A field of dreams, aka 74 horses competing on Tuesday, November 17 at Will Rogers Coliseum in Fort Worth, for the chance to compete in the NCHA/Western Bloodstock Showdown in Cowtown Open Finals, on December 4 during the NCHA Futurity.
Showdown in Cowtown Open entrants have earned a total of $12,865,761 and range in age from 12 years to four. The illustrious field includes the sport’s richest mare, Dont Look Twice $804,954, and champions of every stripe, including 2012 NCHA Futurity Open champion He Bea Cat; 2009 NCHA Super Stakes Open champion Third Cutting; 2014 Super Stakes Open champion; 2015 NCHA Super Stakes Classic Open champion, and 2013 NCHA Futurity Non-Pro champion Junie Wood; 2015 and 2009 NCHA Derby Open champions Reyzin The Cash and Buzzted, respectively; and 2014 and 2012 NCHA World Finals Open champions CR Sun Reys and A Little Bossy, respectively.
In addition, many of the Showdown in Cowtown Open contenders are also entered in the Non-Pro elimination round on Wednesday, November 18, or the Unlimited Amateur round on November 18 and 19. Pedel To The Metall, first-place Open winner of $60,000 in Slot Cutting #1 with Adan Banuelos will be on deck for Slot Cutting #2, as will Non-Pro winner Cody Hedlund on Meteles Cat, and Unlimited Amateur winner Alexis Stephas with Once You Go Black.
The Showdown in Cowtown was conceived by Western Bloodstock Ltd’s Jeremy Barwick, and was inaugurated with Slot Cutting #1, limited to 4, 5 and 6-year-old horses, during the 2015 NCHA Summer Spectacular. Horses 4-years-old and up are eligible for the current event, Slot Cutting #2, with a total purse of $713,500.
Twenty percent of go-round contenders from the three divisions will advance to their respective finals, and in the event of a tie, a workoff will determine which competitor advances.
The schedule for Showdown in Cowtown Finals is as follows: Thursday, November 21, Limited Amateur Finals, following six sets of NCHA Futurity Open first go-round competition; Monday, November 30, Non-Pro Finals, following six sets of NCHA Futurity Non-Pro first go-round competition; and Open Finals on Friday, December 4 at 6:00 p.m. All go-rounds and finals will be webcast; for details and results go to nchacutting.com or westernbloodstock.com.