It’s one thing to end a show on a high note, but Stacie McDavid took that to another level at the Bonanza Cutting in Weatherford, Texas.
The Fort Worth resident finished off the show by sweeping the Unlimited Amateur championships in the 4-Year-Old and 5/6-Year-Old classes. The rarity of the feat was not lost on McDavid.
“It was just one of those rare moments in cutting that you never get to experience,” she said.
It didn’t come easy, as McDavid and her 4-year-old, Desires Chromed Cat, cut only two cows – staying hooked on her last cow for more than twice as long as she would have liked.
“At first the cow honored me and then he started mashing me back to the herd after that much time,” she said. “And, they yelled at me to get off at 20 [seconds]. I had one nanosecond that I could tag off, and I personally did not think I was threatened.”
She said her trainer, Equi-Stat Elite $4 Million Rider Clint Allen, disagreed with her threat assessment, but even though horse and rider got tired, they stuck it out to the buzzer to mark a winning 221. McDavid said the performance spoke volumes about the horse, nicknamed “Walt,” and showed her how much heart he had.
“He and I both had run out of air, and so I was having to kick him and ask him for his life,” she said. “And, I typically don’t like to do that, but I didn’t have any choice.”
Desires Chromed Cat is a son of Equi-Stat Elite $77 Million Sire High Brow Cat and millionaire producer Desire Some Freckles (by Freckles Playboy), a mare that is the dam of 25 performers who have won more than $1.2 million. Her leading earner is the gelding’s full brother, Thundercat ($307,654), followed by NCHA Futurity Open Reserve Champion Desires Little Rex ($287,654; by Smart Little Lena).
McDavid and Desires Chromed Cat also won the Senior and Gelding Incentive, bringing their total earnings in the class to $11,317. Reserve Champions Laura Landers and Sauce It Up (Metallic Cat x SDP Tapt Dancing x TR Dual Rey) earned $4,769.
5/6-Year-Old Unlimited Amateur
In the 5/6-Year-Old Unlimited Amateur, McDavid was victorious aboard DMAC Piccolo Pete. She and the 2013 mare (WR This Cats Smart x Cherry Chex Dually x Hes A Peptoboonsmal) won with a 220.5.
Although McDavid drew later in the herd on “Pete” than she did on Walt, her 4-year-old, she had confidence in the mare’s ability to get the job done.
“I knew that on Pete that those kind of cows were her kind of cows. Cows that run fence-to-fence are really good for her,” she said. “The only thing that I needed to do, my job, was to not get rattled by it and to stay cool and let her read that cow.
“That’s what I did and, again, it worked out in our favor.”
Pete entered the arena with more than $88,000 in career earnings and, according to McDavid, a ton of grit.
“I will say she’s about as cowy as anything I have ever thrown a leg over,” she said. “And, she never cheats you. She never gives up. When she walks into the pen it is business as usual.”
The win earned $10,422 for McDavid, who also won the 5/6-Year-Old Unlimited Amateur Senior title. The Bonanza Cutting 5/6-Year-Old Unlimited Amateur Reserve Championship went to Hilary Watson and Reychel (Light N Lena x Reychel Rey x Dual Rey), who earned $5,918.
“I credit our whole team, because it takes a whole team to get there, from our lopers to Clint being able to train outstanding horses, to all the guys that faithfully show up to help me in that arena or any other arena,” McDavid said. “Without them there was no way you could clinch two titles like that. No way.”
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