Top Non-Pro Horses and Riders

2009 CUTTING STATISTICS
Top Non-Pro Horses and Riders
No. 1 Chad Bushaw
($332,610)
STEPHANIE DUQUETTE
NonPro.indd 154
MORRIS COMMUNICATIONS
154 QUARTER HORSE NEWS
Leading Non-Pro horse Sister CD and Elizabeth Queen
QHN FILE PHOTO
Chad Bushaw, 36, a Morgan Stanley
financial consultant from Weatherford,
Texas, has combined an often tensionfilled daily job with raising, training and
competing with cutting horses. His cutting horse earnings of $340,610 ranked
No. 5 in all ages, all divisions in 2009,
and he was the leading non-pro rider of
the year with $332,610.
“It’s a lot of different hats to wear,
that’s for sure,” Bushaw said. “I try to
take care of outstanding clients with
their financial affairs, try to be an outstanding dad and raise two wonderful
sons and be a good husband. You throw
running a fairly good-sized cutting
operation on top of that, it makes for a
lot of full days, that’s for sure.”
He enjoys all aspects of cutting,
from raising the horses to training and
competing with them. He has primarily trained his own horses, with some
help and advice from neighboring pros
throughout his career, which began
when he was a teenager in Oregon.
“The very best part of it is the people
you meet and the camaraderie and relationships you form after 20 years of
doing this,” Bushaw said. “It’s just pretty
amazing to be a part of the sport and be
able to raise your family and expose your
children to it.”
In 2009, he picked up more than
$30,000 on six horses. His leading
mounts in Non-Pro division-only competition were Snow Rey ($65,328),
Mocha
Cappuccino
($62,286),
Powdered Sugar Cat ($43,512) and
Dual Expresso ($35,692). Snow Rey’s
top finish was the Classic Non-Pro
Reserve Championship at the Music
City Futurity, while Bushaw tied for
second in the Non-Pro division at the
NCHA Classic/Challenge and tied for
fourth at the NCHA Super Stakes
Classic on Mocha Cappuccino. He tied
for fifth on Powdered Sugar Cat at the
NCHA Futurity.
Dustin Adams, Dublin, Texas, was
second in Non-Pro division-only competition with $298,635. He was No.
10 at $301,839 in all ages, all divisions.
Following him were Mary Ann Rapp,
Weatherford, Texas, wife of trainer
Phil Rapp, $292,778; Megan Miller,
Poolville, Texas, wife of trainer Matt
Miller, $252,532, and Jimmy Kemp,
Eastland, Texas, $207,784. On the all
ages, all divisions list, Rapp was No. 11
at $298,383 while Miller was 14th at
$252,532.
The leading horse in Non-Pro division competition was Sister CD (CD
Olena x Little Baby Sister x Dual
Chad Bushaw
Second-leading Non-Pro Rider Dustin
Adams
Pep) the great 2002 gelding that carried Elizabeth Queen to the NCHA
Non-Pro World Championship and
total earnings of $91,299. Pepto Boom
(Peptoboonsmal x Stylish Play Lena x
Docs Stylish Oak), owned by Kemp,
was second at $89,555, followed at
$73,787 by Itawtathenapuddycat
(Athena Puddy Cat x SR Miss Peppory
x Doc’s Hickory), owned by Miller, and
ridden by his wife, Megan, to earnings
of $73,787.
Marmolaker (Laker Doc x Marmolena
x Smart Little Lena), owned by Adams
was fourth at $73,787, while Redneck
Style, owned and ridden by Brad
Wilson, Lone Grove, Okla., earned
$73,394.41.
Adams’ other leading mounts were
Stylin Playgirl, $49,221; The Doctress
Orders, $49,130; MH Unexplainable,
$30,686; Masqeurey, $25,246, and
WSR Clays Freckles, $24,529. Adams
and Marmolaker won the Breeder’s
Invitational Non-Pro ($34,738), were
15th at the NCHA Super Stakes
($13,516) and were Reserve Champion
at the Brazos Bash ($13,000).
He rode Stylin Playgirl (Docs Stylish
Oak x Another Playgirl x Freckles
Playboy) to third place at the Super
Stakes ($24,549) and to second at the
NCHA Derby. The Doctress Orders
carried Adams to the NCHA Futurity
Non-Pro Reserve Championship.
Adams has career earnings of more
than $2.7 million. He is the son of Wes
Adams, who created the MillionHeir
Classic Incentive program, and his wife,
Deena, also is a champion non-pro
rider. Adams has four younger brothers–
Randon, Weston, Austin, Jason and
Austin–and a sister, Brittney. He started
riding cutting horses as a high school
freshman and roped in rodeos at college,
but soon tired of that sport and began
concentrating on cutting.
Rapp’s top mounts were Toy Engine,
$47,525; Amanda Starlena, $47,244;
Swingin Star Pepto, $37,631; Smokin
Tap, $29,193; Letithappen Captains,
$26,225, and Amandas Little Star,
$23,447.
Rapp rode Toy Engine (Playgun x
Cool The Engines x Smart Little Lena)
to third place at the NCHA Futurity.
She and Amanda Starlena (Smart Little
Lena x Amanda Stargun x Playgun)
were fifth at the Breeder’s Invitational
($17,617), tied for ninth at the NCHA
Derby and tied for third at the Abilene
Spectacular.
Miller rode Itawtathenapuddycat
to the Super Stakes Non-Pro
Championship ($36,463), a tie for
the NCHA Derby Non-Pro Reserve
Championship ($12,433) and third at
the Brazos Bash ($12,000). Her other
leading mounts were Travs Scooter
(Smart Lil Scoot x Travs Smart Buy x
Travalena), $54,155; Starlight Scootie,
$43,512; Soda Rey Bay, $37,143, and
Snoop Cat, $22,716.
Travs Scooter was ridden by Miller to
the NCHA Super Stakes Classic NonPro Championship, to a tie for third
at the Music City Futurity, to a tie for
seventh at the Brazos Bash and to fifth
at the South Point Futurity.
Kemp’s other top mounts were
Fantastic Plastic, $26,596; I Ben
Thinking, $20,579, and MH For The
Money, $20,495. He and Pepto Boom
earned checks totaling $36,138 for firstplace (Non-Pro Sale Incentive) and
fourth-place (Non-Pro) finishes at the
Breeder’s Invitational. They also won
the Bonanza Cutting and tied for second at the PCCHA Cutting Stakes.
Reach Robert Eubanks at
[email protected].
• March 15, 2010
2/26/10 2:12:00 PM