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For The Good Of Cutters: Past and Present

January 12th, 2021 by Simone Cobb

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.

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Trainer’s Corner – Matt Gaines – Weatherford, TX

December 9th, 2020 by Simone Cobb

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.

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The Impact of COVID – 19 On Cutting

December 9th, 2020 by Simone Cobb

A rider at the futurity wearing a mask.

No one could have predicted the year 2020 has been. The cutting horse industry has never experienced something like COVID-19. All equine sports have had to adapt to continue to function in the midst of the pandemic. But how has COVID -19 actually impacted the sport and the community involved with it?

It’s important to recognize that many people have suffered the loss of loved ones and/or endured the illness themselves not to mention dealt with financial hardship. While it’s impossible to know those statistics in the cutting industry, we can investigate other ways it’s been felt.

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Sam Shepard – A Legacy Of Learning

November 5th, 2020 by Simone Cobb

Sam Shepard

Sam Shepard loved learning. It’s perhaps the reason he came to cutting later in life as a cutting horse trainer and was able to enjoy almost $2.5 million worth of success in the show pen. But it wasn’t just his training prowess that made him a name in cutting, it was his decency and love of people that really established his reputation.

Shepard was diagnosed with a rare condition called Amyloidosis. He passed away September 15th this year at his home in Verbena, Alabama at the age of 74.

His son, Austin Shepard, described his dad as a very well rounded person. He was well read, passionate about education, and a talented horse trainer. Shepard traveled the world because of cutting horses and was always interested in people from all walks of life. Austin said his father lived a full life.

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Member Spotlight – Garnett Hayes – Cerulean, KY

November 5th, 2020 by Simone Cobb

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.

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Member Spotlight – Jed Lawrence – Nancy, KY

October 5th, 2020 by Simone Cobb

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.

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Trainer’s Corner – Geoffrey Sheehan – Weatherford, TX

October 5th, 2020 by Simone Cobb

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.

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Trainer’s Corner – Dustin Gonnet – Cayley, Alberta, Canada

October 5th, 2020 by Simone Cobb

Photo By Hudyma Photography

Total Earnings: $1,672,203

Dustin Gonnet bought a horse from a sale that a cutting horse trainer had put some time on and he ended up getting a job with that trainer, Doug Reinhardt, to start colts and later he worked for Scott Amos. He never turned back! Gonnet grew up cowboying and riding colts his whole life in Saskatchewan, Canada. Gonnet was a true student of the sport, spending many hours watching other trainers in the practice pen at shows and applying what he thought would work for him and building on that.

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Trainer’s Corner – Wesley Galyean – Claremore, OK

August 4th, 2020 by Simone Cobb

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.

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Member Spotlight: Kylie Barnett – Tamworth, NSW, Australia

August 4th, 2020 by Simone Cobb

Kylie and Yugilbar Gday Kitty

Kylie Barnett has been around horses her whole life. Her background is in camp drafting (an Australian sport that shares some similarities with reined cow horse) which goes back to her grandfather, but she has always enjoyed watching cutting at the Australian NCHA Futurity. She was watching the Futurity sale and saw a mare she liked that wasn’t going for much so she decided to take a chance and buy her! Keep On Reading!

Trainer’s Corner – Guy Woods

July 24th, 2020 by Simone Cobb

Guy Woods

Total Earnings: $2,729,007

Originally from Australia, Guy Woods grew up in the horse business. His dad was a cutting horse trainer and so he started showing as a youth. At age 18, Guy moved to the States to work for a reining trainer. His boss later suggested he work for cutting horse trainer, Bill Riddle, and the rest is history!

Guy has been working for EE Ranches for an impressive 32 years! He said the key is really good communication with the owners, the Ellards. Several years into working for EE Ranches, Mrs. Ellard started showing a lot. She was the head loper and she was in the trenches with Guy. She saw the good, the bad and the ugly, Guy said. She saw every aspect of the sport, which helped her understand cutting from a trainer’s perspective and the challenges they face. He said this has been the key to their partnership’s success and longevity.

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Jay Winborn – From Polo To Cutting – Life Lessons

July 23rd, 2020 by Simone Cobb

Jay Winborn

NCHA Executive Director Jay Winborn has a background in an equine sport you don’t hear much of in performance horse circles. For 15 years, Winborn was an international, professional polo player!

He started off as a groom in a polo club. As a third generation polo player, it was a natural progression for the young rider. He not only competed in the sport, but trained polo horses and ran polo clubs in the Dallas district.

Playing professionally meant a lot of traveling. He would spend four to five months a year in Florida for the winter training and riding. In the summer, the team would travel to New York, Colorado, Texas, Oklahoma and other states to play in month-long tournaments.

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Trainer’s Corner: Cullen Chartier

June 1st, 2020 by Simone Cobb

Cullen Chartier Photo by Martin Lengals

Total Earnings: $1,004,761

With two generations of cutters behind him, you could say cutting is in Cullen Chartier’s blood. Before committing to be a trainer, Chartier’s main focus was other sports. At one point, he pursued a sports broadcasting career, but made the switch after watching his brother, RL Chartier make the Futurity finals.

Cullen showed in the youth and worked for his dad, Randy Chartier for two years. He then went to work for RL at Wrigley Ranches. After two years, RL told him it was time to go work for someone else, so Chartier headed off to Paul Hansma. He spent four years with Hansma, before starting his own business training out of Paul’s place.

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Member Spotlight – Garth Bullis, Holcomb, Kansas

June 1st, 2020 by Simone Cobb

Garth Bullis and Reyality Check

Garth Bullis began his horse career in the English world and soon moved into the western disciplines. He tried reining, and roping but still hadn’t found his niche. He came across cutting in a video and thought it was the coolest thing he had seen. After finding a retired cutting horse trainer who helped him learn, he became hooked.

He purchased a mare in 2014, got her started and showed her. She taught Bullis a lot. The pair ended up winning the Minnesota Non Pro Breeder’s Futurity and all three go rounds before that. He really felt like cutting was what he should be doing and after his dad passed away, he decided to really go for it.

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Trainer’s Corner: Wes Ashlock

March 30th, 2020 by Simone Cobb

Total Earnings: $462,067

How did you get into cutting?

“My dad and mom raised horses, and they wanted to upgrade their program. There was a guy that had a son of Little Peppy. So we made a deal to breed some mares to his stud… We did some welding to pay for the breedings. That man was Tom Merryman who is now my father-in-law. I quit school in 8th grade and I was over there helping my dad with welding. I saw Tom cutting and he asked me if I wanted to turn back for him. I had no clue what that was but I said yeah I’ll try it. I started helping him and ended up working for him for 3 years…”

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For The Good Of Cutters: Past and Present

Trainer’s Corner – Matt Gaines – Weatherford, TX

The Impact of COVID – 19 On Cutting

Sam Shepard – A Legacy Of Learning

Member Spotlight – Garnett Hayes – Cerulean, KY

Member Spotlight – Jed Lawrence – Nancy, KY

Trainer’s Corner – Geoffrey Sheehan – Weatherford, TX

Trainer’s Corner – Dustin Gonnet – Cayley, Alberta, Canada

Trainer’s Corner – Wesley Galyean – Claremore, OK

Member Spotlight: Kylie Barnett – Tamworth, NSW, Australia

Trainer’s Corner – Guy Woods

Trainer’s Corner: Cullen Chartier

Member Spotlight – Garth Bullis, Holcomb, Kansas

Trainer’s Corner: Wes Ashlock

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