2010 PCCHA Year-End Champions the Cutter
Open: Gavin Jordan/Tachitas Cat Gavin Jordan and Tachitas Cat are no strangers to
the winner’s circle. The dynamic duo have been earning buckles, trophies and world titles since 2006 when they were the $3,000 NCHA Novice HorseWorld Champion. This year they not only won the PCCHA Open Championship, but also were the NCHA Open Reserve Champion and NCHAWorld Champion Gelding earning a little over $58,000 this year. Tachitas Cat, by High Brow Cat, is a 10-year-old
gelding out of Peppys Tachita. Unlike most horses, Tachita thrives under the pressure of showing twice a day and consistently proves that he is an extraordinary horse. Jordan proudly states, “He is one of my all time favorite horses. His best attribute is that he can do it all! Run, stop hard and crawl in front of the cow.” This year Tachita was also awarded the Hes a Missouri Doc Award. This award is given to a horse who shows extreme talent and consistency over the years on the weekend circuit. Tachita embodies all the qualities of this award and was more than deserving. Jordan matches Tachita’s ability to show numerous times a day and continuously be competitive. This year, Jordan is taking home three PCCHA championship titles. A native Australian, Jordan moved to California in 1993. He currently lives and trains horses inWilton, California. As a NCHA Hall of Famer with over $1.4 million dollars in earnings Jordan is an asset to the cutting horse indus- try.
Open Derby: Todd Bimat/My Little Moo Cha Cha (Art&Sandy Haskins) Showing the 4-year-old mare My Little Moo Cha
Cha seemed like a family affair to trainer, Todd Bimat. As he had previously shown her dad and mom, Bimat was excited to get the chance to show her. Bimat started showing the Tangys Classy Peppy
mare as a 3-year-old where he made the finals at both the PCCHA Futurity and El Rancho Futurity. At the start of the year, Bimat showed her in order
to keep her tuned for the aged event classes. It wasn’t until August when owners Art & Sandy Haskin called him up after seeing how close he was in the standings. Bimat remembers, “Sandy pointed out how close I
was to winning and said maybe I should continue to go to the weekend shows. I like showing her so I didn’t complain.” While Bimat feels that the mare was consistent and
had many good shows, his favorite was McArthur when she marked a career record 76. This is when she really shines and showed how “quick, strong and cow smart she is.”
Bimat currently lives in Orland, CA with his wife
Erin. He has been riding since he was a young child, and is a NCHA Hall of Fame recipient, with over $2,000,000 in lifetime earning and numerous championship titles, including NCHA Super Stakes Champion and PCCHA Futurity Champion. Besides competing, he is also a respected NCHA judge and Board of Director for both NCHA and PCCHA.
Open Classic/Challenge: Gavin Jordan/ Cosmopolitan Cat (Gary & Linday Thuman) Cosmopolitan Cat, a High Brow Cat gelding, was
one of Gavin Jordan’s main aged event horses. Jordan took “Cosmo” to all of the main aged events, his consis- tency in the show pen and honest style leading him to the PCCHA Open Classic Challenge Championship. Cosmo’s biggest accomplishment of the year was
winning the 5/6 Open Classic Challenge at the El Rancho Futurity. The two marked a 222 in the finals - almost doubling Cosmo’s prior earnings.
Jordan says, “He is a real nice horse, really cowy
and honest.” Now that Cosmo is 7-years-old and no longer eligi-
ble for the aged events, owner Linda Thuman plans on taking over the reins and showing on the weekend cir- cuit.
Non-Pro: Norman Clark/CD Olena Peppy Non-Pro Champion, Norman Clark, set a goal in
the beginning of the year to make the Top 15 in NCHA and go to the World Finals in Forth Worth, TX. As the year progressed, it began to look like a possibility to be in the Top 15 and also do well in the PCCHA year-end. Clark did more than his original goal and ended up win-
ning the PCCHA Non-Pro as well as ending up 9th in NCHA standings. Winning the PCCHA Non-Pro is a high honor as he takes home the coveted buckle. Clark started showing cutting horses in 1980 with
his good friend Chubby Turner. Turner not only got Clark into cutting but found him the special gelding, CD Olena Peppy, in August of 2007. Turner saw CD at a clinic he put on in Montana and knowing that Clark was looking for a good Non-Pro horse, he gave him a call. “He has far exceeded my expectations. He is a good
horse that gives you 100% every time you walk to the herd,” says Clark. Attending many shows throughout the year, the
Mercuria/NCHA World Series of Cutting in Rancho Murieta, CA was the most exciting. Marking a 220, he
earned $10,030 and moved from 12th to 4th in the NCHA Non-Pro standings. This big run allowed him the luxury of staying on theWest Coast in the fall instead of traveling to Texas to stay in the NCHATop 15 standings. After retiring in 2005, Clark has been able to
devote more time to showing and going down the road. Clark believes “the best part of hauling is the friends you meet, the dinners together, and the experiences, good and bad, that you share together.”
Non-Pro Derby: David Booth/Blu Rey Good looks is what first attracted Roger Booth to
the stylish Blu Rey, a Meradas Blue Sue gelding out of dam Bingos Nurse. Booth first saw “Blu” as a yearling in the NCHA Futurity sale ring and after noticing how attractive he was, Booth decided to purchase him. This year, Booth’s son, David, took him to week-
end shows in order to season him for the aged events. Having the opportunity to make numerous runs this year David Booth feels, “he’s come a long way in a year. He just keeps getting better.” Earning almost $8,000 in the weekend circuit this
year, Blu is seasoned and ready to win in the upcoming 5/6 Classic Challenge aged events. “When showing Blu I always have to make sure he is tired and when you do that, he’ll be great. He loves when a cow tries him; I think he likes the challenge of them. He is easy to show and so much fun,” comments Booth.
Non-Pro Classic Challenge: David Booth/Crossing Red River While taking Blu Rey down the road, David Booth,
also decided to take his 6-year-old He’s a Peptospoonsful gelding, Crossing Red River, to the weekend circuit to keep him seasoned for aged events. Seasoning “Red” on the weekends was the perfect
plan to help him be successful at aged events. This year he racked up numerous titles, including PCCHA $200,000 5/6 Non Pro Finalist, El Rancho Aged Event 5/6 Non Pro Finalist, LasVegas South Point 5/6 Non Pro Finalist, Limited and Gelding Champion. Red now has $89,000 in total NCHA earnings. At a few shows Booth’s dad, Roger, jumped into
the saddle to show Red. They were also competitive and picked up a few checks. Roger has been cutting since 1980’s and experienced great success last year as he won both the PCCHA and NCHA Championship titles in the $50,000 Amateur division and has $130,000 in lifetime earnings. Looking back on the year Booth comments,
“Hauling was fun as it always is, the titles one can win are awesome, but it is the friends you make along the way and the memories you take that make it worth- while.”
$50,000 Amateur-Elizabeth Booth If you have spent time around aWest Coast cutting
arena the past five years then you have probably met, seen, or experienced Elizabeth Booth. She was the exu- berant, caring, fun loving blond cheering on everyone atop the fence during the day, dancing up a storm at night, and being a friend to anyone she came in contact with. Liz was an inspiration to everyone. In July of 2010, Liz passed away after a short bat-
tle with colon cancer. She is greatly missed by all of her friends and family, but her memory lives on through her husband Roger, sons David and Matt, and many friends. As Liz put it “2010 was going to be her year in the
cutting pen.” Her husband, Roger, had just clenched the $50,000 Amateur NCHA and PCCHA championships the year before and she wanted to follow in his footsteps. With her mind set she packed up the rig with her
horse, Spectacular Playboy, inside and headed down the road. Starting the year off with a bang, winning class after class, she quickly rose to the top of the pack. It was obvious to all that she would be able to accomplish her goal.
Though Liz passed away and was unable to finish her hauling year she was still able to meet her goal by
winning the PCCHA championship and ending up 8th in NCHA. She was a true competitor and her family believes “it is an amazing feat for her to win this; bitter- sweet, but we are proud of her.”
$35,000 Non Pro/$15,000 Amateur: Michelle LeMaster/Budha Cash Making 189 runs this year, Michelle LeMaster is
officially a seasoned hauler, but it wasn’t only about making runs in the cutting arena. To her, the year was like “visiting family from state to state.” While LeMaster was doing her “visiting” she was
also accumulating numerous championships. At then end of the year LeMaster was a dual NCHA and PCCHA Champion in both the $35,000 Non-Pro and $15,000 Amateur division. Hauling this year wasn’t a set plan, LeMaster pure-
ly wanted to go to a few shows in the beginning of the year to prepare for the NCHAWestern Nationals. While the Nationals didn’t go quite as planned she made the decision that she really wanted to “figure out the sport of cutting.” At the end of June, she joined trainer Mike Wood on the road and never stopped going. Her partner in the show pen all year was Budha
Cash. LeMaster purchased her in 2007 and “Cashie” has been teaching her all she knows ever since. LeMaster says, “Cashie is great in the 35 and 15 because she loves rerun cows. She gave her whole heart and did her best for the cows I picked for 2 ½ minutes just for me.” The year was filled with similar learning experi-
ences as LeMaster believes, “cutting is such a learning and humbling experience, each time I would go into the pen I would try to improve or yet remember what to do.” With all the success she has had it is obvious that LeMaster learned quite a lot this year. As the year comes to an end LeMaster would like
to say, “Thank you to everyone involved in putting on shows we couldn’t have them without you. To everyone that helped me in the show pen you are amazing, I am still wondering how many times I have to be told to slow down before I actually do. Finally, thank you to my hus- band Jeff for being so supportive.”
$2,000 Limit Rider: Roper Curtiss/Teninas Playgirl This year’s $2,000 Limit Rider Champion is Roper
Curtiss riding the 12-year-old mare Teninas Playgirl owned by Jacque Accomazzo. While Curtiss had shown a little before this year, he
made a decision early on that he wanted to haul in 2010 in order to “earn a lot of experience and have a goal at the same time.” As the year progressed his goal trans- formed into a dream. Throughout the course of the year Curtiss not only
was the PCCHA Champion, but also the NCHA World Champion, AZCHA Champion and Area 2 Champion in the $2,000 Limit Rider division. Curtiss started cutting two years ago when he went
to work for MikeWood, a trainer in Arizona, but nothing compares to the fun he had this year. “This year was great. I got to meet lots of people and learn tons. I espe- cially love showing at the AzCHA shows and the South Point in Las Vegas, NV,” says Curtiss.
$15,000 Novice Non-Pro: Nicole Carson/Peptos Promise
Sometimes things don’t always go as planned, but
end up working out for the best. Nicole Carson can relate to this after a very successful year winning the $15,000 Novice Horse Non-Pro. Peptos Promise, “Howie,” was actually set to be sold at the end of 2009 because Nicole wanted to focus on taking her 4-year-old to aged-events. After some thought, she decided to keep him as a
practice horse, but did not plan on hauling to many shows. In fact, Howie was an unexpected purchase in the first place. Three years ago, Carson and her dad attend- ed the NCHA Futurity sale looking to buy a seasoned horse about 7-8 years old to teach her the ropes. Nothing really excited her until Howie stepped into
the sale arena as a young 4-year-old. Going against the plan she raised her hand and about 15 seconds later was a new owner. Her dad then looked at her and said, “I hope you know what you are doing.” Apparently Carson did because he has been an
amazing horse so far - not only winning a title with her but also earning the $10,000 Novice Horse Championship with trainer Gavin Jordan. The 7-year-old Peptoboonsmal gelding made his
fair share of runs this year while hauling in both novice classes; often walked out of one pen straight to another. Jordan and Carson started off the year doubling up as a way of getting him tuned for Carson, but he continuous- ly stayed so strong and sound that they just kept going. Carson believes that he is a very special horse. She
commented that “he is a real character and will do any- thing for a peppermint (he has the best breath). He is very easy to get ready and takes little to no loping.”
$10,000 Novice Horse: Gavin Jordan/Peptos Promise One of the closest races this year was in the
$10,000 Novice Horse division. Gavin Jordan aboard Peptos Promise, the same gelding who claimed the $15,000 Novice Non-Pro Horse championship, fought it out until the end against Rock Hedlund and the horse To The Top With a Plan. It wasn’t until the final show in Brawley, CA that he secured the title. Along with winning the PCCHA title Jordan also ended up the NCHA Reserve Champion in this division. Jordan describes Pepto as “really solid, hard-
Page 84• March 2011 • PACIFIC COAST JOURNAL
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