NCHA OPEN RIDERS HALL OF FAME
COOKIE BANUELOS
The journey for Cookie Banuelos to the NCHA Open Riders Hall of Fame was shared with family. BY JENNIFER HORTON
“O
ur parents were ranchers in Mexico. We grew up riding horses, burros, whatever we could find, even to school,” Cookie Banuelos said. He got the name “Cookie” as a little boy. Shortened from a slang nickname, it stuck. At just 11 years of age, Banuelos came to work for his older brother, Ascencion, who trained cutting horses in Texas. “My brother Carlos was also a big part of my life. We grew up together, came to work for Ascencion together,” Cookie said. The two were best friends. Carlos passed away in 2009. After high school, Cookie didn’t know his future. “I loved welding and building stuff,” he said, adding that Eddie Longley gave him a job building fence and working on his barns. “I loved it, but missed the horses. I brought a horse from home and started riding after work every day,” he said. Longley had a mare in training that didn’t pass the test to make it to the NCHA Futurity so he brought her home
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CUTTING HORSE CHATTER • MAY 2021
for Cookie to ride. It was Travs Smart Buy (Travalena x Dox Smart Buy x Miss N Cash). “I didn’t know how to show a horse, much less prepare one. I trained her up and showed her locally a few times. He entered her in the Amateur at the NCHA Super Stakes, and goes and wins! “Mr. Eddie is family. He saw what I could do with a horse and made sure I kept doing it. I was a kid, he and his wife treated me like family,” Cookie said. From there, Cookie went to work for Tom Lyons, whom he considers a great friend. “I got homesick though. Carlos and Ascencion were going strong and had more horses than they could ride,” he recalled of what drew him back to working with his brothers. After moving back to be with his brothers, Cookie’s opportunity to show at his first NCHA World Championship Futurity came in 2001. He won the Limited Open Futurity showing Abrakadabracre (Bob Acre Doc x Willys Tivio Babe x Doc N Willy). Cookie moved to Las Vegas in 2003 to
work for Michael and Paula Gaughan. “They treated me like family from the day I got here,” he said. “Six years later, I married their daughter. Now I’m real family.” One of his first Gaughan-owned 3-year-olds was Whittle Wed Boon (Peptoboonsmal x Smart Whittle Wena x Smart Little Lena). “I still didn’t have much show experience. I just had to put him in front of a cow and I was going to get a check. I won over $200,000 on him,” Cookie said. At the 2019 Futurity, Cookie passed the $1 million in earnings when he tied for third in the open on Hot Whittle Kitty (Hottish x Smart Whittle Kitty x High Brow Cat), a mare that is particularly special to him. “I took a few years off from really going and showing when Katie and I had our two kids. Katie’s always on my side, she’s a wonderful partner and wife.” Showing primarily on the West Coast, Cookie returns to Texas at Futurity time to work with his brother and nephew, Adan. “Adan’s a big part of my success these days. I bring him my 3-year-olds to finish. Those pre-works are so important and I don’t want to be gone from my family that long.” Cookie appreciates all the support he’s received. “When we started, Wayne Hodges would come check on us and help us. He’s a great coach. “Tim Smith and Todd Bimat have been like brothers to me. They’ve helped me in many ways,” Cookie said. “My sister, Yolanda Borjon, has been so supportive. She would fly in and babysit our children. Miss Paula [Gaughan] has been like a mother to me, treated me like a son and not just a worker. She has done everything to make it possible for me. That lady is a very special part of my life. “I wouldn’t change what I’m doing for anything. The people you come across, wherever you go, are wonderful. I’m very blessed for sure.”
SETH PETIT PHOTOGRAPHY
Cookie Banuelos rode Hot Whittle Kitty to cross the threshold of earnings and gain NCHA Riders Hall of Fame status.
