Cutting Horse Is an Equine Athletic Dance
by David Graver (Photography courtesy of Evelina Cole)
August 2025
In the Western equine sport of cutting, it’s all about instinct—not only for the rider, but also for the horse. The origin of the popular international sport predates the arena, and is rooted in the open range. Cattle from various owners would mingle until—twice each year—skilled ranchers would travel with a pack of horses, known as their remuda, to separate the groups and round up their own. One trained horse was always better than the others at cutting a stray cow from the wrong herd.
This is the very essence of the cutting competition: one horse and rider enter into a bovine herd, identify one cow, and separate it from the group. As a herd animal, the cow’s instinct is to return to the larger group. In cutting, a rider must prevent this. Such an athletic feat marries meticulous choreography with analytical spontaneity, furthered by the fact that once the cow has been separated, riders are no longer allowed to use reins. Trained cutting horses must anticipate for themselves and react accordingly. The horse is as much a participant in strategy.
In Haskell, Texas—in 1898—1,500 spectators attended the first recognized horse cutting competition. By 1919, Fort Worth’s Southwestern Exposition and Fat Stock Show had added a cutting horse exhibition to its annual rodeo. One year later, cutting became a competitive event within it. Roughly 50 years later, with so many competitions held under varying rules, the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) was founded to formalize the sport.
Today, the nonprofit unites more than 15,000 members across 20 countries, and oversees an awards purse in excess of $39 million annually. The mission of the NCHA is to “produce great events that provide an enjoyable family environment while growing our membership and continuing to support the great Western heritage of our country and people,” Jay Winborn, the organization’s executive director, tells Elliman Equestrian. This includes the NCHA Triple Crown of cutting— which includes the NCHA World Championship Futurity, NCHA Super Stakes, and the NCHA Summer Cutting Spectacular.
It’s important to Winborn that people understand that cutting originated on the ranch—and that it’s a process still used today. “It is truly ‘cowboy,’” he adds. “There are a lot of Western sports today, but only a few incorporate actual practices that are still in use. We also have a diverse membership that incorporates people from all walks of life.” This ranges from ranchers to models, film stars, and even major league baseball team owners.
The past, present, and future of cutting are all woven into Fort Worth. “The NCHA is the largest tenant of the Will Rogers Memorial Center, occupying the facility for over 100 days per year,” Winborn says. “Cutting events make up the largest economic impact of sporting events in Fort Worth. This is felt by the amount of hotel room nights we book, dining, shopping, and other aspects that the city derives from our presence.”
Few voices carry as much gravity as that of Jo Ellard, a businesswoman, ranch developer, president of the NCHA from 2015 to 2016, and an inductee of the NCHA Non-Pro Hall of Fame. Ellard also owns Fort Worth’s five-star Bowie House, Auberge Resorts Collection, a luxury hotel dressed in Western themes and brimming with Texas charm. “My life experience was forever elevated one night in 1986 when I attended the National Cutting Horse World Championship Futurity Finals,” she shares.
“The coliseum was standing-room only with every seat taken, and the aisles were three to four deep with spectators, and every eye was straining to see every second of the competition. The noise of the cheering was deafening. You could not hear the announcer at the conclusion of the championship run. The energy in that arena was electric. I was not quite sure what I had just witnessed, but the defining thing was, I knew I had to have it in my life.”
For Ellard, this meant acquiring the components—horses, ranches, trucks, saddles and tack, western boots and hats. She hired trainers and spent years enjoying—and perfecting—the sport. She was the NCHA Rookie of the Year in 1991 and has earned more than $750,000 in earnings from the sport throughout the years. “Cutting is not for the faint of heart nor pocketbook,” she adds, “but of all the life experiences I have enjoyed, I am most grateful for having horses and cutting in my life.”
Ellard spent 10 years developing the National Youth Cutting Horse Association. This was in response to her observation that “cutting can be a family sport, with youth cutters as young as seven years old and great-grandparents at 85 all competing at the same show. Multiple levels of competition allow competitors to work their way up in competition and tamper down as one ages.” Part of the reason she’s convinced it’s the most rewarding for the family lifestyle is that there isn’t a single season; rather, it stretches into 365 days of involvement.
In recent years, cutting has found an outspoken advocate in supermodel Bella Hadid. Born from her relationship with cutting professional Adan Banuelos, an acclaimed equestrian trainer, Hadid has not only competed in cutting competitions but was a finalist in the 2024 Super Stakes Classic, in the limited-amateur division. The celebrity has also represented the NCHA in her wardrobe, most notably through a belt buckle worn to the premiere of the documentary “Horse Sense” during New York Fashion Week.
Attention aside, cutting is about the horse and rider. “Cutting horses are the epitome of the equine athlete,” Ellard says. “The best cutting horse athletes have to be smart, incredibly athletic, expertly trained, and possess inherent ‘cow,’ the ability to anticipate the moves a cow is going to make and beat the cow to the spot. The competition between the horse and cow is a face-to- face dance at exhilarating speed, and G-force turns.” It’s balletic to watch, and electric to participate in.
A version of this article was originally published in the Fall 2025 edition of Equestrian Magazine.
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