Barbara Brooks of Nashville, TN has been elected Vice President of the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) for 2011. The distinction of holding this position means she will be President Elect in 2012 and then President of NCHA in 2013.
Barbara has been riding cutting horses competitively for 12 years. She got her start “accidentally” when she went to a sale to buy a broodmare. While there, she saw a cutting horse work and was completely enthralled! This was the first time she had seen cutting horses work. So she came home from the sale with a cutting horse gelding instead of a broodmare.
Learning to ride her new cutting horse, she quickly progressed through the basics and began to compete in entry level classes at the local NCHA affiliate shows. Deepening her interest in cutting, she acquired more knowledge and more horses and soon was competing at the national level.
Barbara and her horses compete both regionally and at the highest national levels. Her stallion, Cat A Rey, was a 2009 Open Futurity finalist at Fort Worth, TX, and her filly, Pepto San Dancer, was an Open finalist in 2010. She also competes with two geldings, Hickabilly Deluxe and Playboy’s Little Star. Barbara has been temporarily out of competition recently due to back surgery, but she hopes to be back in the saddle in coming months.
In addition to leadership in the NCHA, Barbara is also a member of the Country Music Cutting Horse Association, a regional affiliate based in Lebanon, TN. In regional chapters, cutters can compete locally and learn the sport before progressing to the higher national levels. There are many local affiliates of NCHA in the mid-south she says. “There are strong groups of cutters in Tennessee and Mississippi where competition can be stiff. But also these groups are friendly and helpful and are good places to start. There are plenty of experienced cutters out there locally who can act as mentors. At a competition, the Show Secretary can provide names of likely mentors, and if there is a Director available locally, it is their job to encourage and help newcomers.” Barbara encourages those with an interest in cutting to check out the NCHA website for affiliate chapters in their area. She says a good class to get started in is the $2000 Limit Rider where the rider does not have to own the horse he rides, but can borrow an experienced horse to ride.
What is it about cutting horses? Barbara says that riding a cutting horse is an adrenaline rush that’s addictive. “It’s like an amusement park ride that doesn’t make you sick. You want to keep riding it again and again,” she explained. An animal so in tune to its job is amazing – its physicality, its responsiveness, its sensitivity, its intelligence. A cutting horse is just something to behold! Oftentimes, watching a good cutter causes a crowd to gasp. People from other riding disciplines have visited Barbara’s barn to watch her horses work and have exclaimed, “I didn’t know horses could act like that!”
When riding a cutting horse, the rider gives up control to the horse. The horse mirrors a cow’s movement. The cow can be unpredictable, but the horse reads and anticipates the other animal independently of its rider.
Barbara admits, “A good cutting horse comes by this ability with a lot of training, but they also have to have a lot of ‘cow’ in them. Being what they call ‘cowey’ is when the horse really cares and wants to do his job. He has an intensity, a desire to work a cow, above and beyond training. Many aspects of what they do can be taught; but when the horse has extreme desire and intensity, that’s when he takes it to another level.”
One of Barbara’s goals for her reign at NCHA is to spread the word of the beauty and athleticism of the cutting horse, and thereby open doors for newcomers to become interested in the sport. She also seeks to infuse cutters and existing chapters with a sense of camaraderie and shared enthusiasm for the sport. We wish her the best in her new position!
Photo cutline: Barbara Brooks competing on Hickabilly Deluxe.
Barbara has been riding cutting horses competitively for 12 years. She got her start “accidentally” when she went to a sale to buy a broodmare. While there, she saw a cutting horse work and was completely enthralled! This was the first time she had seen cutting horses work. So she came home from the sale with a cutting horse gelding instead of a broodmare.
Learning to ride her new cutting horse, she quickly progressed through the basics and began to compete in entry level classes at the local NCHA affiliate shows. Deepening her interest in cutting, she acquired more knowledge and more horses and soon was competing at the national level.
Barbara and her horses compete both regionally and at the highest national levels. Her stallion, Cat A Rey, was a 2009 Open Futurity finalist at Fort Worth, TX, and her filly, Pepto San Dancer, was an Open finalist in 2010. She also competes with two geldings, Hickabilly Deluxe and Playboy’s Little Star. Barbara has been temporarily out of competition recently due to back surgery, but she hopes to be back in the saddle in coming months.
In addition to leadership in the NCHA, Barbara is also a member of the Country Music Cutting Horse Association, a regional affiliate based in Lebanon, TN. In regional chapters, cutters can compete locally and learn the sport before progressing to the higher national levels. There are many local affiliates of NCHA in the mid-south she says. “There are strong groups of cutters in Tennessee and Mississippi where competition can be stiff. But also these groups are friendly and helpful and are good places to start. There are plenty of experienced cutters out there locally who can act as mentors. At a competition, the Show Secretary can provide names of likely mentors, and if there is a Director available locally, it is their job to encourage and help newcomers.” Barbara encourages those with an interest in cutting to check out the NCHA website for affiliate chapters in their area. She says a good class to get started in is the $2000 Limit Rider where the rider does not have to own the horse he rides, but can borrow an experienced horse to ride.
What is it about cutting horses? Barbara says that riding a cutting horse is an adrenaline rush that’s addictive. “It’s like an amusement park ride that doesn’t make you sick. You want to keep riding it again and again,” she explained. An animal so in tune to its job is amazing – its physicality, its responsiveness, its sensitivity, its intelligence. A cutting horse is just something to behold! Oftentimes, watching a good cutter causes a crowd to gasp. People from other riding disciplines have visited Barbara’s barn to watch her horses work and have exclaimed, “I didn’t know horses could act like that!”
When riding a cutting horse, the rider gives up control to the horse. The horse mirrors a cow’s movement. The cow can be unpredictable, but the horse reads and anticipates the other animal independently of its rider.
Barbara admits, “A good cutting horse comes by this ability with a lot of training, but they also have to have a lot of ‘cow’ in them. Being what they call ‘cowey’ is when the horse really cares and wants to do his job. He has an intensity, a desire to work a cow, above and beyond training. Many aspects of what they do can be taught; but when the horse has extreme desire and intensity, that’s when he takes it to another level.”
One of Barbara’s goals for her reign at NCHA is to spread the word of the beauty and athleticism of the cutting horse, and thereby open doors for newcomers to become interested in the sport. She also seeks to infuse cutters and existing chapters with a sense of camaraderie and shared enthusiasm for the sport. We wish her the best in her new position!
Photo cutline: Barbara Brooks competing on Hickabilly Deluxe.
