Hall of Fame rider Tatum Rice and Eazee set the top mark of 227 in the qualifying round for the Mercuria NCHA World Series of Cutting at the Calgary Stampede Tuesday.
Six horses qualified for the Open finals with a purse of $34,660. Ten Non-Pros led by Mandy Chisum and Magic Metalman, will vie for $42,940 in Wednesday’s finals.
Rice will be riding 7-year-old Eazee E for his in-laws, Kevin and Sandy Knight of Weatherford, Texas.
The mare was bred by Frank and Belinda Vandersloot by High Brow Cat out of Zee Dualy, a producer of $937,000, including Mary Jo Milner’s Hall of Fame horse, Smooth Asa Zee.
Rice was reserve champion of the Brazos Bash Classic on Eazee E, and his wife, Kylie, was reserve champion in the West Texas Non-Pro Classic. The mare has earned over $121,000 and is making her fourth Mercuria World Series finals in the past 12 months.
Here’s a look at the field for the Open finals at Calgary:
| 227.0 | EAZEE E, ridden by Tatum Rice Owned by Kevin & Sandy Knight, Weatherford, TX 2010 m (High Brow Cat x Zee Dualy, by Dual Pep) |
| 223.0 | QB CAT, ridden by Clint Allen Owned by David & Stacie McDavid, Fort Worth, TX 2008 g (High Brow Cat x Quintan Blue, by Mecom Blue) |
| 223.0 | THIS CATS MAX, ridden by Travis Rempel Owned by Doug & Angie Wiens, Lindell Beach, BC 2009 g (WR This Cats Smart x PF Docs Med, by Peppys Formula) |
| 220.0 | SPOOKED BY A CAT, ridden by Darren Simpkins Owned by Carol Ward, Rancho Murieta, CA 2006 g (Cat Ichi x San Starlight, by Grays Starlight) |
| 217.0 | MASTER MATE, ridden by Doug Reinhardt Owned by Cam Clark, Airdrie, AB 2011 g (Cat T Masterson x DT One Rare Mate, by Smart Mate) |
| 215.0 | LIL MAGIC IKE, ridden by Dustin Gonnet Owned by Pat Rorison, Dawson, BC 2012 g (Cat N A Hat x Scarlyte, by Peptoboonsmal) |
