Men standing in an arena
Colton Cogdell, left, receives the Todd Drummond Memorial Award from NCHA President Phil Rapp. • Hart Photos.

Cogdell Honored With Todd Drummond Memorial Award Selection

A Texas teen said he was flattered to be chosen as the recipient of the Todd Drummond Memorial Award. The honor is given annually to a young cutter who demonstrates athletic and scholastic achievement outside the cutting pen.

Colton Cogdell, 18, of Tulia, Texas, received his award during a break in the action of the 2018 National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Futurity in Fort Worth, Texas. 

“I think that out of all the youth that they could’ve picked from, being picked is just pretty crazy,” said Cogdell, who knew he was nominated but was shocked to win. “It’s a huge honor.”

A senior at Silverton High School in Silverton, Texas, Cogdell is the son of Jim and Pam.  Although Cogdell notched his first entry in Equi-Stat in 2009, at age 9, he figures he first rode into the herd at age 6 on a horse belonging to his older sister, Harlee. Since then, he’s compiled a record of more than $64,000 in the cutting pen.

“You never know what’s going to happen down there, so if you do good, you want to go back and do it again and do good again,” Cogdell said of the sport he loves. “If you do bad, you want to redeem yourself and try again.”

Last year, he made the NCHA Futurity Amateur finals with his own horse, Almost Metallic (Metallic Cat x Smoothin x Smooth As A Cat). He also finished in a tie for ninth in the 2018 NCHA Senior Youth World standings.

In 2017, Cogdell rode one of his favorite horses, Dont Sweat My Swag (Metallic Cat x Shinin Melody x Peppys Boy 895), to the West Texas Futurity Limited Non-Pro Championship. Another favorite was Geaux Time, a son of Equi-Stat Elite $15 Million Sire One Time Pepto out of Hangem High Pep (by Hickorys Indian Pep) he rode at the NCHA Youth World Finals and in many weekend events.

When he’s not riding cutting horses, Cogdell is busy at school. One of his main passions outside of cutting is basketball. He is a point guard on Silverton High School’s varsity squad and also plays summer ball. He hopes to attend Texas Tech after graduation.

“I just have a lot of fun playing and just [love] the competition,” he said.

The cutting pen is also someplace Cogdell loves to be. He spends a lot of time riding with his father, Jim, an earner of more than $350,000 who Cogdell says he looks up to and aspires to ride like. He also receives help from trainer Brad Baxter. 

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