NCHA Foundation Scholarship Cutting: Champion Q&A

Junior Youth Champion

RIDER: JACK BELL HORSE: APOLLO CREED NICKNAME: APOLLO

OWNER: LEIGH GALL

Q. TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR HORSE.

A.Apollo (Metallic Cat x Tanginilla x Tangys Classy Peppy) is nine years old and he doesn’t act like a stud at all; he’s calm. It doesn’t take much to warm him up. My sister, Jenna, did a good job warming him up for me.

Q. WHAT WAS YOUR GAME PLAN WALKING INTO THE FINALS?

A.Just to get through it clean. I’ve been working on sorting cleaner, and not scaring the cows or anything.

Q. IS THERE A RUN THAT STICKS OUT TO YOU FROM YOUTH WEEK?

A.My favorite was probably my last run in the NCHA Foundation Scholarship Cutting – probably because it was the hardest one. The second cow ran everywhere. Drawing at the end of the set, I had all the tough cows left.

Q. HOW DOES IT FEEL TO WIN?

A.It feels really good. I’ve competed in this event for five years and made the finals three times, but never got a very good chance to win.

Q. HOW DO YOU MENTALLY PREPARE TO COMPETE?

A.I try not to overthink anything; I knew my horse could win. I knew if I cut clean, my horse would take care of the rest. When I’m choosing cattle to cut, I try to do a lot of feeling around in the herd and watch for a cow that walks away. If I see one walking away, that’s usually my best option.

Q. WHO IS YOUR CUTTING HERO?

A.My dad, JP Bell, is my cutting hero. He’s taught me everything I know.

Q. IS THERE ANYONE YOU’D LIKE TO THANK FOR HELPING YOU ALONG THE WAY?

A.Yes – my mom, my dad, Leigh Gall for letting me ride the horse, my sister for warming up the horse for me and my whole family.

Q. HAS ANYTHING ELSE EXCITING HAPPENED DURING THE NCHA GREAT AMERICAN INSURANCE GROUP SUMMER CUTTING SPECTACULAR?

A.Earlier this week, I won the Limited Non-Pro Classic/Challenge, and that was fun! I won that on Stars Go Blu (Once in a Blu Boon X Starlight Starbrite x Somebody Smart) with a 220.

Q. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART ABOUT BEING AT THIS EVENT?

A.Just being able to show so many times in this pen; it’s just a really cool place and it’s cool to win in Fort Worth, Texas. ★

Senior Youth Champion

RIDER: RYANN PACKARD HORSE: HOTT NU COWBOY NICKNAME: COWBOY

OWNER: CIRCLE R CUTTING HORSES LLC

Q. WHERE DO YOU PLAN TO UTILIZE YOUR SCHOLARSHIP?

A.I plan to use it when I attend college at Tarleton State University next fall. I’ll be studying business and finance. I don’t really know what I want to do yet, so I figured I can pursue a lot of careers with that. I am the most excited to try new things when I start college.

Q. WHAT MAKES YOUR HORSE STAND OUT?

A.He’s just obviously an amazing horse. I got the opportunity from the Rainey family to get to show on him again this year. He’s eight years old, but he acts like he’s a young horse. He’s just so wild and so playful. He’s got a huge personality, but when it comes time to show, he’s all business. All I want to do when I show is sit there and hang on because he knows exactly what his job is.

Q. WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR MIND AS YOU WERE SHOWING?

A.I wanted to focus on just doing my part, and my main goal was to drive out of the herd as far as I could. I felt like that was going to give me the best shot at success, especially in a setup like the Watt arena, where it’s just so tough and so much pressure on horses, cows and everything. You’ll find yourself stuck in the herd so fast, and that’s usually where you run into trouble. I just wanted to focus on cutting the cows really clean.

Q. WHAT WAS YOUR PLAN COMING INTO FORT WORTH, TEXAS, FOR THE NCHA FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIP CUTTING?

A.This was my last year to compete in the scholarship cutting, so I put a lot of pressure on myself to come and perform. I was getting to show a horse of high caliber, and I wanted to be ready on my part, but at the same time, I didn’t want to overdo anything. I didn’t want to force it. I just wanted to come in, make a clean cut, get to the finals and see how everything played out. But I was really putting a lot of pressure on myself to not do too much or too little. I just tried to let everything fall into place the way that it should.

Q. IS THERE ANYONE YOU’D LIKE TO THANK FOR HELPING YOU ALONG THE WAY?

A.First, I’d like to thank Ike and Nancy Rainey; they were nice enough to let me show Cowboy. I’d especially like to thank the Chartiers. I work with them full-time, and I think that’s the only reason I was prepared to show a horse at that level for two years in a row. I’d also like to thank all of my herd help and my family. ★