‘At least we get to cut.’ Cutting horses back in Fort Worth after spring event scrapped

Forty years ago, Lindy Burch became the National Cutting Horse Association’s first female rider to win the open division title at the NCHA Futurity, the sport’s most prestigious show.

When the NCHA Metallic Cat Summer Spectacular begins on Friday at Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum, Burch, a Weatherford cowgirl who is a longtime cutting horse industry insider, will be the first competitor to make a 2 1/2-minute run aboard a horse named Reys Delight to kick off the 20-day show.

The 2020 Summer Spectacular, which runs through July 29, will see some changes because of coronavirus concerns. Fans and competitors must wear masks in the coliseum unless they are riding a horse or making a competitive run. Also, parties and awards banquets have been canceled.

“It will be kind of a bare-bones cutting,” Burch said. “But at least we get to cut.”

Cutting horse competitors were denied the opportunity to compete in the Super Stakes, a sister show that was canceled because of COVID-19. The Super Stakes was scheduled for March 24-April 18.

“We were really sad and disappointed when we couldn’t have the Super Stakes,” Burch said. “So it’s good to have the summer cutting when a lot of states are still shut down. We’re very lucky.”

The Summer Spectacular also is a sister show to the November-December Futurity. The Futurity, the Super Stakes and the Summer Spectacular feature the three jewels of the sport’s Triple Crown Series (the final rounds for first-year horses) and all three shows are in Fort Worth.

Under normal circumstances, the Summer Spectacular open division finals for 4-year-old horses would have been the third jewel of a 2019-2020 Triple Crown Series. The 2019 Futurity open division finals in December for debuting 3-year-old horses was the first jewel.

Unlike other years, this year’s Summer Spectacular will not conclude with the 4-year-old open finals. This year, it’s scheduled for July 19, about midway through the show. The 2020 Summer Spectacular concludes with the 4-year-old non-pro finals on July 29.

The Summer Spectacular will feature horse ages 4-6, which are first-, second- and third-year competitors. Burch will ride two 6-year-olds, which means that it’s their last opportunity to compete in a major Fort Worth-based show.

The Summer Spectacular traditionally features large youth competitions. During the 2020 edition, youth riders will compete on July 13-15.

“It’s important to our industry that we get back to cutting,” Burch said. “There are people who have bred horses four and five years ago and have raised horses to show in these Triple Crown events and have put a lot of effort and money into getting that horse trained.”

Stockyards rodeo reopens

The Cowtown Coliseum in the Fort Worth Stockyards traditionally features some type of rodeo competition on Friday and Saturday nights year round. But the rodeo was forced to shut down in March because of the pandemic.

However, the Stockyards Championship Rodeo reopened last weekend. Everyone was required to wear masks in the coliseum unless they were competing.

Tim Lanier, the rodeo’s general manager, said about 575 fans attended the Friday night performance and about 400 came Saturday night.

“I did a financial analysis and it looks like we covered our expenses and maybe made a dollar or two,” Lanier said. “That was the big test. The best thing for us is, even if we’re not making any money, we’re still getting cowboys back to work and we’re getting our crew back to work. So, everybody’s getting to work and it’s not costing us anything.”

Lanier said 201 rides were made by contestants last weekend. The rodeo features standard events such as bull riding, barrel racing and tie-down roping.

Performances are scheduled for 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Weatherford rodeo underway

The Parker County Sheriff’s Posse Frontier Days and PRCA Rodeo is underway this week in Weatherford after it was originally canceled in June and later rescheduled.

The PRCA Xtreme Bulls competition took place Tuesday night. Former National Finals Rodeo qualifier Jeff Askey of Athens tied for first place with a score 88 on a bovine named He Reigns, which is owned by the Lancaster & Jones Pro Rodeo. Askey earned $3,414.

The rodeo began with a slack performance on Tuesday morning, which featured an overflow of competitors who were not scheduled to compete in the main shows. The main shows began Wednesday and continue through Saturday. The performances begin at 7:30 p.m.

The slack performance drew some of the world’s top timed-event competitors. For example, defending PRCA team roping heeling world champion Wesley Thorp of Stephenville and his heading partner, Chad Masters, turned in a 4.4, which was the second fastest time of the Tuesday slack performance.

The Weatherford Rodeo will be televised this weekend on the Cowboy Channel, which has its headquarters in the Fort Worth Stockyards.

PRCA July 4 highlights

▪ Four-time world champion Tuf Cooper, who has homes in Weatherford and Decatur, clinched the all-around title at Belle Fourche, South Dakota, where he earned $4,700 in tie-down roping and steer roping. Cooper also snared the all-around title in Cody, Wyoming, where he took home $9,706. He’s ranked No. 1 in the PRCA’s 2020 world all-around title race.

▪ Five-time National Finals qualifier Adam Gray, who has homes in Weatherford and Seymour, tied for second in tie-down roping in Prescott, Arizona ($4,908). Gray tied with Shad Mayfield of Clovis, New Mexico. Mayfield, a 2019 National Finals qualifier, is No. 1 in the PRCA’s 2020 tie-down roping world title race. Gray is ranked No. 10.

▪ Nine-time National Finals team roping qualifier Charly Crawford of Stephenville and his partner, Logan Medlin of Tatum, New Mexico, clinched the team roping title in Oakley, Utah, with a 4.0. According to prorodeo.com, the 4.0 was the fastest team roping run during on the PRCA circuit during the Independence Day week. Crawford is ranked fourth in the PRCA team roping heading world standings.

▪ Six-time National Finals qualifier Marty Yates of Stephenville clinched the tie-down roping title in Mandan, North Dakota, with a 7.3, which was the fastest time in the event throughout the July 4 week. Yates is ranked 15th in the PRCA’s world standings.

PBR update

Dalton Kasel, the Professional Bull Riders’ 2019 Rookie Of The Year from Muleshoe, will have surgery after an MRI exam revealed he had torn his groin, according to pbr.com. He said he expects to miss the remainder of the 2020 season.

This weekend, PBR riders will compete in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, as fans can watch the July 10-12 performances on CBS Sports Network.