In the Money

Tof Smooth Operator was a $9,000 sale yearling before he made the NCHA Futurity Open finals. • Photo by Jim ArnoldThe focus of horse sales often falls on the highest sellers. Those high-dollar horses are closely watched in the show pen as people wait to see if the money spent in the sale ring was justified or not. But this year’s National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Futurity Open finals was proof it didn’t take an unlimited bank account to purchase a talented horse.

Cee My Gun was the fourth-highest seller at the 2013 Legacy Breeders Sale. • Photo by Stacy Pigott

Of the 30 Level 4 Open finalists at the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Futurity, four were sold at public auction as yearlings. All four were offered through the 2013 Legacy Reining Sales – one in the Legacy Breeders Sale and three in the Legacy Consignment Sale.

Eight Mile is one of 556 horses entered in the first go-round of the Open at the NCHA Futurity. The stallion was the highest seller at the 2014 NCHA Futurity 2-Year-Old Sale. • Photo by Jim Arnold

One of the biggest and most common dreams in the Western performance horse industry is to win “the big Futurity.” If you’re a cutter, that’s the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Futurity in Fort Worth, Texas. The show starts on Thursday, Nov. 19, with 556 3-year-olds entered in the first go of the Open.

Quarter Horse News compared those 556 Open horses with the sale results from the past three years and found that 160 head went through horse sales between 2012 and 2015, not including horses that were sold as foals in utero in 2011 or early 2012. Several horses sold multiple times, while others were offered only once and returned to their owners when the final bids failed to meet the reserve prices.

If you’re curious what it took to buy an NCHA Futurity prospect, keep reading.

Cats Picasso and John Swales tied for third in the NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity Open.A total of 25 horses made the Open finals at the National Reined Cow Horse Association (NRCHA) Snaffle Bit Futurity this year in Reno, Nevada. While the Champion and Reserve Champion were both owned by their breeders, several other finalists were sale graduates as yearlings and/or 2-year-olds.

A large crowd gathered in Millsap, Texas, to watch the Walton's Rocking W Ranch Absolute Dispersal Sale. • Photo by Stacy Pigott

The recent Walton’s Rocking W Ranch Absolute Dispersal Sale on Oct. 22 drew a standing-room-only crowd of potential buyers and spectators who wanted to be a part of history. As is the case at all dispersal sales, horses that would not have otherwise been available were offered to the highest bidder. But are the horses on the auction block at dispersal sales a good deal?

Xtra Shiney Sinbar's yearling sale photo • Courtesy of Xtra Quarter HorsesIn the Tulsa Reining Classic Turnabout Farm Futurity Non-Pro, two of the top 10 finalists – Xtra Shiney Sinbar and Ida Be Smart – were sold as yearlings in 2013.