Local Organizations Benefit from Horse Show

Over $16,000 raised for Breast Cancer Research and 8 Local Charities

PASO ROBLES, CA – On Friday, October 28, 2011, the Pacific Coast Cutting Horse Association (PCCHA) put on a cutting competition to benefit local charities and breast cancer research.

This was not just any competition on horseback. This event had a packed house witnessing 8 of the top riders in the United States competing without bridles on their horses. While rock music blared through the arena, athletes and horses decked out in pink for breast cancer awareness showed just how thoroughly trained their amazing horses are.

"That was really exciting," said Norma Moye, Director of the Downtown Paso Robles Main Street Association. "Our rider, Phil Hanson was so impressive and I didn’t know that horses could get down so low like that, eye to eye with the cow, it was just amazing. I’m proud that Phil won and that he chose Main Street as his charity of choice."

The objective of cutting is for a rider and horse to enter a herd of cattle, "cut" a cow from the herd and keep it from returning to the herd. Each rider has two and a half minutes to cut 2-3 cows and is judged on skill and style. In a normal cutting competition the rider is not allowed to use the reins to guide his or her horse while cutting. In THIS competition, riders had no bridle and no real way to guide the horse at all. Each rider had to rely entirely on the horses’ training.

The PCCHA hosts their annual Golden Hills Auto Center Futurity, the second largest event of its kind in the US, in Paso Robles every October. The idea for a charity benefit came from the riders. "This organization loves Paso Robles," states Phil Benadum, Executive Director of the PCCHA. "The idea for the competition came from the PCCHA trainers. They wanted to do a bridle-less cutting horse exhibition for the public. We thought it might be a great avenue to promote breast cancer research and give something back to the community of Paso which supports PCCHA so graciously. At the event we decided to match the West trainers against the East trainers and call it the Bridle Less Cup. Look for it to be an annual event."

When all was said and done, each of the eight riders had earned $637.50 for their chosen charity. The riders and charities are as follows:

1. Main Street – Phil Hanson
2. Loaves and Fishes – Matt Gaines
3. Boy Scouts Troop 60 – Russ Westfall
4. YMCA of Paso Robles – Bonnie Johnson
5. Paso Robles Youth Sports Council – Dave Costello
6. North County Women’s Resource Center – Morgan Cromer
7. Paso Robles Lions Club – Clint Allen
8. Hearst Cancer Resource Center – Gary Gonsalves

The list of riders reads like a who’s who of cutting horse legends and represents over $18 million in lifetime earnings from cutting horse competitions.

Every organization sent representatives to watch the competition and all were excited about being included. "The Paso Robles Lions Club was so pleased to be selected as a recipient of the Bridle-less Cutting Horse Competition fundraiser – the Lions greatly appreciate the generous donation made possible by the exceptional performance of Clint Allen, one of the top cutting horse trainers in the nation!" said Angela Robinson, Paso Robles Lions Club President.

The Pacific Coast Cutting Horse Association hosts two shows in Paso Robles each year – the Derby and Classic/Challenge for a week each March and the Futurity and Gelding Stakes for two weeks every October. The shows together represent an economic impact of over $8 million for our local businesses in 2011.

About The PCCHA
The voice of West Coast cutters since 1950, the Pacific Coast Cutting Horse Association is dedicated to maintaining the standards of cutting and attracting new participants to the sport.

The association sanctions over 150 competitions each year throughout the nine western states of Association territory. The five biggest events - the Futurity and Gelding Stakes for three year olds, Derby and Cutting Stakes for four year olds, and the Classic/Challenge for five and six year olds offer combined prizes of over $1 million.

Anyone can join. Current members include owners, trainers, riders, sponsors and cutting enthusiasts. The $50 yearly fee includes a subscription to the official publication of the Pacific Coast Cutting Horse Association Performance Horse Magazine which contains a special cutting horse section each month. www.pccha.com