Holman places at National

Holman places at National Cutting Horse Association World Championship

By FAITH MOLDAN

Bigfork Eagle

“Nothing’s as big as what we did,” Bigfork resident Susan Holman said.

Holman’s husband, Randy, placed 10th at the National Cutting Horse Association World Championship Futurity in Fort Worth, Texas Nov. 26-Dec. 17. Randy’s finish makes him the first Montanan to qualify for the semi-finals at the World Championship.

“I started training horses to ride at 15,” Randy said. “I’ve been around horses my whole life.”

Holman began competing in cutting horse competitions in 1998, after competing in rodeos for 25 years. His wife, an accomplished barrel racer, also competed in rodeos.

When asked what they do outside of cutting horse competitions, the Holmans, who ride about six days a week, smiled and said they’re interests are “pretty much horses.”

The NCHA World Championship, held at the Will Rogers Coliseum, consisted of two rounds of qualifying competition, a semi-final round and a final round. Each round gives the rider and horse two-and-a-half minutes to separate one cow from the herd. The rider cannot use the bridle reins.

Separating individual cows from a herd used to be just a part of the daily job of a cowboy. Today it’s one of the world’s most popular equine sports, according to the National Cutting Horse Association Web site.

“But each year, thousands of cutting events — from Austin to Australia — attract riders aged 8 to 80,” the NCHA Web site states.

Holman competed with 3-year old horse Smart N Catty, which the Holman’s fondly call Midget. Midget, owned by Dave and Sandy Sabey as well as the rest of the 20 head in the Holman’s barn near Echo Lake, was one of 685 horses from all over the world that competed in the World Championship.

The horse and rider are scored by five judges. The top and bottom scores are thrown out and the three remaining scores are added together. The Holmans said 70 is an average score, and scores of 74-74 are good. Randy and Midget scored 213 the first round, 219 in the second, 215 in the semi-final round and 214 in the finals.

“If there’s enough time, you can get two or three cows,” Randy said. He has qualified for the semi-finals in other competitions as well, earning him close to $200,000 dollars. Much of the money is put back into travel expenses, buying and training new horses, although Holman said it’s hard to train them.

“They’ve got different personalities. They’ve got to stop and hold a cow,” he said.

Holman gets help warming up the horses for competition from his wife and from assistant Eli Auger. Auger has worked with the Holmans for four years. They’ll bring two horses they purchased in Fort Worth back there for competition next year. Holman will compete again in Las Vegas, Nev. in February, Fort Worth, Texas in March and another competition in May.

The NCHA Web site said the first advertised cutting contest was held in 1898 at the Cowboy Reunion in Haskell, Texas. The contest drew 15,000 people, as it offered a prize of $150 — a large amount of money at that time. The National Cutting Horse Association was officially formed in 1946 by a group of 13 cutting horse owners in order to regulate contests, conditions and rules.