Cutting: What it's all about
Cutting: What it’s all about
History
One of the world’s fastest growing equine sports, cutting offers tremendous excitement and drama for the horse, rider and spectator alike.
The challenge: to select a single cow from the herd....gently guide it into the centre of the arena....and then, with lightening fast starts and turns, prevent it from ducking past the horse and escaping back to the herd.
Cutting had its origins in the Old West. Ranchers used cutting to separate individual cattle and move them into corrals or pens. When the cattle drives were formed, the cutting horse was invaluable to the trail boss in forming the herd.
Cutting attracts men and women alike, from across the nation and from all walks of life. Yet die hard as cutters and cutting fans are, they share a feeling of the Old West, a craving for excitement, and a heartfelt love of horses.
The Cutting Contest
Cutting, like skating or gymnastics, is judged by a panel of experts who rate the horse performance in points. Each judge’s point rating may range from 60 to 80 points.
Competition From the Judges Point of View
In the contest arena, the art of the cutting horse comes alive in a classic test of intelligence, training, breeding and skill. Many factors play a part in the making of a cutting champion. To understand the distinction, the contest must be seen from the judges’ point of view. In competition, the cutting horse and rider must work together as a team in demonstrating their cattle handling skills. The contest begins as the pair approaches the herd, quietly, deliberately and without hesitation. The horse and rider have two and one-half minutes to complete their work.
What to look for:
Making The Cut
Approaching the herd, both horse and rider must concentrate on moving into the cattle to separate one animal from the herd without provoking a disturbance. Performance is judged in part by the activity of the cow, so the animal selected is singled out by choice, not at random. After the rider has indicated a specific cow to the horse, neither horse nor rider may change cows without penalty. When the cut is complete, the challenge really begins.
Work Begins With A Loose Rein
Once the cow is isolated near the centre of the arena, the rider must loosen his rein to allow the horse freedom to demonstrate his cutting skill and real “cowsense”. Controlling the cow by speed, agility, balance and motion, the horse matches the cow move for move to prevent its return to the herd (the cow’s natural inclination). A true champion is trained to react instinctively to the cow’s movements without the need for direction. A loose rein is one of the keys to a highly marked performance.
Quitting The Cow
Although the contest time limit allows two or three animals to be cut, the time spent with each cow is left to the rider’s discretion. The horse may quit the cow without penalty when the cow is obviously stopped or obviously turned away from the cutting horse. But if the cow is “lost” under any circumstance, a stiff penalty is assessed. Even a good performance can end with a low score if a cow escapes the horse’s control.
The Score Is Settled
Performances are evaluated on the basis of several key points:
1) the challenges made by the cows cut
2) the horse’s instinctive reactions
3) error in judgement made by horse or rider during the competition.
Each judge submits a score at the end of the contest period and they are added together to determine a final score.
A Few Things to Know
The most desirable cow to cut is one that is energetic and responsive, but respects the horse. A calm, docile cow does not challenge the horse or allow it to show the judges its true potential.
The judges credit a horse when it shows aggressiveness, courage, determination, style and grace when cutting a cow.
The rider may not cue the horse in any visible way after the cow has been cut from the herd, this includes certain kinds of spurring and using the reins.
Class Descriptions
Divisions:
Open :
The open division is open to any horse and rider, regardless of breed or ownership. Professional trainers must ride in the open division.
Non Pro:
“Non Professionals” are persons who have not received remuneration to show or train any cutting horse. This division is open to all card-holding non professional members of the CCHA and NCHA. Any horse exhibited in the non pro must be owned by the contestant (or contestant’s spouse or child) showing the horse.
$50,000 Limited Amateur:
Open to entrants of the non pro division, with earnings less than $50,000 as of January 1, 2008. This is a class within a class, as the go round scores will be used to determine the Champion and Reserve Champion.
Classes:
Futurity:
Open to three year old horses, born in 2005. This is a “closed futurity” class requiring that entries must not have been shown in a cutting competition with the exception of a three year old snaffle bit and cutting futurities.
Derby:
Open to four year old horses born in 2004.
Classic Challange:
Horses five or six years old, born in 2003 or 2002.
7 and up:
Horses seven years of age and older, born in 2001 or earlier.