BET ON Me 498 is a roan stallion whose strong bloodline and show performance have increased his value as a stud. (Photograph by Cappy Jackson.)

Cutting is a throwback to the Old West, when cowboys on the range needed to separate—or cut—a cow from its herd for medical care or other purposes. Cowhands chose uniquely skilled horses for the task. The best mounts were attuned to cattle movement, knowing instinctively how to give a 1,500-pound steer enough space while moving it in the right direction.

Today’s cutting competitions mimic this classic ranching work. Contestants get two minutes to isolate a few cows from a herd. After the rider selects a cow to cut and moves into position, he puts down the reins and turns much of the control over to the horse. With only leg signals to guide it, the horse shifts, pivots and dashes to chase the cow away from its herd. A bovine may reach speeds of 30 mph as it tries to escape.

Cutting-Horse investments are as risky and unpredictable as bets on any other living creature—livestock or human.

Prize money, competitions and horse prices have all increased in recent years as cutting grows in popularity. The 60-year-old National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) now has more than 16,000 members scattered across 50 states and overseas, with most followers concentrated in the Southwest. Smaller show circuits exist on the West Coast and in the Southeast. Three important competitions are held in Fort Worth. The city is just a 30-minute drive from Weatherford, a town packed with horse ranches and trainers that is widely considered the epicenter of the cutting-horse world.

Jean Splicing
Ben Emison of Western Bloodstock, a Weatherford firm that runs NCHA horse auctions, sees a strong upward trend in the cutting industry. “There’s no indication that it’s going to do anything but continue to grow,” he says. In fact, cutting owes much of its popularity to owner participation; it is not a cut-and-run investment. Unlike horse racing, in which animals are handled exclusively by their trainers and jockeys, male and female riders of almost any age can compete in cutting events, stepping out of a tailor-made suit and into a pair of old Levi’s every weekend. “Everybody’s got a little John Wayne in them,” Emison says.

VALUE JUDGMENT The Western equestrian sport known as cutting has grown steadily in popularity over the past decade, spurring new investors to enter the arena. Some devote their resources and time—ample amounts of both are usually required to succeed—to investing and breeding cutting horses, while more adventurous souls enter the competitive ring. Owners, breeders and riders gamble on strong bloodlines, proper training and good luck to grow their capital.

They compete in the same venues as professional cowboys, primarily for the thrill, but also to actively seek returns. Last year, the prize money awarded in NCHA-sanctioned events totaled $35 million, up 24 percent from 10 years ago. The organization’s membership has also grown proportionately in the past decade. Today, at the open professional level of competition, a winner can take home $75,000 to $200,000 for winning a major event.

But most riders are more interested in the joys of the sport. “The horse business and cutting are a great family thing,” says breeder John Harrah, an heir to the Harrah’s gaming fortune; he has 160 cutters on his Nevada ranch and keeps others boarded with trainer Mike Mowery in Texas. “It’s a wonderful outlet for kids. More times than not, they care more about their horse than going out with their friends and getting in trouble.”