It was a smashing start to the year for our home grown cutting champ Trent Smith who clinched a double whammy win in the two major events at the Southern Cross Cutting Association’s championships in Harden last weekend.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The first show of the new point year, the event means Smith’s pointscore is off to a cracking start as he took out first place in the 5000 Novice Event and the 10,000 Novice event.
Just seven weeks out from the National Cutting Horse Association Futurity in Tamworth, Smith was delighted with the outcome.
“It’s a good start,” he said.
“I was happy with how the horses felt and the cattle were great - really grippy.”
He took out the blue ribbon in both events on Cats in the Cradle, otherwise known as Coco, who is owned by Paul Poole.
“Coco was on her game, she felt real tight and really wanted to trap those cows,” he said.
And it was a reunion with a horse he bred and trained at the family’s Tubbul horse stud when he and We Will Rock You (Rock), now owned by Matt Morgan, took out fourth place in the 5000 Novice and second placing in the 10,000 novice.
“Rock made the futurity final in Tamworth last year and it was great to have the opportunity to ride him for Matt - he was very switched on considering it was the first show back for the season,” Smith said.
There was more success for Young riders with Owen Smith from Young taking out first place in the 15000 Non Pro event on his horse Sweet Smokin Hootch, and Brooke West on Mr Knowitall gaining third placing in the Snafflebit section.
Brooke’s family are from Braidwood, but she is currently living at Tubbul where she works for Trent and Claudia Smith.
The weekend event was her third cutting competition.
She just edged out Rod Healey, also of Young, who gained fifth placing in the snafflebit on Peppys Smart Bar.
Thirteen-year-old Nick Smith proved he is a future force to be reckoned with as he won the Rookie section on Dee Bar Diamond Blue, facing off against competitors aged upwards of 20 years.
Jason Steven-Jones, of Stockinbingal, was presented with the red ribbon for his efforts in the Non Pro event on RBH Little Billy Boon.
Young people will also remember Margie Hart, a former resident, who also competed in the event, taking home a achievement award to show off to her husband Rob.
Organisers of the event said the show, the first in four years, went off without a hitch, with the Southern Cross Cutting Club now planning to add another to the annuual calendar.
Club secretary Dawn Webb said people travelled from as far away at Victoria and southern Queensland.
“I was rapt so many people came up - we had the weather
on our side and good cattle - everything else can go wrong but if the weather and cattle aren’t good it can be pretty tough,” she said.
The three-day event started with a prework day on Friday, allowing riders to work the young horses pegged for the 2015 Futurity the opportunity to work in a competition setting.
The Futurity has been a feature of the equine calendar since 1974 and is the pinnacle of cutting in Australia.
This iconic cutting horse event is steeped in Australian history and tradition, both of which have been preserved while the event has grown to be the largest indoor equine event in the southern hemisphere.
RESULTS
5000 Novice
1st Trent Smith riding Cats in the Cradle, owned by Paul Poole.
2nd Troy Randell from Benalla, Victoria riding Hollycatalena, owned by Scott Codey.
3rd Richard Webb of Illabo riding Two Timin Playboy owned by Ivan Ross, Cowra.
4th Trent Smith riding We will Rock You, owned by Matt Morgan.
10,000 Novice
1st Trent Smith riding Cats in the Cradle.
2nd Trent Smith riding We will Rock You.
3rd Richard Webb riding Cowgirls Paradise, owned by Mike Neil.
15000 Non Pro
1st Owen Smith of Young riding Sweet Smokin Hootch.
2nd Sasch Mason from Tumut riding CDs Key Player.
3rd Penny Low from Braidwood riding Ima Pritty Pepto.
4th Ivan Ross from Cowra riding Two Timin Playboy.
Rookies
- Nick Smith riding horse Dee Bar Diamond Blue.
- Ryan Rea riding Electric Duck.
- Linda O Sullivan from Sutton, riding Docs Linkon.
- Toni Gaffney, from Yathella riding Spicey Pep.
Open Non Pro
1st Sascha Mason riding CDs Key Player.
2nd Ivan Ross riding Smart Little Catalena.
3rd Owen Gwinn riding A1s Jays Little Oak.
Open
1st Richard Webb riding Smart Little Catalena.
2nd Phil Webb from Oberon riding BFP Bank on Time.
Snafflebit
1st Jo Petch from Bathurst riding Try a Whiskey.
2nd Quentin Stapleton from Oberon riding BFP Lethal Banks.
3rd Brooke West riding Mr Knowitall.
4th Mitch Paysena riding Little Black Betty.
5th Rod Healey riding Peppys Smart Bar from Young.
Novice Non Pro
1st Owen Gwinn riding A1jay Little Oak from Braidwood.
2nd Jason Steven-Jones riding RBH Little Billy Boon from Stockinbingal.
3rd Brooke Whitty riding Freckles Rogan from Cowra.
4th Sascha Mason riding CDs Key Player from Tumut.
4th Kirk NIcholson riding Roosters little Darlin Kirk is from Sydney.
Youth
1st Lydia Thornberry (13YO) riding Deserts Destiny from Armidale.
2nd Lydia Thornberr riding Henrys Fancy Pants.
3rd Ashley Petch riding Try a Whiskey from Bathurst.
7500 Non Pro
1st Brooke Whitty riding Freckles Rogan.
2nd Graham Scarth riding a Smart Rose from ACT.
3rd Blake Savage riding Winderdeen Catman from Sydney.
4th Paul Little riding Sciotalotapep
from Blaney.
