Steve Oehlhof

The horse (Smooth As A Cat x Smart Polka Dot x Smart Little Lena), owned by Jerry Bailey, Aledo, Texas, has always displayed talent, but he had never completely clicked with any of several prior trainers. He finally seems to have found a fit with Oehlhof, 35, Grandview, Texas, who has worked with the horse since mid-fall. The duo made its third final in Augusta, Ga.

“He’s a good little horse, a really good little horse,” Oehlhof said of his still relatively new and approximately 14-hands-tall partner. “He’s been around a lot of different trainers and he really didn’t do much last year. He [horse owner Bailey, who didn’t know Oehlhof before offering him the horse to train] brought him to me to see if I liked him and if we fit. He fit my style. I like to go fast, and when I want to go fast, he does. I told him [Bailey] that I thought I could win some money on him.”

Smoother Than A Cat and Oehlhof hit the arena a little after midnight while competing third among 11 duos in the first of two cattle sets. They ended up edging a pair of 221 scores, including one posted just before them by 2011 NCHA World Champion Bet Hesa Cat, a 6-year-old stallion (High Brow Cat x Bet Yer Blue Boons x Freckles Playboy) owned by the Bet Hesa Cat Syndicated. It includes his trainer, Austin Shepard, Summerdale, Ala., and his breeder Lindy Burch, Weatherford, Texas.

Augusta Futurity Open 2010 Champion horse Cat A Rey, again ridden Brad Mitchell, Thompson’s Station, Tenn., and still owned by Barbara and Kix Brooks, Nashville, Tenn., also marked a 221 late in the second set to earn $10,193. Cat A Rey (Dual Rey x Sheza Smart Cat x High Brow Cat), a now 6-year-old stallion, had previously earned $152,551 as a cutter.  Mitchell placed third and fourth with 220 and 219.5 scores aboard two other horses and he rode all three during the early Saturday morning second set.

The 23-horse final ended around 2:15 a.m. Oehlhof didn’t mind working late for the win and then helping other riders compete. Several show days lasted much longer than usual this week because in several cases the entries simply far exceeded expectations.

“The show schedule here has been tough, which I understand, because they’ve had more entries than they’ve had in couple of years,” Oehlhof said. He returned to the 33rd annual Augusta Futurity for the first time in “seven or eight years,” citing more added money and the new stallion incentive program as the main reasons for his return. “It’s been a tough cutting for us [trainers, due to the long nights], but it’s all worth it.”

Today’s Futurity Non-Pro and Open finals will start at about 7:30 pm., Georgia time.