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NCHA Futurity Brings Top Equine Athletes Competing For Millions

Fort Worth, Texas – When the word “futurity” is heard in the horse world, one can usually anticipate the subject is about the $3.2 million National Cutting Horse Association’s World Championship Futurity.

Fort Worth, Texas – When the word “futurity” is heard in the horse world, one can usually anticipate the subject is about the $3.2 million National Cutting Horse Association’s World Championship Futurity, the horse industry’s richest discipline event, taking place Nov. 25 through Dec. 15 in Fort Worth, Texas.

Boasting more than 1,600 entries, the NCHA World Championship Futurity brings cutting horse enthusiasts the chance to see the nation’s top three-year-old equine athletes compete for the first time over a period of 21 days at Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum. Events will include amateur, non-professional and open competition, with the winner of the highly-coveted Futurity Open winning $200,000. Winners will also receive Gist Silversmith championship buckles, NCHA championship trophies, custom ML Leddy’s saddles, Sombrero Brands hats, Rios of Mercedes full quill ostrich boots and much more.

The annual NCHA Triple Crown series begins with the Futurity and continues with the Super Stakes presented by XTO Energy in April, followed by the Summer Cutting Spectacular presented by Great American Insurance in July.

Joining the NCHA World Championship Futurity is the Mercuria Energy NCHA World Championship Finals, the culmination of the year-long quest by cutters from around the world to reach the top 15 in 10 different classes and be named World Champion. Top 15 riders in each division will compete for a lucrative purse, along with Gist Silversmith championship buckles, NCHA championship trophies, Dennis Moreland bridles, and other prizes. Following the World Finals, competitors will be hosted at the World Finals banquet, presented by Coyote Rock Ranch, where World Champions will be recognized.

Go-round action for the World Finals will take place in the Watt Arena at the Will Rogers Memorial Center, beginning at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, November 31 and December 2; at 9 a.m., continuing Wednesday, Dec. 5-7; and at 8 a.m. on Saturday Dec. 8.

Admission for all events is free with the exception of the Futurity Semi-finals and Finals, which will be $10 for reserved seating and $8 for general seating. Admission to the Open and Non Pro World Finals performances will be $10 for general seating. Admission to the Best of the West Premier Shopping Experience is always free.

Along with the Futurity and World Finals cutting competition, there will be numerous events at the show, including the following:

Celebrity Cutting

The 18th Annual Celebrity Cutting, presented by the Careity Foundation, will be held Friday, Dec. 7, at 7 p.m. at Will Rogers Coliseum. This year’s lineup includes country music group Edens Edge, Sonny Burgess, Bob Kingsley and more. Proceeds from the event provide funding for a variety of supportive clinical services for cancer patients in the Tarrant County areas. Visit www.celebritycutting.com to reserve tickets.

Best of the West Premier Shopping Experience

The Best of the West Premier Shopping Experience opens Nov. 24 in the Amon G. Carter Exhibit Hall. This trade show features 100,000 square feet of merchants offering clothing, art, tack, jewelry, furniture and more.

Admission is always free and it will be open daily from 9:30 a.m. through 7 p.m. during go-rounds. It will remain open with extended hours through the semi-finals and finals performances.

Ranch and Breeding Operation Tours

NCHA and Quarter Horse News will host a ranch and breeding operation bus tour to select locations in Parker County Dec. 11 and 13. The tour will stop at some of the industry’s top operations and stallion stations. Past NCHA President Chris Benedict will be your tour guide and cost of the tour, including lunch, will be $50.

Cowboy Santa will be taking Christmas lists on Nov. 25, Dec. 2, Dec. 9 and Dec. 14 from 1 to 4 p.m., Nov. 30, Dec. 6 and 7 from 4-7 p.m. and Dec. 1, 8 and 15 from 2:30 to 6 p.m.

Commemorative Belt Buckles

Visitors to the show will have the chance to purchase a commemorative Futurity belt buckle, made by the official buckle designer of NCHA, Gist Silversmiths.

Western Bloodstock sales

Western Bloodstock will host cutting horse sales beginning Monday, Dec. 10 and continuing through the finals day on Saturday, Dec. 15. Super Stallion Saturday, an event that showcases many of the top cutting horse sires in the industry, will take place Saturday, Dec. 15 beginning at 8 a.m. Visitors are welcome to walk through the barn at the Watt to have a closer look at the stallions. For more information, visit www.westernbloodstock.com.

International Lounge

International guests will be welcomed to the show with a space to call their own – the international lounge. Located next to the NCHA Information Booth, the lounge is great place to relax and watch the live feed from the coliseum. Guests will also receive a Rios of Mercedes welcome bag stuffed full with goodies.

Held annually at Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas, each year, the NCHA World Championship Futurity showcases the next generation of leading cutting horses in their first arena competition. Since the inaugural Futurity in 1962 with 35 entries vying for a purse of $18,375, this event captures the imagination of fans around the world as more than 1,000 of the world’s top horse and rider combinations compete for a piece of a purse estimated at $3.2 million this year.

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The National Cutting Horse Association, based in Fort Worth, Texas, is the world governing body for the sport of cutting. With more than 20,000 members worldwide, its mission is to promote and celebrate the cutting horse, whose origin on Western ranches supports ranching and Western heritage. By establishing rules for the conduct of cutting horse shows, NCHA provides a level playing field and a progressive class structure, resulting in the development of nearly 2,000 events around the world with a total purse nearing $40 million.

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