Brad and Macie
Photo by: Seth Petit
Brad Jordan was introduced to cutting through his daughter’s barrel racing coach and family. He and his daughter followed them into the sport. He has really enjoyed cutting and has been working at his skills for two years.
“I’m more about building a connection with the horse. I love the sport and I want to win and be competitive but for me it builds a bond with the horse that I probably wouldn’t have built otherwise. That is important to me.”
Total Earnings: $2,344,831
Ascencion Banuelos grew up with horses since his family didn’t have trucks or cars in Mexico. At 13 years of age, he came to California and started working on a dairy farm milking 400 cows twice a day. After five years at the dairy, he kept hoping he would run into horses.
He would get a few days off every six months and he found a horse barn and applied for a job on those days off. He got the job riding pleasure horses and then later the boss’s kids wanted to get into cutting so they bought some trained horses. He was able to hop on some of the cutters and get a feel for it. He even started training some of the pleasure horses to cut.
Jesse Lennox and Spots
Hottist at the Summer
Spectacular in 2021
At age 10 he was cleaning stalls, by 14 he was breaking in ponies and a few years later he turned a date into his first job training cutting horses. You could say Jesse Lennox creates his own luck. Where others see a difficult path, Lennox sees opportunity. Despite coming from a non-horse background, Lennox discovered early on that horses were his passion. Little did he know he would go onto work for two billionaires and be at the top of the cutting horse game.
Keep On Reading!
Joani and Boon Suen Enuf Photo by: Scootem n Shootem Photography
Joani Mink was in Australia on an agricultural exchange program and the first thing her host family did was assign her a cutting horse. They didn’t show cutting horses; they actually used them on their cattle ranch. A big part of Mink’s job was separating yearlings and settling the cows so they wouldn’t be wild.
When she returned to the States her dad got her a cutting horse. She put off college for a short time and went to work for Tom Campbell. Campbell trained Mink and the horse. She walked to the herd for the first time in 1997 and showed her own horse as an NCHA member in 2001.
Total Earnings: $726,261
AAAA NCHA Judge, Russ Carroll grew up in the cutting industry. He loped horses for his father, cutting horse trainer Rusty Carroll.
Carroll warmed up horses for his dad at eight years old. He built up a client base for training horses while studying at college. After graduating from the University of Houston with a business management degree, he knew he wanted to pursue cutting professionally.
He currently operates his training program in Rockwall, Texas and recently made the 2021 Open Futurity Finals.
Keep On Reading!
Best buddies – Lance and Cade as youths killing time at a horse show.
After slingin’ dirt and cashing checks in the cutting horse youth and non-pro classes, childhood friends and successful showmen, Lance Cooper and Cade Shepard are now beating the pros at their own game!
They both handed in their non-pro cards one day apart after their wins in the Summer Spectacular Derby last year. Shepard had won almost a million dollars and Cooper was approaching a half a million when they became open riders. Keep On Reading!
Bill and Smooth Talking Sue Photo by: Ted Petit
Bill Jovenall got his start in the performance horse world riding reined cow horses but decided seven years ago he wanted to focus on cutting. He walked to the herd at the NCHA Futurity for the first time in 2020 and said that memory is the highlight of his time in the sport.
Total Earnings: $91,532
From NFR Bareback rider to top two-year-old cutting horse trainer, JD Garrett has made a name for himself across multiple industries.
Growing up in South Dakota, he has always been involved with horses and ranching. While competing in the rodeo world, Garrett would start colts for Tom Lyons in his down time.
Garrett said many people have helped him along the way but cutting horse trainers Shannon Hall, John Mitchell, Greg Wright, Tom Lyons, and Bob Pecora, a performance horse trainer, have all been instrumental in his career.
César and Bet Yer Blue Genes showing in San Carlos, Costa Rica at La Jarana Ranch.
Pristine beaches, tropical jungles and exotic wildlife spring to mind at the mention of Costa Rica. But it may surprise you to know this popular tourist destination is home to a budding cutting horse community.
In fact, trainer César Meneses has big plans to fly his horse to Fort Worth and drop his hand in the Will Rogers Coliseum at the NCHA Futurity this fall.
He started cutting eight years ago and spent time in the United States riding with Kenny Knowlton, a horse trainer and AQHA International Committee member and Ascencion Banuelos.
Keep On Reading!
Bill and Smart Abbey Rey Photo by: Lyndsey Lamell Photography
With fond memories of ranching and roping years ago, Bill Meyers has always enjoyed horses. He always wanted to try cutting and had Florida trainer, Ted Sokol recommended to him. Meyers met Sokol at a cutting show who put him on a horse. He then went to Sokol’s ranch for a lesson and officially caught the cutting bug two years ago.
Total Earnings: $2,238,026
As an NCHA AAAA judge, one of Brett Davis’s favorite things about judging is the finals. Everyone’s goal is to make the finals and hopefully win. As a judge, it is exciting to see what everyone brings to the table when they lay it all on the line to win a coveted buckle. He was of the five judges in the 2019 Futurity that Gary Bellenfant won.
“[Art of the Cowgirl] has been a dream of mine for quite some time,” Tammy Pate, Art of the Cowgirl Founder, said. Tammy is pictured above.
“It’s very humbling to work with someone like Lindy. There’s always something new to learn…That hunger to always get better is one thing I took from it and through Art of the Cowgirl you’re always learning…I hope I can even say that when I’m 65 and 75…And just the fellowship and camaraderie,” not only with Burch, Dwyer said, but others who opened their homes. “They let us come in and work and stay with them and eat with them and get to know their families.”
Keep On Reading!
Gayle and Smooth Dual Kick Photo by: Scoot Em N Shoot Em Photography
Gayle Weber fell in love with horses at a young age. After her kids graduated from school she had free time to fill and some friends introduced her to cutting in 2008. She attended two cutting clinics, one with Lindy Burch one with Faron Hightower. Weber competes in the 25k Novice Non-Pro, and the 50 AM.
One of her goals includes getting her horse out of the 25k NNP. Weber is very dedicated. She lives in Montana so she spends a lot of time traveling to shows. Weber said there is one show in Montana that is two and a half hours away, the rest of them are four to six hours away or further.
Total Earnings: $5,465,497
Kobie Wood grew up in Illinois and his dad had always wanted to get into cutting. In 1957, his father bought a place for horses and cattle. Wood started learning how to cut. He rode his first cutter at five years old.
JP Chevalier, the NCHA Australia’s new manager.
Imagine if the Fort Worth Futurity was cancelled for the past two years because of COVID? While the pandemic has wreaked havoc on our lives in so many ways, the cutting horse industry in the US has come through it relatively unscathed. But that unthinkable scenario was a reality for cutters in Australia.
