The 2009 NCHA Futurity has been run and won and all I can say is that this years victory couldn't have gone to a nicer couple than the owners of the winning horse, Rob and Collette Greer. I was fortunate enough to manage to get down to Tamworth for three days to watch some of the Derby, Non Pro Derby and Non Pro Challenge events, thank you to the NCHA for giving me access to the arena while I was down there, so I could shoot some photos and video footage to use on my site.
When I arrived at Tamworth, the buzz was about how well Corey Holdens horses were performing, and everyone was saying he was a good chance to take out the big one this year. At the same time a lot of people were also talking about young Heath Sinclair, some saying he was one of the best in the business at picking cattle . I was just amazed to see the progress of some of these horses and riders from last years futurity, their achievements have really been something.
Of course with the triumphs there were some hard luck stories too, with a couple of the more fancied horses not making the finals but as they say that's cutting. One of the more memorable rides that I saw was in the Derby second go round, a little Palomino mare, Rey Lady Rey ridden by Phil Dawson and owned by Delta Quarter Horses, this little pony had the small crowd right behind her as she tried her heart out and showed us all what speed, agility and try was all about, unfortunately in this case one very tough cow got the better of her. I'm sure for those who saw either the whole show or parts thereof , would have other performances etched in their memories and those will be the subject of table talk for a long time to come.
I was also lucky enough to meet and interview Terry Clifford while I was at ALEC and I thank him for giving up some of his time to talk to a lightweight like myself. Terry Clifford belongs to that illustrious group of Australian trainers who are able to train and compete in the US at the highest level. He has made the NCHA Futurity Semi Finals on three occasions, the Super Stakes final once and the Derby Final twice, accumulating $727,016.11 in NCHA earnings in his travels.
Terry went over to the states as an eighteen year old in the eighties, originally he only intended to spend six months there but the addiction to cutting got the better of him and now only comes down under for the occasional visit.
In his youth years he was actively involved in cutting in the northern rivers area with good friends Bob Guest and Phil McCloud. After catching the bug he learnt some valuable lessons from trainers such as Ricky Glen, Tony Ernst, Brian Craddon and Ian Cox before heading stateside in 1985.
I talked to Terry about many aspects of cutting and the full interview will unravel itself as time goes on, but to give you a taste of what's in stall I thought I'd share a couple of things Terry had to say about Australian Cutting in 2009. To be fair to the people who don't have access to the faster internet speeds I've put the answers in two formats, video or words, all you need to do is click on your preference. If want to watch the video, just click play in the viewer, if you want to read the transcripts, click words and photos.
As an Aussie I'm always curious about how the standard of cutting here compares to that over in the US, last year at the end of the final the judges asked me to take some photos of them in the arena and as I walked with them to the end of the arena, I couldn't help but ask them their impressions of cutting “down under” and the answer? “There isn't that much difference, the only difference being there's more trainers and horses of a high standard in the US” Of course as you do, I thought I'd ask Terry what he thought.
Of course of those young trainers there were Corey Holden who finalled four horses, eventual winner Heath Sinclair who finalled three, Luke Lyons from Queensland is starting to make an impression finalling one horse and the list just goes on.
There were a few things done differently this year than last year and the NCHA have learned from, and ironed out some minor bugs. This year the trade stalls faced the arena making it more open and of course the bar remained open after the days events. Wednesday night was Origin night and the footy certainly got some atmosphere going, something that some people think this stadium is lacking, but whatever your opinion you have to agree it's a pretty cool venue. The ALEC Facility has been described many a time as world class and there is no doubt that it is.
So with the NCHA futurity in the bag the Futurity train rolls northward with Toowoomba the next aged event off the mark in a months time. With the success of last year the Toowoomba Committee have decided to add an extra day to the event with the futurity commencing on the Monday instead of the Tuesday. True testimony that the sport of cutting in Australia is still on the up and up.
