PACIFIC COAST JOURNAL • March 2011 • Page 85
knocking gelding with a big stop.” Riding alongside with owner Nicole Carson, Jordan
admires the geldings’ desire and continuous success going two times a day weekend after weekend. It is not easy for a horse to win a single champi-
onship - let alone two. Such a feat is truly remarkable and should not be treated lightly. By portraying true grit, stamina and an unwavering level of quality in the pen, this gelding has truly set himself apart from the crowd as a stunning competitor - as have his dual riders.
$3,000 Novice Horse: Gavin Jordan/Calistoga Cat At the start of the year Gavin Jordan and owner,
Don Parke, had a notion in the back of their heads that maybe the mare Calistoga Cat had what it took to haul for a title. They didn’t want to rush anything so they just decided to take the 7-year-old to some aged events and get her seasoned. Calistoga’s first weekend show was in February at
South Point in Las Vegas, NV and in a matter of a few runs she won $4,000. This is when Jordan and Parke decided they were going to haul her. The more Jordan showed Calistoga, the further
ahead in the standing she rose. Jordan quickly realized that the two had a good shot at winning a world title in the $3,000 Novice Horse division. Jordan says “she is a great little mare. Very quick
across a cow and very smart!” The pair ended the year with a shocking $20,000
lead over second place in the PCCHA standings and won the prestigious NCHAWorld Champion title.
$5,000 Novice Non-Pro: Steve Norris/Peptowood As an impulse purchase, Peptowood, turned out to
be more than Steve Norris could have hoped for. In October of 2009, while spending some time in Phoenix, Arizona at his family’s horse facility, friends Drew Dunham and Don Perkins told him of the Rock Creek Ranch sale. It sounded like an entertaining way to spend the afternoon so they headed over with no intention of purchasing anything. Like any horse enthusiast, Norris couldn’t help but
circling some horses in the sale book that caught his eye. Peptowood happened to be the horse being previewed before the horse Norris was truly interested in. After see- ing her “big stop and fluid sweep” he raised his hand and was quickly a new owner of the 7-year-old Zac TWood mare.
Though he had accomplished a lot in the cutting
and roping arena, Norris had never had the true hauling experience, but spending over 200 nights in his living quarter trailer proved that this year was different. He quickly found himself at the top of the novice horse standings and decided to keep going to see how things played out. He did find showing five times a day a little overwhelming so he chose to sell his Non-Pro horse and split up his novice horses in the classes they were lead- ing. Peptowood would stay in the $5,000 Novice Non- Pro and Dont Hick Up in the $15,000 Novice Non-Pro. With over $100,000 in aged event earnings it was
no surprise that Peptowood would be extremely compet- itive in the $5,000 Novice Non-Pro. In fact, by July, Norris had such a large lead he decided to stop showing her. He ended the year with a $20,000 lead over second and was awarded the NCHA and PCCHA Championship. At one point in the year, when the competition was
tough, Norris turned to his son-in-law Trevor Brazile, rodeo superstar and winner of 8 all-around titles, and asked “How do you handle the competition when some- one is right behind you?” Brazile responded with “I never thought anyone could beat me.” This sense of con- fidence is what led Norris to two NCHA World Championships and many more to come.
Junior Youth: Kaylee Silverberg From the very beginning of her cutting career,
Kaylee Silverberg, was a threat as she rode her favorite horse, Brigapep to a 75. This year the pair matched up once more to win the PCCHA JuniorYouth division. As her final year in the Junior Youth, Silverberg
wanted to “learn a lot and have lots of fun doing what I love.” She was able to go to numerous shows and have fun while racking up the youth points. Silverberg has been riding since she was two years
old. She started with a great grey pony “Peanut,” but moved on to the ever-talented Brigapep who taught her everything she knows about cutting. Brigapep is an 18-year-old gelding with over
$330,000 in lifetime earnings. Silverberg’s mom Suzanne has had numerous successes on the gelding, including being the 2005 $50,000 Amateur World Champion and 2004 NCHA $10,000 Amateur World Finals Show Champion. Brigapep is now dominating the youth and
Silverberg knows “there is no other horse in the world that I would of liked to start cutting with. He is one of a kind and I am truly proud of what an amazing horse he is. He understands me and I understand him.”
Senior Youth-Kristin Talbot College freshman, Kristin Talbot, flew by her com-
petition to win the SeniorYouth championship with three times as many points as her closest competitor. Being the last year to show before her college experi- ence started Talbot wanted to give it all she had, but this year was not only about showing to her. Going down the road every weekend gave her the chance to connect and spend some quality time with her father, Bernie. It was her dad who encouraged her to start cutting
over 9 years ago. Talbot was traveling with her dad to shows and found herself with nothing to do. Bernie gave her a lesson on the flag and she was immediately in love with the sport. Talbot tributes a lot of her success to her horse Play
Stocks, “without him I wouldn’t have done as well this year. He is a great horse and we get along very well.” Play Stocks is an 11-year-old gelding by Playdox out of Bobs Preffered Stock. Talbot remarks, “I am grateful for all the help and
support I receive while hauling. I would like to thank my parents for buying me my wonderful horse, Play Stocks, and Bill McCarver for agreeing to sell him to me at the beginning of the year. I would like to thank Gavin Jordan for all his help throughout the year. Finally, I would like to thank Norman and Helen Clark for supporting me, being my ‘coach,’ and helping me get ready.”
Youth Rookie of the Year: Madelynn Perry With a PCCHA Junior Youth Reserve Champion
title under her belt Madelynn Perry decided that she wanted to spend her last year in the JuniorYouth focused on becoming the PCCHA Rookie of theYear.With deter- mination, she spent a lot of time practicing and going to as many shows as she could, leading her to accomplish her goal.
Perry spent the entire year showing her horse,
Docs Becky Solano. This 14-year-old mare has numer- ous years experience in the show pen with over $23,000 in lifetime earnings and multiple NCHAWorld Top Ten titles. Trainer, Jason Haefner, introduced the two saying, “they would be a perfect fit.” Watching her mom learn to ride cutting horses is
what really sparked Perry’s interest. She started taking lessons at the age of ten and quickly started showing with her first horse, Lena Rosette. This mare helped Perry earn first and second place in the NCCHA Junior Youth two years in a row. Going to cuttings was mostly a mother-daughter
event for Perry. While both show, many times this year they went to shows just for her, “I was very thankful that
I had my mom and that she was willing to drive so far just for those precious two and a half minutes.
Rookie of the Year: Alex Lee Showing cutting horses has been a long time dream
of rookie, Alex Lee. Lee started taking riding lessons at an early age from trainer Fred Frye, but started out rop- ing and working on a family friend’s cattle ranch. His parents thought cutting would just be a “fad” in his life, but promised to match the amount Lee could raise in order to purchase a horse. After working hard and selling his 4H steer he was able to make a trip to the NCHA Futurity sale in order to find a horse. Lee brought home a 4-year-old Lenas Jewel Bars
gelding named DS Family Jewel, fondly called “Trip” for the fun Texas adventure. Lee was finally able to take him to the show pen for the first time. In his senior year
of high school Lee ended up 5th in the state for High School Rodeo. Lee’s choice in college was based on the fact that
he would be able to bring Trip along with him. Being a full time student limited the amount of shows Lee was able to attend. “There were quite a few times that Trip would be tied to my trailer with my dog in the school parking lot so when I got out of class we could drive all night to a show,” remembers Lee. Lee affectionately says, “Trip is one of the best
things to ever happen to me. That horse is so forgiving. There were plenty of times that I put him in a bad spot or cut a cow I shouldn’t have and he always gave it his all. No matter what the circumstance Trip will do his best to hold whatever I put in front of him, and try hard to make me look good doing it. He is truly one of my best friends; I will have this horse the rest of his life. If he never looks at another cow its ok with me; he has earned his stripes.” Lee is currently finishing his last semester at Cal Poly and plans on staying within the cutting horse industry.
He is set to graduate March 15th and will set foot on
Lindy Burch’s ranch in Texas on March 20th ready to begin his life as an assistant trainer.
Hall of Famers The PCCHA Hall of Fame is designed to recognize
and honor those who have contributed and made a posi- tive impact on the cutting industry. This year four people were inducted into the Hall of Fame, including, Rock Hedlund, Frank & Bonnie Martin, and ScottWeis. Rock Hedlund Growing up with cutting horses has made cutting
Rock Hedlund’s life. Hedlund started cutting at an early age of 14 where he was quickly named theAQHAYouth CuttingWorld Champion. While he started cutting pure- ly because his parents did not want him riding rough stock, Hedlund has now been training horses for over 30 years.
As a NCHA Hall of Fame rider, Hedlund is a two
time NCHA World Champion and Reserve World Champion. He has an excess of 1.5 million dollars in earnings and won numerous PCCHA Year-End Championships. Hedlund has also been involved with the cutting
horse industry outside of the arena. He served at the PCCHA President in 2008, been a PCCHA/NCHA director, and NCHA judge for many years. Hedlund finds PCCHA to be a very special associ-
ation, “the special thing about PCCHA is the people, friends, and family that are involved.” Being one of the newest members in the PCCHA
Hall of Fame means a great deal to Hedlund, “I am very honored to be inducted to the Hall of Fame. I feel very fortunate to be included in a list of people that have done so much for PCCHA.”
Frank & Bonnie Martin High school sweethearts, Frank and Bonnie Martin,
the Cutter
have been riding horses together for a long time. In fact, they met on horseback in the 1960’s. Neither one started with cutting horses, but learned how to ride gymkhana then moved on to equitation and halter horses. From there Frank fell in love with cutting horses and Bonnie spent her time on barrel horses. With both going in different directions the two
decided it would be better to pick one sport they could share, so they stuck with cutting. Bonnie remember, “I went with Frank to a cutting and after watching a couple of classes, I said ‘I can do that, there isn’t much to it.’No running full out at a barrel, slamming to a slowdown and making the turn. Well 35 years later, I am still working on the ‘there isn’t much to it.’” Together, the two have had much success in the cut-
ting arena. Both Frank and Bonnie enjoy being part of the
PCCHA and find it to be a unique organization. Frank says, “For me, PCCHA has always provided
the innovators to the industry; they strive all the time to find a place for cutters at every level to compete. Our stallion programs ranging from the Gelding Stakes to the Cutting Stakes were the first in the nation and are still the best in class. NCHA has copied some many programs that began ‘on the coast’ and then have made a huge suc- cess of them in their own right. More importantly over the years, they have remained an association that listens and responds to their membership. Sometimes the new programs don’t work and then we have the bright and shining stars such as the 200k Limited Non-Pro and the Seniors class within a class.” Bonnie believes, “PCCHA provides the opportuni-
ty to compete for the beginner to the most accomplished rider. This association has provided me with a place to exhibit my horses, make some great friends, & always challenging me to do better.” Being inducted into the Hall of Fame means some-
thing different to both Frank and Bonnie. Frank feels, “I guess it is the part about being rec-
ognized by your peers for your contributions - not the money, but the time, dedication and sincere concern that the industry and PCCHA is advanced each year to a higher level.” While Bonnie comments, “what a privilege, to be
honored, and acknowledged by your peers for something I have invested most of my life into. I want to say thank you for noticing and thank you for the opportunity to be involved with a sport I have loved and participated in for many years.”
ScottWeis After graduating from the Cal Poly-Ag Business
program, ScottWeis went on to train cutting horses. He started out breaking colts for a living and started compet- itively showing in 1983. Since then he has won every major event in the
PCCHA, finalist at every NCHA event and has devel- oped many PCCHA and NCHA World Champions. “I just love cutting horses. There is nothing I would rather do than train a good, young prospect and go out and win,” saysWeis. Besides showing cutting horses, he has contributed
to the industry by serving as the PCCHA President in the 1990‘s and is also currently the PCCHA Vice-President on his way to serve as the President once again. Weis’ continuous support of PCCHA comes from
his belief that it is a unique and positive association. Weis comments, “PCCHA is special because of its com- mitment to the membership. It has longevity as an organ- ization and it’s constantly putting in effort to evolve and promote the sport of cutting.” To Weis “it is a great honor to be recognized by
your peers in any endeavor you undertake. It is a great honor to be included with all the past recipients and I am very grateful.”
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