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This year's Augusta Futurity broke records for entries and payout. The 4-Year-Old Open was won by Austin Shepard and Kittennish. • Photo by S. Sylvester Photography

Kittennish Scores First Major Win at Augusta Futurity

Kittennish had a lot to live up to before she took a single step in the show pen.
Austin Shepard aboard Tezla

Tezla Zooms to Top Spot in the Cotton Stakes

No gasoline was required for sorrel gelding Tezla to navigate to a score of 221 at the Cotton Stakes in West Monroe, Louisiana with Austin Shepard aboard. The effort earned the Monty Johnson-owned horse a $9,821 paycheck and the Futurity Open Championship on Thursday, Sept. 8. “He’s an athletic horse, he can sure stop. He’s […]
sam-shepard

Sam Shepard: “A Real Gentleman & A Real Man”

The late Sam Shepard won more than $2.6 million during his 50-some-year cutting career, but while his friends immediately note he was a great horseman, the things they admired most about him had nothing to do with horses.
Widows Freckles and Austin Shepard

Saying Goodbye to Widows Freckles, a family’s ‘Dream Horse’

Top cutting competitor and sire Widows Freckles has died, those closest to the stallion announced on Tuesday afternoon. The sorrel stallion was 26. “We received the news this morning that our boy Widows Freckles, or as his family knew him, ‘Obi,’ was laid to rest,” Lauren Middleton said through a social media platform. “It is […]
austin shepard in the cutting pen with high brow cd

HIGH BROW CD: A Son of the Legend

In 2007, we saw one of the most outstanding runs to ever win the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Futurity Open Championship. It was accurate, intense and filled with cow expression. It was also the run the crowd wanted to win. The following year, High Brow CD’s winning run was what people measured all other […]
horse-rider

Austin Shepard Climbs to $8 Million Rider Status

Thanks especially to his success over the last two years, including the 2017 National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Summer Spectacular Open Championship, 2017 NCHA Futurity Open Championship, 2017 NCHA Open World Championship and 2018 Breeder’s Invitational Derby Open Championship, Austin Shepard has risen to Equi-Stat Elite $8 Million Rider status merely a year-and-a-half after reaching […]