kinky-bootz
Austin Shepard rode Kinky Bootz to the 2020 Augusta Futurity Open Championship. • Photo by Molly Montag

Kinky Bootz & Austin Shepard Kick Into High Gear in Augusta

Kinky Bootz sure left a mark on the 2020 Augusta Futurity.

The sorrel stallion by Dual Rey and Equi-Stat Elite $8 Million Rider Austin Shepard put forth a powerful performance to take the Open. They marked a 226 to win the Championship on Saturday, Jan. 25 in downtown Augusta, Georgia.

The win was a bit of redemption for the horse, whose quality Shepard never doubted. The pair had previously competed in the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Futurity, which started well with a 216 in the first go-round, but didn’t end the way the Summerdale, Alabama, trainer had hoped when the horse didn’t make it past the second go-round.

Shepard took the horse owned by Glen Drake, of Napa, California, to some weekend shows after the NCHA Futurity, which he said seemed to help the horse grow up and take more responsibility in the show pen.

“I took him and showed him a good bit after the [NCHA] Futurity [at] weekend shows and it’s really helped him it’s made him grow up,” Shepard said. “He’s gotten a lot more responsible, and made a good horse.

“He’s always had the physical tools, but I think he’s starting to mature now.”

The win also was special to Shepard because his long-time family friend Josh Deason was Reserve Champion. Deason, of Pensacola, Florida, secured the runner-up spot with a 220-point run aboard Au Aubiecat (Bamacat x Belle Of The Boonbal x Peptoboonsmal).

Deason is the kind of friend who never misses one of the Shepard children’s birthday parties, Shepard said, adding he was “super happy” for the other trainer’s good run.

“We live 20 miles apart. His dad and my dad were best friends when I was a kid,” he said. “My mother used to take me to Josh’s house and his dad would take us to cuttings together. I mean, I’ve known him my whole life.”

Kinky Bootz is the third generation in his family bred at least in part by Glen Drake. Along with Debbie Drake, the Napa, California, resident also bred the horse’s dam, Sheza Stylish Cougar, and his second dam, My Stylish Playgirl (by Docs Stylish Oak).

The $10,000 first-place check for Kinky Bootz makes him the first earner recorded in Equi-Stat for Sheza Stylish Cougar. The 2008 mare by all-time NCHA leading sire High Brow Cat won $57,040 in the cutting pen for the Drakes. Her resume includes making the Open finals of the NCHA Futurity and NCHA Summer Cutting Spectacular, as well as the Derby Open finals at The Ike Derby & Classic and the Arbuckle Mountain Futurity show.

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