Total Earnings: $452,273
An apprenticeship to an equine chiropractor brought Hayden Upton to the United States from Australia 22 years ago. He grew up around horses but it was through working on cutting horses that drew him into the sport as a trainer. Upton had worked for Gerald O’Brien in Australia where he learnt how to break horses of all disciplines from thoroughbreds to kid’s ponies but he never worked for a cutting horse trainer. Keep On Reading!
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.
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.
Chris Johnsrud
Chris Johnsrud has won in excess of $831,000 and has been training for the public out of Weatherford, Texas for the last nine years. He was born and raised on a ranch in North Dakota.
How did you get started in cutting?
“My aunt and uncle are the first ones who got me started in cutting horses. They owned a couple and and I rode them…”
Plenty of big stops and cow smarts saw Pedro Ornelas run away with the 2017 NCHA Futurity Limited Open Championship in Fort Worth.
Little Jo Cat created a frenzy of excitement from the crowd, marking a 225 to win by 4 points. The gelding is a High Brow Cat out of Jo Jo Boon, owned by the Anderson Cattle Company. Jo Jo Boon also won the Ltd Open Final, making it the first time a winner has bred another winner in that event.
Pedro, who has not had extensive show experience, took home more than $18,600 for the win.
Pedro was joined by his wife Janee and two children for the interview, told CHTO’s Simone Cobb he felt like he was floating in his first final in the Will Rogers.
Second place was taken out by Nate Lansford on Cat About Houston with a 221. Both Pedro and Nate will go onto the Open Semi Finals later in the event.
Austin Blake blew the field away when he showed Stuffin My Pockets and clinched the 2016 Non Pro Futurity Championship in Fort Worth.
Austin, from Canyon Tx, marked an impressive 224, two and half points in front of Greg Coalson who won the Reserve buckle.
Austin takes home just shy of $60,000 for the win. It’s Austin’s second Non Pro Futurity Championship. He won his first buckle in 2010 on One Rockin Pepto.
Ever humble in victory, Austin told CHTO’s Simone Cobb he was just thrilled to put together a great run on a horse he bred. Austin also came third in the limited Non Pro Futurity final on a full sister to Stuffin My Pockets, called Lookin Sneaky which he also bred.
Stuffin My Pockets is by Dual Smart Rey and out of Smartys Gonna Pass. Austin’s winnings at the Futurity now take him past the half million mark in total earnings.
Greg Coalson rode Catywompus, while third place getter Glade Knight marked a 220 on Geronimos Catillac.
