Gordon Gowdy is Innisfail's invisible champion.
No, he does not play hide and seek, but has been unseen thus far as one of a few select cutting horse riders who can call themselves world champion.
“This last month, I competed in the World Final Cutting Horse Championship held in Fort Worth, Texas,” said Gowdy. “Before the competition, I was in fifth place this season in the Lifetime Earnings over $35,000 category.”
His performance in the Fort Worth event had garnered notice, and his horse, Dualin Cats Merada, dominated the Mercuria National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Non-Pro World Finals with 443 points total. He marked a 224 in the Watt Arena to wrap up the World Finals Championship and to capture the world title.
This is not his first year in cutting horse competitions, or his first decade.
“I first had an interest in cutting horses over 25 years ago,” added Gowdy. “When I lived and farmed near Calgary, south of Chestermere Lake, I took lessons from an old-timer named Bill Coler. He introduced me to cutting and I really enjoyed it.”
Gowdy parlayed that interest into a 25-year association with the Calgary Stampede volunteering with the cutting horse competition. These days, he doesn't always have enough time.
The 71-year-old rider/owner has competed in 28 shows this year and earned $7,725.42 from his performances. In those shows, he rode two horses, Liz's Lil Player (Gelding) and seven-year-old Dualin Cats Merada (Mare). While in Texas, he took the opportunity to purchase a one-year-old horse to train and compete with.
“In the semi-pro amateur division, the rider must be owner or part owner of the animals, and another thing we have to look at is the lifetime earnings of the rider and horse,” said Gowdy. “This year, I have hit the $43,000 mark, and my new horse, the one-year-old, has $60,000 plus in winnings already. I bought him because he has no weekend winnings, and I can ride this animal for weekend competitions as well.”
Cutting Horse competitions are held to showcase the skill of the horse and rider, and are judged on a variety of criteria. Cutting horses are trained to respond quickly and turn sharply to keep a cow from returning to the herd. In competition, riders are asked to separate up to three animals out of a herd, and then the rider loosens the reins and trusts the horse to keep the cow separated from the herd. A contestant has two and a half minutes to show the horse.
A judge scores a performance on a number of factors; points are added (or subtracted) for courage, eye appeal, herd work, controlling the cow, degree of difficulty, time worked, and loose reins.
A rider can be disqualified for using illegal equipment, leaving the working area before the time limit is reached, and for inhumane treatment of the horse.
A horse and rider team is penalized if forced off a cow, if the horse charges a cow, excessive herd holder help. Judges either add or take away points based on the horse and rider's performance throughout their run. Seventy points is considered average, while 60 is deemed low.
Gowdy lives west of Innisfail, on the Cottonwood Road, while in Canada, and in Cave Creek, Arizona during the cutting season. He is an active farmer, in both the Chestermere Lake area, and Innisfail.
“I consider myself semi-retired,” said Gowdy. “And have set up the farms to have people do the work for me. But I still compete on the cutting horse circuit and will do so for some time. Four or five years ago I took a step back from my career to focus on cutting horses more seriously and here we are.”
He was named the Arizona Cutting Horse Association rookie of the year in 2010, at the age of 68.
“This is a physically demanding career that takes a toll on your body,” added Gowdy. “Even more so at 71. But I love what I do and have a lot of good help.
“In Fort Worth, my team included two top trainers, one from California and one from Arizona,” he added. “When I compete in cutting horse events, I find a family type atmosphere. We enjoy each others' company and truly have fun.”
And with that ongoing enthusiasm there is no notion any time soon to call it quits.
