The Amazing Cutting Horse

The Cut

The C.C.H.A. is a non-profit organization and was established to promote the AMAZING CUTTING HORSE.

A Cutting Horse is not a specific breed of horse. The largest percentage have Quarter Horse bloodlines. Thoroughbred, Paint and Appaloosa bloodlines are also prevalent.

"Making The Cut"

The art of Cutting was born of necessity on the cattle drives and working ranches in the early 1800’s. Individual cows had to be isolated or cut from large herds for branding, medical treatment and grouping purposes, and it was discovered that such separations could be performed easily and efficiently by using a specially trained horse. It marked the creation of the cutting horse and the practice of cutting.

By the mid 1880’s, the sport of cutting began to evolve as cowboys held impromptu contests to determine who had the best cutting horse. It gained increased popularity as a sport in the early 1900’s. Cutting events were featured at rodeos and cowboy gatherings. As the sport expanded, it became apparent that a standardized set of rules and guidelines were necessary. This led to the formation of the National Cutting Horse Association in 1946 and later, the Canadian Cutting Horse Association.

In modern cutting contests, competitors have two and one half minutes to cut or separate as many individual cows from the herd as they choose, usually two or three. As the horse slowly walks into the herd, the rider begins the process of selecting one cow to cut from the rest of the group. Once a cow is selected and the cut made, the rider loosens the reins, grabs the saddle horn and allows the horse to take control of the contest. The horse must now prevent the cow from returning to the herd.

If the cow becomes inactive or loses interest in returning to the herd, the rider may lift the reins, signaling to the horse to "quit the cow". The cow is allowed to return to the herd and the rider repeats the selection process.

Scoring Information

Events are scored by a panel of expert judges. Each entry begins with 70 points from each judge. The judges then add or subtract points from this amount based upon the competitor’s performance. The score is based on several key points including the challenges made by the cows that were cut, the horse’s instinctive reactions and errors in judgment made by either the horse or rider during the competition.

Although the contest time limit allows two to three animals to be cut, the time spent with each calf is left to the rider's discretion. The horse may "quit" the calf without penalty when the calf is obviously stopped or obviously turned away from the cutting horse. But if a calf is "lost" under any circumstance, a 5 point penalty is assessed. Even a good performance can end with a low score if a calf escapes the horse's control.

The contestants in national events are scored by a five judge panel. Smaller events require fewer judges. Performance is evaluated on the basis of several key points:
1) the challenges made by the calves cut;
2) the horse's instinctive reactions;
3) errors in judgment made by horse or rider during the competition.

Each judge submits a score ranging between 60 and 80 with a score of 70 being average at the end of the contest period. After the high and low scores are discarded, the middle three are added together to obtain the final points earned.

1 Point Penalties
(a) 1 point - (miss) losing working advantage
(b) 1 point - reined or visibly cued
(c) 1 point - noise directed to cattle
(d) 1 point - tow, foot or stirrup on the shoulder

3 Point Penalties
(a) 3 points - hot quit
(b) 3 points - cattle picked up or scattered
(c) 3 points - second hand on reins
(d) 3 points - spur in shoulder
(e) 3 points - pawing or biting cattle
(f) 3 points - failure to make deep cut
(g) 3 points - back fence

5 Point Penalties
(a) 5 points - horse quitting a cow
(b) 5 points - losing a cow
(c) 5 points - changing cattle after a specific commitment
(d) 5 points - failure to separate a single animal after leaving the herd

Automatic 60's
60 - if horse turns tail
60 - if horse falls to ground

Disqualification (score 0) - illegal equipment, or leaves work area before time expires.