Total Earnings: $3,181,574
Todd Bimat learned about cutting from his dad. And at 17 years old, he went to work for Leon Harrell for a summer. He always wanted to be a cutting horse trainer and his love for the sport continued to grow as he gained experience. At 18 he went to college briefly but then an opportunity opened up when Harrell’s full time help got hurt. Bimat said he threw all of his stuff in his truck, headed to Harrell’s and never looked back.
A WCHA show at Ardmore, OK.
Have you ever wanted to host your own local cutting show? It might not be as daunting as you think. But whether it’s big or small, there are definitely some steps you need to take to make a show happen.
“It’s a simultaneous combustion that happens that lets you have a show,” said experienced show producer Dee McLauchlin. McLauchlin is a show secretary for multiple shows in Texas and Oklahoma.
“I have the world’s best sandbox and everybody comes and plays in it,” McLaughlin said laughing.
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Tricia and Rebellious Soul
It’s been 20 years since Gilson has had a cow horse in the Snaffle Bit Futurity. She is preparing for the Snaffle Bit Futurity this year on a horse named Rebellious Soul. The horse is special to Gilson because the foal is her youth horse’s great-grand-foal. Gilson competed in the reining arena for sometime and is finally ready to go back to the cow horse arena.
Geoffrey Sheehan riding Hiss N Vinegar to a 228 to claim the Open 6/7 Championship.
Photo Courtesy of the NCHA
Necessity is the mother of invention, so when the 2020 NCHA Kit Kat Sugar Super Stakes was cancelled due to the COVID-19 shutdown, the Association got busy finding a solution.
While cutting is a fun recreation for many, for trainers, breeders and other professionals, it’s a livelihood. So the loss of a major show creates a big financial hole.
NCHA Director of Shows, Shianne Megel, said that the 2020 Super Stakes was the most discussed and researched topic the Association dealt with all year in 2020. After the 2020 cancellation, a portion of the Stallion and Foal funds were still available to be paid out to eligible horses.
Total Earnings: $3,005,912
Two-time NCHA Futurity Champion, Craig Thompson, grew up showing cutting horses in the youth. His grandfather, Thomas Nichols, who was a huge inspiration to him, got him started in cutting.
In 1996, Thompson went to work for Kenny Pew Jr. in Brenham, TX. He then worked for Matt Gaines and with his assistant at the time, Clint Allen. Winston and Paul Hansma were living across the road at Bar H, so Thompson also spent time learning from them. He said the brothers were instrumental in helping his career.
Veltri assessing a horse’s range of motion
Stretching before a big show or a hard training session is very important to keep muscles flexible, strong and healthy. Many horse owners already stretch their horse’s neck side to side with treats before a ride, but did you know there are more stretches you can do to keep your equine athlete performing at his best?
Equine Massage Therapist, Tiffanie Veltri likes to educate her clients on how to thoroughly stretch their own horses. These techniques help owners maintain their horse’s flexibility and make sure the key muscle groups are getting released.
Total Earnings: $892,000 Aus
At 18 years old Rob Hodgman left home in Australia and traveled to California to ride reined cow horses. He returned home where he said the sport was more popular then and bought a cow horse. That horse did not like reining so a friend suggested he take it to the cutting futurity. He ended up winning the 1983 Australian NCHA Open Futurity on the horse.
Samantha McPherrin & her mom Suzanne Stilwell
Samantha McPherrin rode a cutting horse for the first time in 2010 when she was working for a trainer. She had a blast and her mom, Suzanne Stilwell, also got into cutting at the same time.
Stilwell bought her first horse in 2010. Stilwell said Todd Bimat and Jose Mendez were a big part of how she got started in cutting.
Buffalo getting a feel for the arena
They’re goggled-eyed, mop-headed, unbalanced looking creatures that can seem downright intimidating, but the ungainly bison can be a cutter’s best friend when it comes to tuning your horse.
With constant supplies of fresh cattle a fantasy for most cutters, buffalo are a much more affordable substitute. Unlike cows which sour quickly after being worked, buffalo can be used to train six to eight horses a day for a number of years, provided you handle them right.
Andy Sutliff and MK Smooth Texas
Submitted and Written by member Shelley Casciato
How can a guy attain what Andy Sutliff has earned with lifetime NCHA earnings of $47,630.00 and USCHA earnings of $17,964.00 while living in an English dominated area with no cows, no walker, just an indoor pen and a flag?
Total Earnings: $4,468,839
After a childhood spent in the saddle showing in western pleasure, English and cutting, John Mitchell decided early on that dropping the reins was the sport for him.
Originally from Australia, Mitchell began riding horses for Winderadeen, a large quarter horse breeder in New South Wales.
Afterwards, Mitchell went to work for well known trainer Graham Amos to learn how to train cutting horses. Along the way, many others have had a hand in helping develop him into the trainer he is today.
Mitchell came to the States for the first time at 14 years old and celebrated his 15th birthday there.
Christine and I Cant Tell You Why
Christine Perry has spent all her life on a ranch, but she didn’t get introduced to cutting until later. She was invited to a local pre-work where she got the bug and then purchased her first cutting horse.
Perry has been cutting since 2011 and shows mostly at weekend shows. She has a big pen she can work her horse in and all the fresh cows she wants on her ranch. Not just any cow, she works Brahmas that have a reputation for being wild.
Most interesting and rewarding journeys are never taken in a straight line. That’s certainly been the case for $8.5 million dollar earner Matt Gaines who took a few side paths on his way to becoming one of the greatest trainers in the sport of cutting.
Despite his father Dick being a successful cutting horse trainer, Gaines decided to go to college and earn an agriculture business degree. He then went on to work for tack manufacturer Dennis Moreland. But eventually, Gaines realized none of those routes were for him so he moved to Mississippi and started training horses.
Shelley Casciato and MK Smooth Texas
Three years after doctors told Shelley Casciato she would never compete again, she won the 2020 United States Cutting Horse Association Finals in the $5,000 Novice Non-Pro aboard MK Smooth Texas. She was 70 years old.
She had endured two total hip replacements in 2017 and was out of the saddle for two and a half years, yet she was able to make her dream come true. Casciato’s mental tenacity helped to make her win possible.
“The only failure in life is not trying,” are the words Casciato lives by.
Photo By Brent Puhl
In 2007, Jed Lawrence attended a cow horse sale in Indiana. He had grown up on a cattle ranch and thought reined cow horses looked fun. He went to work for Shawn Flarida, focusing on the reining event. Lawrence now has his own training operation in Nancy, KY and he uses Cutting Horse Training Online to improve his herd work.
