the world’s premier Western culture event. For more information about Teton Ridge, please visit tetonridge.com or @tetonridge on Instagram @tetonridgeusa on Facebook.

The National Reining Horse Association is not responsible for the information contained in this press release. Please contact the author or submitting organization for further information, requests, or questions.