Eastern Nationals Champions Crowned
The winners have been crowned at the Wayne Hodges Trailers * Outlaw Conversions Eastern National Championships. The show was held in Jackson, Mississippi, March 6-17, 2006. Jim Langdale of Quitman, Georgia, won a year´s use of a trailer when his horse, Widows Intentions, marked 225, the highest score of the show. Austin Shepard rode Widows Intentions in the high-point run in the Open finals. It was Shepard`s third Open championship at the Eastern Nationals in the past four years.

The North Mississippi Cutting Horse Association edged the Florida Cutting Horse Association by just 15 points to win the AQHA/NCHA Affiliate Challenge, in which affiliates earn points based on their members´ participation and performance. North Mississippi earned $7,500 from the award´s $27,000 distribution. The AQHA/NCHA Affiliate Challenge will also be a feature of the 2005 Wayne Hodges * Outlaw Conversions Western National Championships, to be held in Ogden, Utah, April 27-May 7.

Read about the show in the Daily Chatter and in the May issue of Cutting Horse Chatter. Here's a look at the Champions:

• Open: Widows Intentions
• Non-Pro: Lori Rogers
• $10,000 Amateur: Kelly Eastburn
• $50,000 Amateur: Blain Peerson
• $20,000 Non-Pro: Barbara Himsel
• Senior Youth: Lauren Minshall
• Junior Youth: Katlyn Entz
• $10,000 Novice Non-Pro: WR Stuffin
• $2,000 Limited Rider: Zoe Woodland
• $3,000 Novice: Pepto Mania
• $10,000 Novice: Smart Lil Jewel

Super Stakes Draw Today
The draw for the 2006 NCHA Super Stakes will be held today. The $2.5 million show, for the progeny of subscribed stallions, starts in Fort Worth, Texas next Tuesday, and continues through April 16. Live web casting of the event will begin daily at 8:00 a.m., brought to you by 6666 Ranch. And you can keep up with the news behind the scores each day in the popular Daily Chatter newsletter.

New Features at NCHA Super Stakes
There will be some new twists to the NCHA Super Stakes, which opens in Fort Worth, Texas on Tuesday, March 28. this year's show will introduce an Open Wildcard Round, a $10,000 Novice Horse Class,  and a $200,000 Non-Pro class. Read the details here.

Big Sale at the Super Stakes
The complete listing for Western Bloodstock's NCHA Super Stakes Sale is now online.

Clone of Royal Blue Boon Foaled
A clone of all-time leading cutting horse producer Royal Blue Boon was foaled in Oklahoma on February 16. Read about it first in Sally Harrison's popular Hoof Beats column in the Fort Worth Business Press, and check out the feature story in the April issue of Cutting Horse Chatter.

NCHA Cutting Academy
The NCHA Cutting Academy, a series of grass roots cutting clinics to be held throughout the country, will be launched on April 22 in DuQuoin, Illinois. Four clinics will be scheduled annually in different locations, with the emphasis on the education and presentation of showing horses.

The inaugural NCHA Cutting Academy clinic will start off with an overview by NCHA by Executive Director Jeff Hooper, and will continue with a session on judging and rules conducted by NCHA Director of Judges Russell McCord. The afternoon session will focus on live works, with evaluations and critiques of each ride by some of the industry´s leading trainers.

Julie Davis, NCHA´s Membership Services Manager, will also be on hand to answer questions relating to NCHA membership and Non-Pro and Amateur status.

Summer Payment Deadline Looming
The second payment for the Great American Insurance NCHA Summer Cutting Spectacular is due April 1.

National Velvet to Screen in April
On Wednesday, April 19, the 1944 classic National Velvet, winner of two Academy Awards, will be shown at Fort Worth's Museum of Modern Art, a quarter-mile from Will Rogers Memorial Center, benefiting the Lone Star Film Society.

This is a rare opportunity to see the classic movie starring Elizabeth Taylor, Mickey Rooney, Angela Landsbury and more on the big screen. Children are encouraged to come, as the movie is about a young girl who takes a renegade horse and wins the Grand National Steeplechase. Admission is $7.50 Movie starts at 7 pm.

NCI Building Systems Sponsors NCHA Futurity
NCI Building Systems, Inc. will be the title sponsor of the NCHA World Championship Futurity. NCI's support of cutting's showcase event, along with purse enhancements already approved by the NCHA Executive Committee, will help raise the added money for the NCHA Futurity to $625,000 compared to $300,000 in 2005.

NCI Building Systems is one of the largest integrated manufacturers and marketers of metal building components, custom engineered metal building systems and metal coil coaters in North America.

Based in Houston, Texas, NCI Building Systems has 34 facilities located in the United States and Mexico.

2006 NCHA Convention at Worthington in Fort Worth, Texas
The 2006 NCHA Convention will be held at the Renaissance Worthington Hotel in Fort Worth, Texas on June 23-25. Located in historic downtown Fort Worth, the Worthington has hosted the NCHA Convention four times in the past.

You may book your hotel room reservations by dialing 1-800-433-5677 and identifying yourself with the NCHA Convention in order to get the discounted group rate. Please remember that the hotel rooms for the NCHA Convention are only being held under our group rate through May 24, 2006, so be sure to make your reservations early.

The Race Is On In 2006
CD Lights, owned by Danny Motes and Winston Hansma, is on a roll. The stallion has widened his lead in the Open standings for the 2006 point year with $19,264, more than twice his nearest competitor. Riding Could I Would I, two-time Non-Pro World Champion Joe Howard Williamson has a significant margin over Julie Wells in the Non-Pro standings, while his daughter, Denver Jo Williamson, is in front in the $50,000 Amateur. Just over $11 separates Scott Thorne and Libby Long in the $20,000 Non-Pro.

Remember, you can keep up with the standings in all NCHA-approved classes online every week.

Bonanza Wrap Up
Phil Rapp rode Dual Smart Rey to a 225-point win in the 4-year-old Open yesterday at the Bonanza Cutting in Abilene, Texas. Elizabeth Queen of Lipan, Texas, and CD Hombre won the 4-year-old Non-Pro. Reys Dual Badger, ridden by Darren Simpkins, and Cowcattin, ridden by Kobie Wood, both marked 221 in the 5/6-year-old Open, while Skip Queen took the 5/6-year-old Non-Pro on Glows.

Keep Your Membership Active
March 1 is the deadline for renewing your NCHA membership for 2006. If you had an active membership in 2005, but did not renew by March 1, you will no longer be eligible to show horses in NCHA competition, and beginning with the April issue, you will no longer receive the award-winning Cutting Horse Chatter magazine until your membership is renewed.

Triple Crown Accommodations
If you're headed to the NCHA Super Stakes, check out the Green Oaks Hotel in Fort Worth, Texas. They offer a 10% discount to NCHA members who make their reservations 60 days out, and 5% for those who make reservations 30 days out. That deal works for all three NCHA shows in Fort Worth. Call (800) 433-2174 for more information. With the recent closing of several Fort Worth area hotels, it's especially important to book your rooms early.

NYCHA Stallion Service Program
Why spend more for breeding fees if you don´t have to? Breedings donated to the NYCHA Stallion Service Program can be purchased on a first-come, first-serve basis for 60% of the advertised breeding fees. Here´s a sample of the breedings we have available for purchase – Bobs Freckle, Dualin Gun, Its Just About Me, Mylanta Lena, Mr Skyline Peppy, Smart Sugar Badger, That Sly Cat. To purchase any of the breedings, contact Danette McGuire, NCHA Youth Coordinator at (817) 244-6188. All proceeds benefit the National Youth Cutting Horse Association.

Judge Recertification Seminars
Two more Judge Recertification Seminars will be held this year held in conjunction with major shows. It is mandatory that all NCHA carded judges attend a recertification seminar in 2006.

• Reno, Nevada – May 13, 2006, 1:00 p.m. (in conjunction with the PCCHA Derby/Classic/Challenge)
• Fort Worth, Texas – July, 29, 2006, 8:00 a.m. (in conjunction with the NCHA Summer Cutting Spectacular)

Horse Power Brochure Available
The American Horse Council offers a comprehensive and entertaining look at the economics of today´s horse industry in its new American Horsepower brochure. The full-color brochure is based on statistics and information from the Economic Impact of the Horse Industry on the United States study that was commissioned by the American Horse Council Foundation.

Contact the American Horse Council at 202-296-4031 to purchase copies of the brochure.

Equine ID Legislation
Three bills dealing with the National Animal Identification System have gone before the US House Committee on Agriculture in the past 12 months. The American Horse Council has established a website at www.horsecouncil.org/equineid.htm as a one-stop resource for information on this issue.

Listen Up!
NCHA Director of Judges Russell McCord and announcer Tom Holt have recorded a new audio CD that examines NCHA's contest rules. The insightful commentary can help you show your horse better and improve your scores. The price for the Rules and Regulations Audio CD is just $10.00, or $10.83 for Texas residents (to cover sales tax). There are no shipping and handling charges except for foreign orders. Visa or MasterCard are accepted. Fax your order to Holly Davis at (817) 244-2015, or email Holly for more information.

The Chatter's 2006 Media Kit and Rate Card and Advertising Contract are now online.

Join Us!
Get your NCHA membership today and receive a subscription to the NCHA's award-winning monthly magazine, Cutting Horse Chatter. You can join quickly and easily right now, just click on this link to join online. If you have questions or need additional information about membership please contact the membership department at 817-244-6188 or email Julie Davis or Peggy Cox.

Don't Miss This!
A printer's gremlin kept the following ads out of the March issue of Cutting Horse Chatter, but you can see them online right now:

• Wendy Allen Saddlery
• Bruce Cheaney Custom Saddles
• Doyle Fulsum
• Gillham's Handmade Spurs
• Holy Cow Performance Horses
• MC Equine Enterprise
• Murray Leather Goods
• Pieper Ranch
• Smith Horses, Inc.
• Twisted L Ranch
• Walker Ranch

You can also relive some of the great moments of cutting horse history with VHS tapes of many of the past Triple Crown events, available from the NCHA Video Library. Tapes are $29.95, plus $5.95 for shipping and handling. Call the NCHA Marketing Department at (817) 244-6188 for more information about ordering. And right now, there's a special, limited-time offer on the 2003 NCHA World Championship Futurity and 2004 Super Stakes videos together for $49.95 plus $5.95 shipping and handling.