Natalie Jackman, www.have-dog.com
COMING IN HOTT
Add a little hot sauce to your herd! Red Hott Cat proves his mettle as a leading Canadian cutter and an up-and-coming sire.
W
hen Rick Perkins of British Columbia first learned of the stallion Red Hott Cat (RHC) coming available for purchase as a two-year-old, he jumped at the opportunity. Perkins had long been set on buying a red roan stallion so when he was shown “Tabasco” advertised on Facebook by his daughter Brittany Friesen, he immediately called the owner. The horse was bought sight unseen by Rick, wife Cheryl and Brittany. Tabasco is sired by Metallic Cat and out of Little Baby Sister (Dual Pep x San Jo Pat). Prior to acquiring him, the Perkins family only ever had owned one other gelding in the 36 WESTERN HORSE REVIEW January/February 2022
By Jenn Webster
cutting arena, a horse named Damascus Cat that they had in training with professional, Travis Rempel. Hence, the family was relatively new to the cutting scene. Immediately following the purchase, Rick and Cheryl Perkins and Brittany Friesen (Perkins) flew to Texas to catch one of the big cutting shows and officially meet their new stallion. It was love at first sight. The decision was made to leave Tabasco in training in Texas for the rest of his two-yearold year. Rick and Cheryl then flew down for the 2016 National Cutting Horse Association futurity and Tabasco was brought back to his new home in Canada, then put into training with Rempel.
The trainer began prepping the stallion for big Futurity events; Idaho, Black Elk, the Canadian Supreme and the Calgary Stampede. Tabasco ended up winning the second go-round of the Calgary Stampede Futurity with a 219 and followed that up with a 221 in the finals for the win. “He is a horse that anybody would be proud to own,” says Rick. “I love to watch him. He is so strong, stops so hard and is so fluid in the front end. He’s an absolute pleasure to watch.” Tabasco ended his futurity year with over $35,000 in NCHA earnings and he left a lasting impression on the Canadian cutting scene.
