There’s no event quite like the NCHA 4CYTE Open Futurity. Contested by three-year-old horses, it requires a purpose-bred animal, paired with an outstanding trainer, supported by an owner who dares to dream that their horse has what it takes to claim the $100,000 winner’s cheque at their first ever competition, in a field of over 100 competitors.

The Futurity is not entered on a whim. The entry fee is several thousand dollars, and while the event takes place during the first two weeks of June each year at Tamworth’s Australian Equine and Livestock Events Centre (AELEC), horses must be nominated for the event in October the previous year – almost eight months before the show gets underway!

With a prizemoney pool of over $700,000 on offer – the most lucrative of any equine event in the southern hemisphere – the stakes are high. It’s no surprise that a cutting horse is bred with this event in mind and afforded the maximum time possible to prepare for it. Like racehorses, cutters are usually started under saddle before or around their second birthday, and often head to a cutting trainer shortly thereafter. By the time the horse enters the show pen, they must be able to work three cattle in 2½ minutes with minimal cues; the rider will have one hand around the saddle horn and the other will be placed upon the horse’s neck. This requires many hours of training; not only does the rider need to communicate with their mount without rein aids, but the horse also needs to quickly read a cow’s expression and movements and react accordingly.

For anyone who breeds, owns or rides cutting horses, winning the Open Futurity at Tamworth is the ultimate goal. Having been involved in the cutting horse industry for over 20 years, Tracey and Jason McClurg have long dreamed of winning the coveted title, and in 2023 their dream became a reality.

“It’s only just starting to sink in now. At the time I was that dumbfounded, I felt like I was having an out of body experience!” Tracey McClurg laughs, as she reflects on the moment that her horse Yulgilbar Magic Stevie, ridden by Todd Graham, was crowned the 2023 NCHA 4CYTE Open Futurity Champion.

“I felt like I was having an
out of body experience!”

Yulgilbar Magic Stevie is by the American stallion Stevie Rey Von, who won the NCHA Open Futurity in America in 2015 and amassed over $420,000 prizemoney in the show pen before retiring to the breeding barn. Stevie Rey Von is also the sire of the 2021 USA NCHA Open Futurity Champion, Janie Wood, ridden by Australian John Mitchell, and the sire of Bad In Black, who made headlines in Australia when she sold for the record-breaking price of $550,000 at the 2022 Nutrien Sale. The foal’s dam line was equally as exciting; Yulgilbar Magic Stevie is out of the great mare Spins Gypsy Queen, a prolific winner of Australian Open Cutting classes.

“I had a little bit of a thing for the Stevie Rey Vons back then, I just thought he was a pretty cool horse. And I remember the mother, she’s an amazing mare, just so well bred and Todd Graham won so much with her, so I thought, imagine having a horse out of her, by Stevie Rey Von! It would almost be like a dream,” Tracey reminisces.

The fluffy brown foal, known at home as “Tuff”, though initially uninspiring to behold in his winter woollies, steadily grew into a handsome yearling and before long it was time to start him under saddle. Jason McClurg was the man for the job; having spent much of his life in the saddle, and trained cutting horses professionally for over a decade at an earlier point in his life, he was excited to see whether the youngster would be as impressive under saddle as his breeding suggested.

WANTED TO BE RIDDEN

“From the moment Jason started working with him, we knew he was pretty special. He seemed like he just wanted to be ridden, he was one that was happy to be with you, and work with you, right from the start,” Tracey recalls. “Jason’s an awesome breaker and puts a good foundation on them. We always say that the start of a horse’s career is the most important part. So he got lots of good riding as a young breaker, probably more than a futurity horse would normally get. We took him through creeks, up firebreaks, through the bush, lots of riding outside and also started him working the flag and lightly on cattle. He was so quiet that we all rode him, including our kids Kyle and Bailee.”

The plan at that point was for Jason to continue training the gelding, and for him to be the one that would later show him in the cutting pen through his aged events. However, changes were on the cards for the McClurg family that would result in Yulgilbar Magic Stevie spending much of his two-year-old year in the paddock, rather than under saddle. The family relocated from Victoria to Quipolly, south of Tamworth in late 2021, and while their beautiful new property had excellent horse-keeping facilities, there was no arena. With a house and a cutting pen to build, Tuff’s ridden career was put on the backburner.

“We really should do
something with him.”

“So we had this horse sitting in the paddock, and it’s funny, Jason and I have since talked about it, and both realised we were thinking the same thing,” Tracey explains. “I kept saying, ‘Oh, gee you know it’s a shame we’ve got that horse in the paddock, we’re really wasting him. It’d be really cool to see what he can do, we really should do something with him.’ I felt like it was a bad thing, to have a horse like that and not give him the chance. We took a long time making the decision, but eventually I asked Jason whether we should send him to a trainer, and he said ‘Yeah, I’ve been thinking the same thing’.”

Todd Graham was the obvious choice, and the only option the McClurgs wanted to consider. With career earnings of over $2 million and seven Open Futurity titles to his name, Todd was also the trainer who had ridden Yulgilbar Magic Stevie’s dam, Spins Gypsy Queen, to great success during her cutting career.

“Todd did ask us once, earlier on, what we were doing with him, and Jason said, ‘Oh, nothing!’ and it was sort of left at that. Then Jason did end up ringing him and saying, ‘I don’t know whether you’re interested, given how far behind this fellow is for you, he might be too far behind. But would you want to have a ride on him and see what you think?’ Todd came out and picked him up, took him home and tried him, and he didn’t come back!” Tracey recalls.

TRUST THE PROCESS

Sending her pride and joy away to a trainer was a big decision for Tracey, yet once the call was made it was time to trust the process. Yulgilbar Magic Stevie would have just eight months of training with Todd Graham in the lead up to the Futurity, a full year less than most Futurity horses spend with a professional trainer – would it be long enough?

“I think because Jason spent time as a trainer, we understand what it’s like and didn’t want to be annoying Todd too often. I barely rang, I never really asked him too much. We went over to Todd’s I think twice the whole time to see him work, but I made sure we went to pre-works and watched him at those so we could see how he was coming along. It’s a funny thing, Jason said, ‘He’ll be right, just trust the process!’ which is so much easier said than done! I’m a control freak and I had a lot of trouble letting him go, there was nearly a divorce over it!” Tracey laughs.

The McClurgs know only too well that even the best bred, best trained and most talented horses can suffer from bad luck during the Futurity; cattle are largely unpredictable beasts and even ones that look like they will work well can produce an erratic move that turns a good run into a disaster in an instant. Fortunately, good luck was smiling upon them; Yulgilbar Magic Stevie produced solid performances in the go rounds, which saw him qualify in fourth position from 111 starters for the clean slate Open Futurity Final.

“I thought his go rounds were pretty neat, but to be honest I thought he’d get to the finals and be good, but didn’t think at that point he’d win it. He just seemed a little green to us, not in any way a fault of the training or the horse, just because we let him go to Todd a little late and we felt he was a little bit behind,” Tracey recalls.

At the NCHA Futurity, there is a Gelding Incentive final, meaning Tuff had an additional run in the lead up to the main final – the Open. Watching his performance in the Gelding Incentive final, Tracey started to get quite excited about the Open final, which would take place more than a week later.

“I’ve never seen a horse
watch a cow that hard.”

“He got three really tough cows, and he placed equal fifth in that final, but I couldn’t believe how much he stepped up, how tough he was on a cow. He held those cows so well!” Tracey exclaims. “I think that Gelding final really stepped him up a level, and then to watch him in the Open final, it still gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. I believe he looked like a cattle dog on cows. He was as good as a good working dog down in the paddock! I’ve never seen a horse watch a cow that hard.”

STAR-STUDDED FIELD

There were 21 horses and riders in the Open Futurity final, among them two of Yulgilbar Magic Stevie’s paddock mates from his first months of life; Yulgilbar Quarter Horses’ nominations Yulgilbar Made To Roc and Yulgilbar Mister Hashtags. It was a star-studded field, and when Tuff wowed the crowd and the judges to score 224 points he shot to the top of the leaderboard – however, it would be a long wait to see if he could retain the lead with 14 combinations still to show.

“We’d just watched him step up and became a cutting horse. Something just changed, the switch flipped and he was so incredibly cool. But then watching the rest of the field, I almost felt sick thinking, ‘It couldn’t really happen to us, could it?’ My son always tells me, ‘You never believe!’ but I do believe, I always believed deep down he could and would win it, but sometimes if you believe something and it doesn’t happen, it hurts. So I tried to have no expectation, so if it didn’t happen I wouldn’t be upset.”

Victoria’s Lindsay Wheatley came very close to taking the win with Ludacris, however, a tough third cow saw the pair finish with 223.5 points; Yulgilbar Magic Stevie and Todd Graham had held onto their early lead by a 0.5 point margin and it was time to celebrate a magical win. Todd Graham had won his eighth Futurity, and the McClurgs had won their first.

“What a magic journey for us. And his name! We all thought his name was funny when we bought him, but really the name is actually pretty cool because it was like magic. Something magical did happen, I do believe. If your time’s right and it’s meant to be, amazing things can happen. This is something that I’ve dreamt of forever!” Tracey explains.

Tuff is now enjoying a well-deserved holiday back at home in Quipolly with the McClurgs, who are excited about the horse’s future and believe the best years with their prize gelding are still ahead of them.

“Jason will have a chat with Todd and see what he wants to do next. If he wants to, we’re happy to let him show him again at the Futurities in Queensland and Victoria. He’s only just hitting his peak now and he’s sound and he’s no fuss,” says Tracey.

“People ask, ‘Do you think you’ll sell him?’ and I say ‘No! He’s earned his spot in our family and I think he will give us lots of fun. If we look after him and don’t over-show him too much, I think we could have a wonderful little horse that our whole family can enjoy for many years to come. He’s going to have a very nice life!” EQ

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