Cup competition continues to shine
By Cathy Martindale

The Western Horseman Cup finals competition enters its fifth year as a special event during the Augusta Futurity.

The unique show bringing together the 15 top Open horses and 15 top Non-Professional riders from 2007 is presented this year by Gist Silversmiths and Cowboy Publishing Group's Western Horseman magazine, in conjunction with NCHA-approved aged events.

The finals are held during the Augusta Futurity, a cutting already known for its higher-than-usual spectator interest.

The Western Horseman Cup is based on three seasons of competition-spring, summer and fall- for foals born in 2003 at participating aged events across the United States and Canada. Horses are 5 years old at the time of the finals.

Finalists in each qualifying show in each season earn points based on the added money and size of the shows. Points do not carry over from season to season, and a horse or rider cannot qualify twice for the finals. However, a horse may compete in both the Open and Non-Pro finals.

The total purse in the Open division is $89,000, and in the Non-Pro is $67,000. All finalists are guaranteed to win back at least their entry fees.

If a horse or rider finishes in the top five in more than one season, or cannot attend the finals, that slot is filled by the next highest competitor from that season.Owners of Open finalists may select any rider to show the horse, regardless of whether the rider showed the horse during the season. But a rider can show only one Open horse in the finals.

Non-Pro finalists may show any 5-year-old horse regardless of whether they showed that horse during 2007.

The draw has become a Western Horseman Cup tradition. Riders draw for selection rather than actual working order. The number a rider draws determines the order in which he or she gets to select a working position.

At stake besides the money is a gleaming silver trophy, a handcrafted sterling silver cup more than 3 feet tall, crowned with a finial done from a Jim Reno cutting horse sculpture.

Names of this year's winners will be added to the trophy, kept on display at the National Cutting Horse Association offices in Fort Worth, Texas.

Winners also receive smaller individual replicas of the trophy.