Total Earnings: $4,187,197
Michael Cooper never worked for a cutting horse trainer and literally came from nothing. He is from Missouri originally and learned about cutting when he traveled to Arkansas to visit relatives who happened to work for a cutting horse trainer. They offered to let Cooper work a cutting horse and he couldn’t believe what he was feeling. He learned by watching everything he could about cutting and even wore out training dvds. Keep On Reading!
Total Earnings: $2,133,396
Monty Buntin grew up on a small ranch in Arizona and was always into horses. A neighbor three miles away had a ranch and Buntin soaked up as much barn time there as he could. Buntin was introduced to Yancy James and Lance Harrel, Leon Harrel’s son. They introduced him to cutting.
He spent some time with Salvador Cabral and at 18 he went on to work for Tim Smith. Buntin later got a job working for Smith’s clients in Lockeford, CA.
Levi and Miss Cheekacat
Growing up rodeoing, Levi Price has always loved the western lifestyle. The summer before he started high school he got a job with a cutting horse trainer 10 miles from home. It did not take Price long to fall in love with the sport.
Later, he attended college on a rodeo scholarship at Conners State College where he almost finished his Animal Science degree. After college, he worked for Ed Dufurrena’s as his two year old trainer for more than two years in Gainesville, TX.
His favorite memory is the night Stevie Rey Von won the NCHA Futurity in 2015; he had been at Dufurrena’s for about a year. It was a great experience for Price to see the horse work everyday and watch it pay off claiming the coveted title. He said they were all very inspired to get back to work after that big night!
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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.
A well-run barn is the key to any smooth operation. Whether you have one or 50 horses in your care, it’s crucial that you have an organized space, know where everything is and are able to act in any kind of emergency.
Kellee Clarke has been the barn manager for Slate River for nine years and counting. She makes sure everything has its place, and most importantly gets put back in place. Her feed room, vet room, tack room and stalls are clearly labeled so almost anyone can walk in and know just what to do for any of the horses.
Buster Welch with the Sculpture in his Honor
From honoring Buster Welch and the King Ranch’s Little Peppy to supporting the next generation of cutters, the NCHA Foundation has been behind cutters of all ages for 40 years. The NCHA Foundation is the charitable branch of the National Cutting Horse Association.
The Foundation was formed in 1982 to raise money, support educational programs and preserve the history and culture of cutting. But interestingly, it’s played a lesser known but crucial and wide-ranging role than just being an archive, by providing funding when they see a need and supporting animal welfare and research.
Garnett Hayes and JR Colored Summer Prom
Garnett Hayes has enjoyed the sport of cutting for 38 years. He first saw the sport on TV as a young boy and thought it looked fun. Hayes started out riding a paint and has owned many horses. Hayes enjoys his retirement with his horses on a 400 acre farm in Western Kentucky.
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.
Geoffrey Sheehan
Total Earnings: $1,779,320
Geoffrey Sheehan grew up in Gundagai, New South Wales, Australia. At about 12 years old he started working for renowned trainer Graham Amos on school holidays. When Sheehan was 16, Graham Amos came to the States to compete in cutting. Sheehan decided that was his path too and continued working for him in America.
Amos was Sheehan’s main mentor, but he also credits other trainers for teaching him along the way such as John Mitchell, Roger Wagner, and Clint Allen to name a few.
“The first time I ever walked into Will Rogers I [thought] this is what I want to do,” Sheehan said.
Dr. Molly Bellefeuille of Northern Star Equine Speaking with CHTO’s Duncan Steele-Park
Ever had a horse that looked strangely unbalanced, had an abnormal gait or a lameness that you couldn’t put your finger on? It’s possible that horse is suffering from Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis better known as EPM.
It’s a disease that’s probably more common than you may think. Most horses have antibodies but no clinical signs, hence are immune, but many don’t and diagnosing EPM can be challenging because it presents differently in every horse.
Friendly, fun, and affordable is the mission behind the fast growing World Cutting Horse Association based out of Oklahoma and Texas. Six years ago, Lainie Whitmire founded the WCHA to help cutters with smaller budgets have a place to show. They started with some very small shows but prayed it would work. With the help of friends and their wider network spreading the word, the shows were a success.
With approximately 2,000 members, the WCHA works, Whitmire said, because it is made up of friendly, helpful, salt of the earth people who do the hard work. The goal is to make the association fun, inclusive and easy to get involved with.
Lilly and Smart Like Pepto Rio
Lilly Loraas first started cutting about a year ago and at 14 years old she has big dreams. She is a regional director for the NYCHA and hopes to one day become president or vice president of the board. She also hopes to compete at the world finals and continue learning about the sport.
Tiffani Veltri assessing a horse
Like any athlete, a cutting horse must be kept comfortable in order to perform to the best of his ability. While this involves a team of people such as the vet, farrier, and equine dentist, another health modality that’s becoming increasingly popular is massage therapy. Nationally Certified Equine Massage Therapist Tiffanie Veltri said massage can have immediate benefits for helping a horse release tension and rehab sore muscles.
Wesley Galyean
Total Earnings: $4,051,497
An Open Futurity winner as a 21 year-old non-pro, Wesley Galyean had always known he wanted to be a cutting horse trainer. There was no plan B for him. Cutting has been in his family for three generations, both his father Jody and grandfather Kenneth Galyean were trainers. A lot of people tried to convince him to go to college and skip the horse training, but Galyean said it was in his blood. If it’s what you love, keep on fighting, work hard, pray hard and give it everything you have he said.
