The Douglas County Fairgrounds hosted some of the best athletes in the region recently over an April weekend. They all dug deep and laid it on the line every time their name was called. When the dust settled, their reward was water, fresh hay, and grain. The sport of Cutting is not new to the state of Colorado, and it is thriving despite the difficult economic strains of the region’s horse community.

“The Western States Cutting Horse Association (WSCHA) was founded in 1959, so it’s got a lot of history in the state of Colorado,” said Jon Strain, WSCHA President, a 15th ranked Non-Pro rider in the nation in 2007, and the man behind the microphone during the local April competition. “I believe we have members from 10 or 11 different states. Originally it was formed for Colorado and Wyoming (but) the membership has expanded. We have people from Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah ... all the surrounding states.

Many of those members were inside the arena, competing or getting ready to compete at the Douglas County event. While the riders’ skills were evident, the sport of Cutting — even more than many other equine sports — is all about the horse.

“The horse has to know what to do,” said Pete Clark, an Elbert, Colorado resident who won Saturday’s $50,000 Amateur Class aboard his 17-year-old mount, Meradas Sunset. “If your horse has to wait for a signal from you, by the time your brain processes it and then you give him the cue and his brain processes the cue, the cow you were working on is now back in the herd. So your horse has to know.”

Clark went on to share that while training is important and helps a lot, if a horse isn’t born with the instinct for Cutting, it won’t be successful.

“It’s instinct,” said Clark, sharing experience and insight accompanied by smiles and easy laughter. “It has to have cow sense. It has to have a tremendous amount of cow in it. The good ones take it personally. If a cow beats them, they’re mad. A good cutting horse knows that cow is not supposed to get by him,” continued the personable cowboy. “If it does get by him, he’s (really mad). So that’s important.”

What is important for anyone wondering about the sport of cutting is the fact those participating can’t seem to get enough of it.

“It’s probably the most fun you can have on a horse,” said Strain about the competition of horse against cows inside the pen. “To feel that is hard to describe. It is very exhilarating for two and a half minutes to be out there and know you’re on a highly tuned, highly trained animal that is as good an athlete as you’ll ever be around.”
Clark echoed Strain’s enthusiasm for the sport.

“It’s a rush. It’s the most exciting thing I can do on my horse,” he described of separating a cow and preventing it from returning to the herd, no matter how hard it tries. “It’s the teamwork, me and the horse, against a herd of cows. They’re so quick. It’s animal against animal and you’ve got the best seat in the house. I’ve done Team Penning, Sorting — I think this is the ultimate equine activity you can be involved in.”

“We’re kind of like drug dealers,” revealed Strain with a big laugh at his choice of words. “We’ll give you the first ride for free and then after that we’re going to charge you because we know we’ve got you hooked. If you try it one time ...”

The addicting element to the sport is what seems to help cutting thrive in the current economic downturn.

“It is strong, very healthy, and growing in Colorado,” said Clark on the subject. “We’ve got a lot of good trainers in the area and there are a lot of good horses.”

“I think it’s growing,” added Strain about the interest level in the region. “The first few shows we put on this year were the largest we’ve had. We did one in Loveland about a month ago and we had 340 works (horse and rider may enter multiple classes as long as they meet and do not exceed qualifications) in a two-day show, which is unusual. We’ll have about 135 runs today. That’s a very good show for us.”

With Cutting’s emphasis on the western heritage — part of the National Cutting Horse Association’s (NCHA) Mission Statement is to preserve and promote the western lifestyle — Strain is confident anyone who loves horses and loves the West will get a kick out of the sport.

“Even if people aren’t ready to try cutting yet, if they come and just hang out; they can see the type of people here,” he began with enthusiasm. “They can stop anybody and talk to them. We’re all willing to explain what we know about it. This will get your heart pounding,” he stated with a laugh. “If you are into the western lifestyle at all, it just doesn’t get any better than this.”

For information on cutting, Strain recommended checking out the NCHA website at www.nchacutting.com. Further information on the WSCHA affiliate can be found by clicking the “Affiliates” tab located under the “Quick Menu” section of the NCHA homepage