Mercuria Cutting Horse Sponsorship, Fort Worth, Texas
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Rodeo: Texans claim top honors in NCHA finals
By Brett Hoffman
Two Texans snared the most coveted gold buckles on the National Cutting Horse Association's circuit for weekend competitors.
Jeremy Barwick of Stephenville, riding Dual Rey Me, won the open division, and Elizabeth Queen of Lipan, riding Sister CD, clinched the non-pro title as the Mercuria Energy NCHA World Finals concluded its four-day run Saturday night in Fort Worth.
In the open division, the class that features mostly professional riders, Dual Rey Me, a gelding, topped the stallion Thomas E Hughes, $101,346-$87,506. In the non-pro division, Queen and Sister CD edged former world champion Mary Jo Milner of Southlake, $89,908-$78,605.
Dual Rey Me clinched his third open title in four years.
Barwick said the 10-year-old gelding, owned by he and his wife, Candace, continues to excel because of his exceptional ability to think while holding a testy cow at bay.
"The thing that helps him more than anything is he's just so smart," Barwick said. "He reads a cow so well. He just never misses."
Queen clinched her first world title aboard Sister CD, owned by her and her husband, Skip.
Queen said Sister CD excels because the 7-year-old gelding quickly reacts to testy cows.
"It's because of how smart he is and how quickly he reads the cow," Queen said. "Sometimes, I almost fall off of him because he knows where the cow is going to go before I do."
PBR update: Two weeks after completing its World Finals in Las Vegas, the Professional Bull Riders began its 2010 Built Ford Tough Series.
The first tour stop was Nov. 20-22 in Duluth, Ga. The Ford Series' season opener was held in conjunction with the Copenhagen Bull Riding Challenger Tour Championship, a finale for the PBR's lower tier tours.
Brazilian Guilherme Marchi, the PBR's 2008 world champion who lives near Dallas, won the Ford Series segment and earned $210,000. North Carolina rider J.B. Mauney finished second in the Ford Series, but won the Challenger tour title. Mauney pocketed $78,750.
Many of the top cowboys who competed at the Georgia show also will ride in the Dickies Iron Cowboy Invitational, scheduled for Feb. 20 at Cowboys Stadium.
Brett Hoffman is a 20-year rodeo columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and a Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame member. E-mail him at brett@myrodeoinsider.com.
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