2015 Resistol Rookies of the Year

While many of the top Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) competitors have multiple chances throughout their careers to win gold buckles and titles in the events they compete in, there is one award that a competitor has only one shot at: the coveted Resistol Rookie of the Year.

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Casey Deary Earns $1 Million

CDeary KPCasey Deary • Photo by Kelsey PecsekNational Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Professional Casey Deary has earned over a Million Dollars in NRHA competition and is justifiably proud and awed by his accomplishment. Deary, known as a devoted family man, has his own cheerleaders in his wife Nicole Deary and their children Wyatt, Joy, Owen and Olivia. Deary, of Weatherford, Texas, earned his first NRHA paycheck on November 4, 2000, in Katy, Texas, at the Saltgrass Steak House Warmup show aboard Crome Marks (Crome Plated Jac x Marks Lee Ann x Marks Alynx), owned by Maureen Underwood. The young horseman earned $82 – a far cry from his most recent paycheck of $161,466 for winning the NRHA Open Futurity Level 4 division riding Shesouttayourleague for owner Curtis Performance Horses LLC! To say Deary had a good November and December is a monumental understatement.

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NCHA Addresses Super Stakes Program Changes

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On Dec. 16, the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) sent out an email addressed to members titled “NCHA Super Stakes Foal/Stallion program.” Recent rumors about the NCHA Super Stakes program have been circulating concerning horses that competed at the 2015 event but were not properly nominated. According to the email, “an internal review of the program has revealed that we have incomplete nomination records on a small percentage of the foals that includes six horses that showed at the 2015 Super Stakes.”

Jim Bret Campbell, who is the executive director of the NCHA, said that the association is working to correct any issues with the program while being transparent with members.

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In the Past: NCHA Horse of the Year

InthePast TRT01 LittleBadgerDulce PBranch 93TJLittle Badger Dulce (pictured at the 1993 NCHA Super Stakes with trainer Pete Branch) passed away in August of this year at the age of 26. She will be remembered for her numerous achievements inside and outside of the show pen. • Photo by Teresa Jett

In 1992, Pete Branch, now an Equi-Stat Elite $3 Million Rider, rode Little Badger Dulce to a second-place finish in the NCHA Futurity Open finals. The pair started the 1993 show season with a 4-Year-Old Open win at the Abilene Spectacular.

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In the Money: NCHA Futurity Finalists

tof-smooth-operator-saleTof 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.