NCHA Youth Hall of Fame: 2020 Inductee Chaser Crouch

Chaser Crouch was only a few weeks old when he went to his first cutting. 

Since then, he’s forged a successful Youth cutting career in the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA)

His success was recently recognized when he was named a member of the 2020 class of the NCHA Youth Hall of Fame.

Beginnings

Chaser Crouch, 19, is the son of NCHA Hall of Fame Trainer Casey Crouch and wife, Chelsa, of Corsicana, TX.   He is the grandson of Harold and Meredith Davidson, Bill and Janna Robinson, Guy and Jo Crouch and Barbara and Ronnie Williamson.  Chaser was raised on his parent’s cutting horse facility in Corsicana, TX.  

He attended his first NCHA show, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, when he was three weeks old. He competed in his first youth cutting at the age of five during NCHA Weekend in Athens, TX.  He walked to the herd on his mother’s roping horse waving to the crowd.  He has been to the Eastern National Championships every year since he was born and has participated in the costume cutting since he was five.  

Crouch first youth finals was at the Cuttin With Shynia scholarship cutting riding Chaquita Boon when he was 12. As a junior youth, Chaser only showed occasionally due to spending most of his time playing baseball, but came back to the sport of cutting when he was 14. Although Crouch intended to play baseball in high school, but he chose to concentrate on cutting while hauling for the NYCHA world championship his freshman year.  With his success showing and enjoyment of hauling all over the United States with his family he never walked back on a baseball field.

Chaser graduated from Grace Christian Academy in Weatherford, TX and is currently attending Hill College in Hillsboro, TX majoring in Agriculture Business. Through his is involvement with the NYCHA and National High School Rodeo Association Chaser has won in excess of $55,000 in scholarship money competing in cuttings.  

Leadership

Crouch has been very involved in NYCHA and National High School Rodeo Association throughout his youth career.  He has been an officer of the NYCHA for the past three years and was an Area Director for two years prior to being an officer.  He is currently the Vice-President of the NYCHA.  

Crouch said he has enjoyed the opportunities and experiences that NYCHA has offered.  Because of NYCHA, he has been involved with raising money for Cook’s Children Hospital, helped with feeding the homeless during Thanksgiving, attended the AQHYA YES convention, and participated in meetings at the NCHA convention.  During a trip to Africa, with his family, Crouch was able to distribute school supplies to a Zulu School that his NYCHA friends donated for the trip.  He is very thankful to have been a part of NYCHA during his youth.

Some youth accomplishments are:

Special Horses

There are several horses that helped carry Crouch to these accomplishments but his main horse throughout his high school career was GS Zans Cat aka “Zanny,” a daughter of Smooth As A Cat whose show record includes 748 youth points and an Equi-Stat record of more than $192,000.  

Other horses include: Louis the Cat, Chiquita Boon, Twistin At The Roxie, Royal Billie Boon, Order Mia Smoothie, Candul Smooth, Lakers Red Raider and Ima Mauvelous Pistol. 

Appreciation

Being inducted into the NYCHA Hall of Fame is an honor and has been one Crouch’s goals.

He said he would like to first thank his parents.  He knows his parents made sacrifices keeping him on the road showing.  A special thanks to his dad for always being ‘in his corner’ and having him prepared to show, his mom for being his cheerleader and traveling partner.  There were times when Crouch and his mom would have to go to a different show than his dad and he knows that was a challenge.  

He would also like to thank all of his grandparents for their support in and outside the arena through the years of showing, from cheering him on to borrowed trucks and trailers, all night drives and an occasional trip to the airport.  He appreciates his family always supporting his goals even when it meant missing holidays and birthday parties.  Crouch would also like to thank his dad’s customers over the years for always offering their horses, support, and encouragement. Anytime, he was in need, someone from Team Crouch offered to help.   

Also, Crouch wanted to send a special thank you to Marshall Anderson for loaning and then selling GS Zans Cat to him.  He could not have achieved these accomplishments without his family and friends. Last but not least, Crouch would like to thank his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

To his fellow NYCHA members, words of encouragement: “Never give up, find the good in every run and remember the runs last two and a half minutes, but the friendships made along the way last a lifetime.”