Yesterday, Rapp showed the  gelded son of Autumn Acre to top the  NCHA Futurity Non-Pro Semi-Finals with a score of 220 points.

Paula Wood was second with 219 points on homegrown Donas Suen Boon, by Boon Too Suen; and Dean Holden third on Playin With A Spoon.

As a 2-year-old, Hillbilly Handfishin’s career as a cutting horse depended on whether or not his potential merited the cost of surgery for a lesion on his hock.

He was bred by Lori and Bobby Gale, Conway, SC, and discovered to have the lesion, when the Gales had routine x-rays taken of their yearlings.

“He’s by Autumn Acre and that’s why they gave him to us,” explained Rapp, a syndicate owner of the young sire, who was an NCHA Open Futurity finalist (4th) and earner of nearly $300,000 under Phil Rapp.

“We kicked him out with our other yearlings and thought we’d see how he’d do. He was okay, when we started him, so we castrated him and decided to ride him until the fall of his two-year-old year. If he stayed sound and was any good, then we’d go ahead and have surgery done on his hock.”

When Hillbilly Handfishin proved to be one of their best prospects, they had his hock x-rayed once again and found that the lesion had healed and did not require surgery.

“He’s one of the soundest horses we’ve ever had, so it’s kind of ironic,” said Rapp, cutting’s all-time leaing non-pro money winner and 2002 NCHA Futurity Non-Pro champion on Little Janey Lena.

Amateur Semi-Finals

Dennis Levering on Nitas Little Jazz, by Nitas Wood, and Destini Benson with Jimmy Cracked Corn, by Widows Freckles, topped yesterday’s NCHA Futurity Amateur Semi-Finals with 217 points. Page Bowman was third aboard Athena Mad Man, by Athena Puddy Cat.