Horse chasing a cow
Tessie Cat & Katie Fonsen Young. • Photo by Midge Ames.

Tessie Cat Steps Up For Fonsen Young At PCCHA Futurity

For most of the year, Pocket Change has been the star of Katie Fonsen Young’s futurity string. In Las Vegas, it was stablemate Tessie Cat’s time in the spotlight.

On Tuesday, Oct. 9, Fonsen Young, of Cloverdale, California, rode the 2015 mare (High Brow CD x Travalen Tessie x Travalena) to a winning 221 in the Pacific Coast Cutting Horse Association (PCCHA) Futurity Non-Pro. They also took the Futurity Intermediate title, banking a combined $12,635 in winnings.

The homebred mare was raised on the family’s ranch in Potter Valley, California, and is trained by Fonsen Young’s father, Stan Fonsen. A National Reined Cow Horse Association (NRCHA) Hall of Famer, Fonsen also trained the mare’s dam, Travalen Tessie, and her granddam, Shiele Sugar (by Peppy San Badger). The generational connection makes the mare even more special to the family, Fonsen Young said.

“It’s fun to have to see these babies grow up,” she said. 

Before Las Vegas, Tessie Cat competed at the Cascades Futurity in Redmond, Oregon, and then was Non-Pro Reserve Champion at the Idaho Cutting Horse Association(ICHA) Futurity.

“I showed her in Oregon and had kind of tough luck and I showed her in Idaho and was second and then we gave her a break until this show, so I felt like I hadn’t really had that perfect run put together yet on her,” Fonsen Young said. “So, I was really happy to be able to do that at this show.”

Even though it was Tessie Cat that took home the PCCHA Non-Pro hardware, Pocket Change didn’t stay in the barn. The son of Im Countin Checks out of Cat Cora (by Smooth As A Cat) — who Fonsen Young rode to Non-Pro wins at the ICHA and El Rancho futurities — competed with her husband, Brent Young, in the PCCHA Futurity Unlimited Amateur and Amateur.

Normally, Brent lopes Pocket Change before his wife competes. This time, the shoe was on the other foot and Fonsen Young got the horse ready for her husband.

“He’s gotten him ready all fall and we’ve had a tremendous amount of success on him this fall, so, I thought, ‘Oh, this is the last show of the year for us,’ so we entered him in the Unlimited Amateur futurity and he showed today and he ended up third,” Fonsen Young said while she and her husband were driving home to California after the show. “He was fantastic. This is the first time he’s ever shown in an aged event, and the first time he rode the gelding [to the herd] was this morning.”

She said help from her husband, as well as good friend Jacob Pinheiro, as an integral part of her success. Pinheiro, who works for trainer Morgan Cromer, got Tessie Cat ready for Fonsen Young in Las Vegas and also helped at the futurity in Idaho.

“I just really appreciate that he steps in,” Fonsen Young said of Pinheiro. “I feel like the best part of cutting is that it’s one big family, and everybody cheers everyone on and helps everyone when they can, so it’s a pretty special sport that way.”

Tessie Cat’s dam, Travalen Tessie, is the mother of five performers of more than $245,000, according to Equi-Stat. Her leading earner is For Instance ($152,349, by SR Instant Choice), a 2007 gelding that Fonsen Young rode to the 2010 PCCHA Futurity Non-Pro Championship. It is one of three wins she has in the event.

The Futurity Non-Pro Reserve Championship went to Tracey Woodward and Just Rascal, who marked a 216.5. Woodward, of Los Alamos, California, and her homebred mare by Rascal Cats out of Justbabe (by Smart Lil Richochet) won the PCCHA Unlimited Amateur Championship. Between the two classes, they banked a total of $8,524 for owners owners Marvin & Paulette Teixeira.

Click here for the full order of finish for the PCCHA Futurity Non-Pro. The Futurity Non-Pro Intermediate finish is available by clicking here.

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