Hosea & Nowicki Win USTPA World Championship by Nancy Brannon Kevin Hosea and show partner Debbie Nowicki won the #3 Sorting Class at this year’s US Team Penning Association (USTPA) World Championship, held October 31-November 5 at the Ike Hamilton Expo Center in West Monroe, LA. The #3 Sorting Class was held on Friday, with Kevin and Debbie competing against approximately 200 other teams. In the first go, all 200 teams competed, sorting out the top 50 to come back for the second go. “In the first go, we sorted five head in about 58 seconds, which is mediocre,” Kevin said. “But we made the second go by tenths of a second and stood 50 out of 50 in the second go. Then things turned around for us. We got a nice draw on the cattle and sorted ten head in 59 seconds. We felt really good about that!” The competition was narrowed to the top 20 teams for the third go. “In the third run, we were the first ones to go. We sorted nine head and that put us in first place in the event. That raised our hopes!” he said. Then for the fourth or short go, they brought in a fresh set of cattle that had not been worked. “That slows things down a bit,” Kevin said. “We sorted three in 48 seconds. So that gave us a total of 27 head sorted in four goes. Then we watched all the rest of the teams ride after us. We were a little nervous. The last team came in with 20 head sorted, up to the short go. They only had to sort eight head to beat us. We were really nervous! But I looked at the clock and saw that after 39 seconds they only had three head sorted, so I knew they wouldn’t be able to sort five more in the remaining seconds. That’s when I realized we had won!” Kevin is from Morris Chapel, TN, a few miles from Savannah. Debbie is from Adamsville, TN. Kevin met Debbie about five years ago when she contacted him about teaching her children to ride. At the time, “Debbie had spent years around horses through rescue work, but was a very inexperienced rider,” Kevin said. But as he continued to teach riding lessons to her children, he also taught Debbie confidence in the saddle. “She started riding and she picked it up rather quickly; it came natural for her,” Kevin said. Then Kevin introduced her to ranch sorting and “she learned that quickly, too,” he added. It wasn’t long before the two became a strong team at ranch sorting. Kevin bought his horse, Moose, about five months ago. “I bought him from a friend, Brian Buckner in Mississippi.” Moose is a 6-year-old Quarter Horse, son of Bodee Boonsmal and came from Texas trained as a cutting horse. “He won $10,000 cutting,” Kevin said. “But he took to sorting like a duck to water.” Debbie’s horse Rooster is a 9-year-old Quarter Horse gelding, son of Kit Dual. “He won $8,000 cutting,” Kevin said. She bought him from Gary Stanfill in Lexington, TN, who trained him for ranch sorting. The first place winners received a World Championship belt buckle and an impressive bronze statue, mounted on a black walnut base, sculpted by Jonathan Moeller of Rosholt, SD. “To win a title like this is the biggest dream of my lifetime,” Kevin said. “And to do it with a great friend like Debbie was extra special.” About the Artist Jonathan Moeller has professionally produced bronze sculptures for over three decades, specializing in equine and other animal subjects. He has raised and worked with horses since his childhood, so has an intuitive understanding of their nature. His sculptures reflect both the form and spirit of the horse. For more information about the artist, visit www.moellerbronze.com/ For more information about Kevin Hosea and Circle H Ranch horse training, visit: http://www.hoseahorsemanship.com/. For more information about the USTPA World Championship and to view the program, visit: www.ustpa.com/