WEATHERFORD —  

The National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) held its annual convention, sponsored in part by Boehringer Ingelheim, June 18-20 at the Hilton DFW in Grapevine, Texas. New officers were elected, and Hall of Fame inductees were recognized at the 2010 convention.

Weatherford and other Parker County-resident members were well-represented at  the convention, as HoF honorees and on-going officer representation.    

Seven new executive board members were installed at convention. Chris Benedict, of Weatherford, Texas, will serve as NCHA President for the next year.  Benedict is taking over for Chubby Turner, also of Weatherford, Texas, who was the 2009-2010 president.  

President-elect Keith Deaville, of Covington, La., is next in line for the presidency and will take the position at the 2011 convention.  

Ernie Buetenmiller Jr., of Union, Missouri, was recently elected as vice president by a vote of membership.

The open at-large position was filled in a run-off election between Bruce Richerson and Bill Riddle.  By majority vote, Richerson accepted the three-year term at the General Membership meeting.  

Three regional representatives were elected to serve the next three years - Region III selected Don Strain, of White River, S.D.; Region IV selected Chuck Smith, of Canal Winchester, Ohio; and Region VIII selected Matt Gaines of Weatherford, Texas.  

The NCHA Hall of Fame was created to honor those who consistently exhibit high moral character, good sportsmanship, fairness, extraordinary commitment to the cutting horses in the NCHA, and an exemplary contribution of time, effort and interest in the NCHA and its basic endeavors.

New inductees to the NCHA Members Hall of Fame were honored at a reception, Saturday night. Inductees for 2010 comprised Judy Burton Armstrong, of Gladewater, Bobby Cook, of Port Allen, La.; Carolyn Crist, of Fort Worth, Don Neuenschwander, of Houston, Dave Robson, of Calgary, Alberta; and Mike Wells, of Houston.

Judy Burton Armstrong, daughter of Bob Burton, was riding before NCHA was formed.  She learned to cut on one of her father’s horses, NCHA Hall of Fame mare Miss Nancy Bailey, and competed against legends like Matlock Rose, John Carter, and Buster Welch.  

The late Bobby Cook was active in many disciplines from shoeing to training, but he chose to focus on cutting. Bobby took an active role in his clients who were mostly non-pros, amateurs, and youth cutters.  Many of his youth clients went on to win the NCHA Youth World Championship.  He was an NCHA AAAA judge and was admired for being fair and impartial.  He also encouraged others to give something back to the sport through judging.

Carolyn Crist has worked within every department in NCHA.  When she came to work in September of 1976, NCHA had six employees and no specialists.  Carolyn came to NCHA in the era of Zack Wood who personally trained her in every area of the association.  

Don Neuenschwander helped lay the groundwork for NCHA’s solid financial footing. Don’s background in banking allowed him to bring NCHA up to speed in the accounting department where NCHA had only had different checking accounts that shows were managed through before Don’s help.  He and his father sorted through all the association’s bank statements and set up an accounting system.  A complete set of books was developed after three months – at no cost to NCHA.  

Dave Robson’s farm background not only got him his first job, it also got him to his first cutting in the late 1950s when he started watching the greats like Peppy San, Matlock Rose, Chunky Woodward, and Bill Collins.  He bought his first acreage in 1973 and showed in AQHA classes for a few years before joining in the snaffle bit futurity hype.  That led to his first cutting horse purchase from Bill Collins.  

Mike Wells bought his first horse at age 28 and tried his hand at calf roping.  That all changed when he bought the first cutting horse he ever rode, an old King Ranch gelding named Bob K Jr.  

Mike joined the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo in 1965 where he served on and later chaired the cutting horse, Quarter Horse, and Palomino committees.  He also served as a director for AQHA and NCHA, on NCHA’s executive committee, and played a major role in bringing the NCHA World Finals to Houston in the 1980s.  

Each year, AQHA recognizes the top breeding horses based on money earned by their offspring in NCHA competition during the calendar year.  Each winner received an official AQHA trophy. Chers Shadow was the 2009 leading dam.  Co-owner Lindy Burch, Oxbow Ranch, accepted the award. Cat Ichi earned the 2009 leading freshman sire trophy.  Guy Woods accepted the trophy on behalf of Jo Ellard, EE Ranches. High Brow Cat took his seventh leading sire award. Jack Waggoner, Waggoner Ranches, accepted the award.

Cutting horses are inducted into the NCHA Hall of Fame based on their earnings or by winning at least two designated major events or World Championships.  Five horses qualified in 2009.  Each received an official Hall of Fame certificate.

Hydrive Cat, owned by Shane and Jane Plummer of Fort Worth, Metallic Cat, owned by Alvin and Becky Fults of Amarillo, Oh Cay Felix, owned by Patrick and Laura Collins of Lincoln, IL., Our Little Dyno, owned by Jeffrey and Margaret McCoy of Weatherford and Third Cutting, owned by Carl and Shawnea Smith of Jacksboro.  

Non-Professionals are inducted into the NCHA Hall of Fame based on earnings or on having won a combination of designated events. Five non-pros were inducted in 2009.  Each received an official Hall of Fame certificate. Inductees included Lindy Ashlock, Baird, Spunky Hawkins, Morton, MS, Billy Martin, Millsap, Lach Perks, Rockford, IL and Stacy Shepard, Summerdale, AL.

Open riders are inducted into the NCHA Hall of Fame based on earnings of more than $1 million or by winning a combination of designated events. Five riders were inducted in 2009.  Each received an official Hall of Fame certificate. They were, David Costello, Paso Robles, CA., Zeke Entz, Collierville, TN., Sean Flynn, Weatherford, Lee Francois, Murchison, and Gavin Jordan, Wilton, CA.

The Zack T. Wood Memorial Golf Tournament kicked off the convention on Thursday, June 17.  The first place team was comprised of Nick Karanges, Bobby Hunt, Trey Hunt, and Mike Muzile. Longest drive winners were Shawn McCoy and Mike Muzik.  Mike Muzik and Chris Hodges were closest to the pin winners.   

The National Cutting Horse Association has more than 20,000 members from a wide range of backgrounds. Each year more than 2,200 NCHA-approved events are held throughout North America, with more than $43 million in prize money awarded. For more information visit www.nchacutting.com or call (817) 244-6188.