“I bought her last fall from Fred Thommson and Josefine Spangfors,” Mandy said. “They did all the work on her; I’m just getting to enjoy the glory. I tried for a long time to buy her.”
JLosa made a special first impression on Mandy. “Her stop is what caught my eye and I just watched her the whole time Josefine had her. I loved the look in her eye. It looked like the thoughts in her mind would be good thoughts.”
After showing JLosa at the Cactus Classic in the Open, Mandy said she gained valuable experience and adjusted a few things accordingly. “I used that run really to learn how to show her,” she said. Her changes paid big dividends by the time they arrived at NRBC.
In the time leading up to NRBC there was some horse-swapping amongst the McCutcheon ladies, but the final decisions regarding horse and rider pairings were good ones. “Cade said, ‘Mom, you’ve got to give her Dununzio [Dun With Guns].’ Her big brother was looking out for her,” Mandy said. “She had three horses in the finals today and she showed every single one of them so smart. She showed each horse to its ability and I couldn’t be more proud of her.”
While a little horse trading is customary among the McCutcheons, Mandy said with a smile, “I’m not sharing JLosa. For now, momma’s keeping her. That’s the plan anyway.”
Mandy expressed her gratitude to the team behind her on her journey to the NRBC winner’s circle. “My parents, my husband, Cade, Carlee, the crew at the barn, my crew that stays home and makes it so we can be away showing. They make it possible for us to do what we do.”
NRBC Level 3 & Level 2 Classic Champion – Carlee McCutcheon & Dun With Guns
Keeping the winning trend going strong in her family was Carlee McCutcheon, 15, of Aubrey, Texas, who won the Level 3 and Level 2 Non Pro Classic championships. Carlee rode Dun With Guns to a 218.5 to earn a combined $18,500. By NRHA $4 Million Dollar Sire Gunners Special Nite and out of Belle Star Dunn It, Dun With Guns is owned by Carlee’s parents, Tom and Mandy McCutcheon, and was bred by Turnabout Farm, Inc.
McCutcheon, who has been in Katy, Texas, since January attending the Pin Oak Charity Horse Show with her hunter/jumpers, shifted gears into reining with ease as she prepared in the week leading up to NRBC. “Pin Oak started in January, so I haven’t ridden many reiners since then. I just have to focus as much as I can and switch over,” she said. Of her performance in the Finals, Carlee said her parents told her to go have fun, and that is exactly what she did. “It was a lot of fun. My horse was with me every step. He’s super smart and honest, and I just trust him.” Carlee thanked her parents and grandparents, Tim and Colleen McQuay, as well as her brother Cade for all their help and support, along with Sara Willeman of Turnabout Farms for breeding Dun With Guns.
NRBC Level 1 Non Pro Classic Champion – Anna Harris