Tate Bennett

Self-made millionaire.

BY MEGAN ARMSZMAN

It’s been a long road to a million dollars for Tate Bennett. The 38-year-old professional horseman earned his NCHA Open Riders Hall of Fame induction one horse at a time, quite literally.

Bennett and his family run a small ranch operation out of Hereford, Texas, where he and his wife, Laura, and two boys, Bray and Brody, work horses and care for cattle.

“I got into cutting mostly because I was always into being a cowboy and roped a lot when I was younger,” Bennett said. “I’d ride my horse to check the cattle daily. It was just part of who I was.”

Bennett started working with Curtis Vast out of school, starting colts and prepping them for the 2-year-old sales. After that short stint, Bennett returned to working for himself, inspired to get into working with sales horses. And that is how he embarked on the journey to his million-dollar earnings status.

“I realized that I could make good money selling horses and cutting, so that’s where I started. It was almost like I shouldn’t have gotten my Open card and just been a Non Pro, that’s the approach I’ve taken throughout my career,” Bennett said.

The first horse Bennett successfully purchased as a yearling and trained from start to finish was Reyn Maker, a gelding with whom Bennett won the John Deere Division of the Open Championship three consecutive times.

“The first finals I made was with Reyn Maker at the NCHA Super Stakes when he was 4 years old,” Bennett recalled. “I had maybe $5,000 lifetime earnings, and then the next thing I know, we were making the finals at almost every show.”

Bennett credits his dedication to hard work and doing right by the horse for his long road to the million. The million-dollar milestone wasn’t an accomplishment he was driving for, and Bennett was surprised when a friend congratulated him on the success.

“I never got into taking in a lot of horses,” Bennett said. “Cutting can own you pretty fast, but I tried to keep my family first. I have little boys that love to rope, and we try to do a little of it all. That’s probably kept me from excelling more in the cutting than I have at this point.”

Bennett and his wife purchase yearlings at the sales each year—sometimes just one, sometimes three. He then sets to giving each horse a solid foundation.

“I’ve always taken the approach to buy the underdog,” he said. “I don’t have the funds to buy the high-dollar yearlings, so what I buy is what I train. I’ll keep a couple of horses until they turn 3, but I’ll sell the other ones. We just buy what we need.”

Bennett says that most of his lifetime earnings have come on horses that he purchased as yearlings and trained himself.

“I’ve been told that nobody does it like we do, and I know I’m one of the very few open guys that you’ll see riding their own horses without any customers,” he said.

Still, Bennett continues to look to the future and work hard for his family and his career.

“I’m sure earlier I would have said my goal was to earn more money,” he said. “But, as I get closer to 40, my focus now is more on my kids. I’m probably always going to do this to some extent, and I’ve always hoped to win the Futurity, but my biggest goal would be that as hard as this gets and the way I approach it, my plan is to just keep enjoying cutting.”

NCHA Open Riders Hall of Fame rider Tate Bennett and Red Hot Spot.

2021 THE NON PRO plus THE OPEN

JUNE 9TH - 19TH, 2021

Held at the historic Hardy Murphy Coliseum, in Ardmore, Oklahoma “Where History & Champions are Made” TENTATIVE SCHEDULE AS OF 3.19.2021 Show o ce number: 405.598.2568 · cell: 405.200.5030 · Della Hillerman, Secretary

TUESDAY, JUNE 8TH

STALL OFFICE NUMBER DURING THE SHOW 405-827-6335 STALLS , PRACTICE IN ARENA AND FLAG PENS WILL BE AVAILABLE

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9TH

ADDED $ FINAL **LTE = LIFE TIME EARNINGS

$1,000.00 NO NCHA OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP CUTTING

GO (ONLY) $1,000.00 NO NCHA NON PRO CHAMPIONSHIP CUTTING GO (ONLY) $5,000.00 YES 4 YR OLD OPEN 15K (LTE) NOVICE HORSE (W/FINALS) GO ROUND $2,000.00 YES 4 YR OLD OPEN 15K (LTE) NOVICE HORSE 150k (LTE)RIDER GO ROUND

THURSDAY, JUNE 10TH

ADDED $ FINAL **LTE = LIFE TIME EARNINGS

$15,000.00 YES 4 YEAR OLD OPEN GO ROUND $5,000.00 YES 5/6 YR OLD OPEN MID LEVEL (2 YR 200K ROLLBACK) GO ROUND (MID LEVEL ROLL BACK - NO HALL OF FAME UNDER AGE 55) 4 YR OLD OPEN 15K (LTE) NOVICE HORSE 150k (LTE)RIDER FINALS

FRIDAY, JUNE 11TH

ADDED $ FINAL **LTE = LIFE TIME EARNINGS

$1,000.00 NO NCHA NON PRO CHAMPIONSHIP CUTTING $1,000.00 NO NCHA OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP CUTTING

GO (ONLY) GO (ONLY) 4 YEAR OLD 15K(LTE)NOVICE HORSE FINALS 5/6 YR OLD OPEN MID LEVEL (2YR 200k ROLL BACK) FINALS $2,500.00 NO NCHA 25K NOVICE HORSE GO (ONLY)

SATURDAY, JUNE 12TH

ADDED $ FINAL **LTE = LIFE TIME EARNINGS

$15,000.00 YES 5/6 YEAR OPEN GO ROUND $5,000.00 YES 4 YR OLD OPEN MID LEVEL (2YR 200k ROLL BACK) GO ROUND (MID LEVEL ROLL BACK - NO HALL OF FAME UNDER AGE 55) $2,500.00 NO NCHA OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP GO (ONLY) $2,500.00 NO NCHA NON PRO CHAMPIONSHIP GO (ONLY)

SUNDAY, JUNE 13TH

ADDED $ FINAL **LTE = LIFE TIME EARNINGS

NO NCHA SENIOR YOUTH CUTTING 4 YEAR OLD OPEN FINALS NO NCHA JUNIOR YOUTH CUTTING 5/6 YEAR OLD OPEN FINALS $2,500.00 NO NCHA $25,000 NOVICE NON PRO CHAMPIONSHIP GO (ONLY) FINALS GO (ONLY) FINALS GO (ONLY)

MONDAY, JUNE 14TH

ADDED $ FINAL **LTE = LIFE TIME EARNINGS

4 YR OLD OPEN MID LEVEL (2 YR 200K ROLLBACK) FINALS $10,000.00 YES 5/6 NON PRO GO ROUND GO ROUND $4,000.00 YES 5/6 YEAR OLD NP MID LEVEL (2 YEAR 75K ROLLBACK) GO ROUND $1,000.00 NO 2000 LIMIT RIDER ANY HORSE GO (ONLY)

TUESDAY, JUNE 15TH

ADDED $ FINAL **LTE = LIFE TIME EARNINGS

$10,000.00 YES 4 YEAR NON PRO GO ROUND GO ROUND $4,000.00 YES 4 YEAR OLD NP MID LEVEL (2 YEAR 75K ROLLBACK) GO ROUND $2,500.00 NO NCHA 50,000 AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP GO (ONLY)

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16TH

ADDED $ FINAL **LTE = LIFE TIME EARNINGS

4 YEAR OLD NON PRO FINALS FINALS $5,000.00 YES 5/6 YR OLD AMATEUR (TOP LEVEL AMT)$100K OR MORE ALL LEVELS $3,500.00 YES 5/6 YR OLD INTERMEDIATE AMATEUR-( $25,001-$99,999) GO ROUND $1,500.00 YES 5/6 YEAR OLD LIMITED AMATEUR ($0 - $25,000)

THURSDAY, JUNE 17TH

ADDED $ FINAL **LTE = LIFE TIME EARNINGS

5/6 YEAR OLD NON PRO FINALS FINALS $5,000.00 YES 4 YR OLD AMATEUR (TOP LEVEL AMT)$100K OR MORE ALL LEVELS $3,500.00 YES 4 YR OLD INTERMEDIATE AMATEUR( $25,001-$99,999) GO ROUND $1,500.00 YES 4 YEAR OLD LIMITED AMATEUR ($0 - $25,000)

FRIDAY, JUNE 18TH

ADDED $ FINAL **LTE = LIFE TIME EARNINGS

$3,500.00 YES $50 NON PRO/AMATEUR ANY AGE HORSE $3,500.00 YES $15,000 AMATEUR ANY AGE HORSE 5/6 YR OLD (TOP LEVEL) AMATEUR FINALS 4 YR OLD (TOP LEVEL) AMATEUR FINALS GO ROUND GO ROUND FINALS FINALS

SATURDAY, JUNE 19TH

ADDED $ FINAL **LTE = LIFE TIME EARNINGS

4 YEAR OLD NP MID LEVEL (2 YEAR 75K ROLLBACK) FINALS 5/6 YEAR OLD NP MID LEVEL(2 YEAR 75K ROLLBACK) FINALS $35000 NON PRO ANY AGE FINALS FINALS 4 YR OLD INTERMEDIATE FINALS FINALS $15,000 AMATEUR FINALS FINALS 5/6 YR OLD INTERMEDIATE FINALS FINALS 4 YR OLD LIMITED AMATEUR FINALS FINALS 5/6 YR OLD LIMITED AMATEUR FINALS FINALS

CLASSES MUST HAVE 20 ENTRIES FOR A FINALS LIFE TIME EARNINGS WILL BE CHECKED BEFORE THE DRAW ALL CLASSES MUST BE ENTERED IN ADVANCE. STALL(S) MUST BE RESERVED BY JUNE 1ST, 2021 VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT NCHADELLA.COM FOR ENTRY FORMS AND MORE SHOW INFORMATION.

Lawson Hadlock

Taking the long road to the NCHA Open Riders Hall of Fame has its rewards.

BY JENNIFER HORTON

Alittle like that “Cadillac” Johnny Cash sang about, Lawson Hadlock built his $1 million for the NCHA Open Riders Hall of Fame one check at a time. The last piece was earned in July 2020.

“I definitely earned it the hard way,” said Hadlock, of Ogden, Utah. “I think my biggest check was about $16,000. All the rest of them have been $700, $300. It’s not that easy.”

Hadlock grew up in a ranching family where the cowboy way was life. His competitive equine career began in the horse show world, training and showing registered American Paint Horses in Western pleasure and reining.

“Actually my favorite discipline showing horses was jumping. But the costume and I did not connect. If I could jump in jeans and a cowboy hat, I’d still be jumping,” Hadlock said.

It was Francisco Zamora who introduced Hadlock to cutting. While showing Paint horses, Hadlock traveled with Tim Denton, who showed and also cut. The cutting ultimately drew him in.

“Where there’s cows and horses is more my lifestyle,” he said.

Hadlock named Dandyolena (Docs Texas Dandy x Beggar Lena x Doc O’Lena) as his first successful cutter. Married to Heidi [Hadlock-Evans] at the time, the couple showed the gelding before selling him to Jim and Mary Jo Milner.

“In that trade we got Cats Summertime (High Brow Cat x Summer Lynx x Doc’s Lynx). We had great success with him as well. Both of those horses were great to our family and the kids had success on them as well.”

Hadlock is the father of twins, Dax and Paige, both still involved in cutting.

In 2006, Hadlock and his son Dax both showed Rio CD (CD Olena x Rio Bud x King Of Clarks) to the open and junior youth championships at the NCHA Western National Championships, respectively. “She was a horse that stands out for us,” Hadlock said.

Hadlock was riding Coooter Brown (Dualin Puddy Tap x GS Kittys Littlelena x Smart Little Lena), owned by Denise Cox, when he went over the $1 million in earnings at a Boise Valley (Idaho) Cutting Horse Association show. He credits Cox for pushing him toward the Hall of Fame goal.

“She helped me get this far. It was never on my bucket list,” Hadlock said. “But Denise saw where I was [in earnings] when I got around the $750,000 mark and she said, ‘We’re going to get this. You’re going to show every horse at every weekend show for the next two years.’

“I got on some horses I wouldn’t usually ride and we pushed our way through. It was her kicking me in the butt to do it. I probably would have let it slip by and just stayed home training horses.”

As his earnings continued to climb, the Hall of Fame became more of a goal.

“We made it and I’m very proud of it. It’s a long road at $400 a whack,” he said.

No one gets there on their own. Hadlock also thanks his family for their support.

“Heidi kept me going, as well as Dax and Paige. And my first wife, Sheri (Reardon), who got me into the show business, and our daughter, Shannon.

“We did it the hard way, but we’ve had a lot of fun, met a lot of great people and made a lot of friends. That’s probably been the most fun of all,” Hadlock said.

Lawson Hadlock won the 2020 Utah Futurity with Smooth Talkin Branch (Smooth Talkin Style x Dooney Boonsmal x Peptoboonsmal). Their win earned $8,000 for owner KT Ranch, LLC.

JAIME SNIDER

A lifetime of dedication is rewarded.

BY MEGAN ARMSZMAN

Earning an induction into the NCHA Open Riders Hall of Fame is the dream of almost every cutter because it reflects a lifetime of dedication to the sport. For Jaime Snider, that dedication can be attributed to his father, Larry Snider, so it’s only appropriate that Larry is at the top of the list of people Jaime thanks.

“My dad and I are like best friends,” said Jaime. “I grew up on a ranch and was always around horses and cattle, especially when my dad showed cutters,” he said.

That Colorado ranch sparked the passion for Jaime. After graduating from Colorado State University, Jaime went to work full-time under fellow Hall of Fame member Lloyd Cox, whom he had spent summers working for during his college years. Jaime took away much more than just hours in the saddle, but also a strong knowledge of what it means to be a horseman as well as a trusted friend that people value.

“It’s not just about me (when it comes to success in the show pen),” Jaime said. “There are four helpers in the arena with you, plus the people who help get the horse ready. Everyone is working for the same thing.”

Jaime explained that if he’s got the leading score at a cutting, he will still be one of the first to step up to help fellow cutters, whether it’s by sharing tips from his experience or working as turnback help.

“I’m going to try to help them beat me,” he said. “And they will do the same for me. I think that’s the one thing about cutting that no other sport has—you try to help each other beat each other.”

Jaime attributes his successful career in part to two headline-grabbing horses: Sly Playgirl and Countin Hot Checks. “Sly Playgirl really put me on the map as a professional, she was the first horse I won a major aged event on,” he said. “Never once did I question if she was ready to show.”

Countin Hot Checks is the horse that put Jaime over the million-dollar mark for his induction, and it couldn’t have happened with a better horse.

“I knew I was getting close, and that he was that special horse that could put me over that mark,” Jaime said. “He’s one that I will never forget and it’s pretty special that he’s the one that put me over the top.”

Besides the induction, Jaime is proud to share his legacy with not only his father, but his entire family as well. His other biggest accomplishment is watching his father show in the Amateur Finals at the Futurity aboard Highway Patrol, a horse that Jaime had trained. It was a return to the show pen after a 10-year hiatus for Larry, and it was a special ride for the entire Snider family.

“It’s more nerve-wracking for me to watch my dad, wife or two older children show than it is for me to show,” Jaime said. “I get more nervous and more amped, even for my professional friends.”

Jaime hopes his legacy in the cutting industry is being one of the good guys. “I try to help everyone know the cattle and help them the best I can, no matter what,” he said. “I want everyone to think of me as a good guy that was always there to help; that was always there to do whatever anyone needed.”

Jaime Snider and Countin Hot Checks, the horse that helped him cross the milliondollar earnings threshold.