Stylish Play Lena and Lloyd Cox at the 2003 NCHA Summer SpectacularThe National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Futurity Open is underway in Fort Worth, Texas. For six straight days, the first go of the Open will welcome unproven 3-year-olds into the Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum. A total of 599 horses will seek to advance to the Open second-go, which begins on Nov. 26. Some of those same horses will return for the Non-Pro first go on Nov. 29, where 418 horses will compete for a spot in the second go, which starts on Dec. 3.
These several hundred Futurity hopefuls are the result of a breeding decision that was made four years ago, in 2010. For some breeders, the decision wasn’t just about one stallion and one mare. Good mares are often carefully managed to produce multiple embryos in one year, sometimes by various stallions.
This year’s Futurity crop included multiple embryos from no fewer than 78 mares. Those 78 mares are represented by 168 foals in the first rounds of the NCHA Futurity. While most of the mares have just two entries, eight are represented by three. Two mares – CDs Masterpiece and Stylish Play Lena – will have four offspring each in the first go.