Open Non Pro National Champion Xavier HArris

One of the most impressive things to come out of the Hi Point National Title winners list in my mind is the impressive performances of our youth competitors. Of course we already know about Jackson Gray's achievement but in the Open Non Pro, Hi Point winner Xavier Harris and Runner up Jamie Bush are still in their Senior Youth years.

A few years ago the general consensus would have been that most of our successful riders and trainers came up through the pleasure or camp drafting ranks before they started cutting. But now the new generation of riders and trainers look like they are going to come from Cutting backgrounds through and through.

18 year old Xavier Harris is in his fourth year of his plumbing apprenticeship. He began cutting about six years ago, “I started off in English Riding and Pony Club riding, then one day I went to Equitana, it was the year Aaron Wheatley won, I really liked what I saw so I decided to take some lessons in Cutting”. Xavier's first horse was a horse by the name of Doc's Seview, a Docs Spinifex gelding. His third horse Docs Spinafrec though was the horse that has helped him to the majority of his successes.

Xavier bought the Docs Freckles Oak gelding three and a half years ago and almost