NCHA Open World Champion One Time Choice and Chubby Turner • Hart PhotosAfter crisscrossing the country hauling to cuttings in a quest for a National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) World title, the champions reached the finish line in Fort Worth, Texas, at the 2014 Mercuria NCHA World Finals. The title hunt wrapped up Dec. 6 with the fourth go of the Open and Non-Pro divisions. Many in the large crowd at the W.R. Watt Arena were forced to stand, and those with seats were only using the edge as the action heated up in the Open.

J Five Horse Ranch Management’s One Time Choice (One Time Pepto x Hickory Choice x SR Instant Choice) and Chubby Turner came to Fort Worth with the World title securely in place with almost double the earnings of their closest competitors, but that didn’t mean that the final four go-rounds were not exciting. Turner and One Time Choice picked up checks in the third and fourth rounds and added $5,069 to end the year with $105,237 in earnings. Turner and One Time Choice competed in 89 shows during the 2014 point year.

Boyd Rice and Center Ranch’s CR Sun Reys (Dual Rey x Play Peek A Bono x Freckles Playboy) gave the crowd plenty to cheer about as they won each of the four rounds in the Open – marking a 231, 229 and 231 in the first three rounds and a 233 in the final go. The mare ended the year in third, jumping up from sixth at the beginning of the World Finals, and earned $30,175 in Fort Worth to boost her total earnings for the year to $65,456.

“This has been a storybook year for me,” Turner said after the final go of the Open World Finals. “I won it last year on this mare. She didn’t have very much money won when we got started. She’s 7 years old now and she’s been a World Champion twice and she’s going into the Hall of Fame. The first cutting that she ever went to was September of her 4-year-old year. I won it – it was a $5,000 novice class – and the next day she wouldn’t hardly take a cow. She was really green, but we worked hard.

“This show tonight was like a showcase,” Turner added about the World Finals. “This is probably as good a set of horses that I’ve seen in one spot.”  

NCHA Non-Pro World Champion Constance Jaeggi riding NCHA Non-Pro Horse of the Year Saguaro Ichi • Hart PhotosConstance Jaeggi, of Weatherford, Texas had locked in the Non-Pro title before arriving at the World Finals. Jaeggi rode Saguaro Ichi (Cat Ichi x Playboys Heidi x Freckles Playboy) in 93 shows. Jaeggi and the 2006 gelding earned $13,276 in Fort Worth to end the year with $112,051 in earnings.

“We’ve been thinking about doing this for a few years, but I was in college so my trainer, Chubby, and I decided to haul the year after I graduated,” Jaeggi said. “We set a goal and we said we were going to win it together and we accomplished that goal. It’s very rewarding.”

With a marketing degree from Texas Christian University secured, Jaeggi can now add the NCHA Non-Pro World Champion title to her resume. As for Saguaro Ichi, he earned enough points at the World Finals to be named Non-Pro Horse of the Year.

Turner describes Jaeggi as his goddaughter, boss and friend, and said it was “a heck of a year.”

“We’ve had hard times, and we’ve had great times,” Turner said of his and Jaeggi’s championship year. “Constance to me has been a breath of life for me. She’s a beautiful person and she loves this sport. She wanted this so bad and she dedicated herself to it. We went miles and miles and miles. I’m so proud of her.”

2014 NCHA World Champions

$50,000 Amateur: Janet Henderson Cagley, of Livingston, Louisiana, riding See Da Cat
2014 earnings of $50,141

$35,000 Non-Pro: Trent Bimat, of Orland, California, riding CD Lil Mylanta
2014 earnings of $13,390 

$15,000 Novice/Non-Pro: Jaycee Lowery riding EE Ichi Bar, owned by Keith Waid, of Gardendale, Alabama
2014 earnings of $38,911

$15,000 Amateur: Karrigan Audrey Cagley, of Livingston, Louisiana, riding See Da Cat
2014 earnings of $14,992

$15,000 Novice: Duals For Amanda ridden by Al Dunning for owners Todd and Kathy Bro, of Roosevelt, Utah
2014 earnings of $49,909.24

$2,000 Limit Rider: Shane Crawford, of Mount Olive, Mississippi riding War Dually
2014 earnings of $12,899

$5,000 Novice/Non-Pro: Innovation Time, owned and ridden by Steven Norris, of Colorado Springs, Colorado
2014 earnings of $44,475.53.

$5,000 Novice: Cats Colonel ridden by Steve Colclasure for owners Jamey and Angela Styles, of Coal Hill, Arkansas
2014 earnings of $34,453