Beth Rockey’s win at the Pacific Coast Cutting Horse Association (PCCHA) Futurity had been on her mind for nearly 30 years. As a 15-year-old, the Southern California cutter had pasted a 1996 magazine clipping of Kirk Ferris’s PCCHA Futurity Non-Pro Championship to her wall, saying to herself “one day.”
Her day came on Friday, Sept. 30 under the sparkling lights of the South Point Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, where she and mare Thin Mints marked a 215.5 to take the Non-Pro and Non-Pro Intermediate titles, earning $8,276.
“So, I guess you could say this is something that’s been on my mind,” Rockey said. “It’s a pretty significant win [to me].”
Upon reviewing Futurity Non-Pro entries, the PCCHA edited its two-go-round Non-Pro schedule to a “one and done” competition.
“They ran that by us the night before [the first round] and everyone agreed,” Rockey said. “The small futurites are more about consistency and creating opportunity for your horse to have success. So, with two rounds you have more risk.
“[Drawing] last in a one-and-done actually gave me an advantage, and I knew what I needed to mark and didn’t press as hard.”
According to Rockey, after her first two cows she felt comfortable with she and Thin Mints’s performance and eased up on the throttle for the third cow. Her intuition was correct, and she brought the title home by a margin of 1.5 points.
“I going to take her to a small futurity in Arizona, and that’ll be it for her year. She’ll have all that time off and be pretty solid going into next year. That’s what I like about having small futurity horses – come January she’s going to have had 25 runs over the course of the small futurity run [plus] 45 days off to rest and get strong,” Rockey said.
Thin Mints, sired by Reyzin The Cash and out of Peppermints Patty (by Smooth As A Cat), is a total “cow horse” that needs some help going outside the cow in the practice pen. Rockey says Thin Mints is constantly efficient and locked on her cow.
“She doesn’t want to have to go anywhere she doesn’t have to go,” Rockey said.
Reserve Champion in the PCCHA Futurity Non-Pro was Katie Fonsen Young and Reyzin Cora (Reyzin The Cash x Cat Cora x Smooth As A Cat), who marked a 214 and earned $5,684 between their non-pro and intermediate finishes.
PCCHA Futurity Amateur Champions: Ashley Hulbert and Reyz A Flite
Marking a 216 to clinch the Futurity Amateur Championship, Ashley Hulbert and homegrown gelding Reyz A Flite (Reyzin The Cash x Flites Riata Kitten x WR This Cats Smart) earned $8,222 between the Amateur, Amateur Intermediate and Gelding Incentive championships.
Reserve Champion in the Futurity Amateur was Phyllis Sorbet and homegrown mare Reythm And Blues (Cats Gotta Diamond x Born On The Byu x Dual Rey). The pair marked a 209 and earned a total of $5,197 between the Amateur and Amateur Intermediate.
