Veteran cutter wins two of last three NCHA Super Stakes on a Paint

American Paint Horse world fired up over JR Red Diablo's NCHA Super Stakes win

FORT WORTH, Texas-Veteran cutter Chubby Turner gave competitors and a bunch of cattle the devil when he rode a hot American Paint Horse named JR Red Diablo to victory in the 2002 Flowmaster/National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Super Stakes, held April 21 at Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth, Texas.

Winning is in the blood for both rider Chubby Turner and American Paint Horse JR Red Diablo. Turner won his second NCHA Super Stakes competition in the past three years on a Paint Horse. JR Red Diablo's sire and dam were both world-class cutters. The horse's sire, Color Me Smart, has become legendary for producing top money-earning cutting horses. (Photo by Don Shugart).

The red roan tobiano Paint stallion proved to be a deserving champion, earning $80,794 in tough open competition that featured 272 world-class 4-year-old cutting horses.

This is the second time in the past three years that Turner, 54, has ridden an American Paint Horse to victory in the prestigious NCHA Super Stakes open competition. In 2000, the Weatherford, Texas, resident earned a championship with a Paint Horse named JR Colord Prom.

"Paints have always been good for me," said Turner, who has trained cutting horses for 38 years and is a member of the NCHA Riders Hall of Fame.

Throughout the years, Turner said he has often taken a good-natured ribbing from some of his fellow trainers who have been reluctant to ride Paints in the performance arena.

"That's O.K.," said Turner. "I just tell them, 'If you boys don't want to ride 'em, I will, and I'll beat you with 'em.'

"I like Paints, and I really believe the American Paint Horse Association (APHA) is working harder to improve its breed than any other organization. The American Paint Horse is well bred."

As for JR Red Diablo in particular, Turner said he couldn't have asked for a better horse to ride. "He's got a real pretty way of stopping," said Turner. "He's so smooth that it doesn't even feel like he's stopping. It wasn't until I watched a tape of him that I realized he really was such a big stopper. We worked hard every day and I couldn't have asked for a horse to be any better than he was. He was great."

Both of the Paints Turner rode to NCHA Super Stakes victories- JR Red Diablo and JR Colord Prom - are by Color Me Smart, an American Paint Horse noted for siring a long list of APHA World Champions and NCHA Champions.

The extraordinary strength, athletic ability and cow sense that it takes to be a world-class cutting horse runs in the blood for JR Red Diablo. The horse's dam, Little Budha Doll, was the 1997 APHA Reserve World Show Champion senior cutter, second only to JR Red Diablo's sire, Color Me Smart, who was the 1997 APHA World Show Champion in senior cutting. At the time, both parents were owned by George Jensen, of Jacksboro, Texas. Jensen is the current owner of JR Red Diablo.

Jensen is particularly proud of the many money-earning champion
offspring that have resulted from the breeding of Color Me Smart. The
11-year-old stallion has sired more than 190 foals, with 20 of those
horses earning a total of more than $400,000.

"Color Me Smart is a genetic masterpiece," said Jensen. "He's a one-of-a-kind, and he produces better horses than he is himself. That's the mark of a great sire."

Jensen said that Color Me Smart and his offspring are "rewriting history books" when it comes to the kind of horses that can become champions in the world's most competitive performance arenas.

"This wasn't supposed to happen," Jensen said of a Paint winning the NCHA Super Stakes two of the last three years. "I'm incredibly proud to have been a part of this. But we have to keep pushing ahead."

Jensen said as Paints continue to earn major performance titles, as they have done lately, especially in cutting, roping and reining, it shows a pattern of steady advancements in breeding programs. He said it also proves it is "no fluke," when a Paint wins at these major competitions.

Jim Kelley, APHA executive secretary, agreed.

"JR Red Diablo reaffirms that the American Paint Horse breed has the athleticism, the talent and the ability to compete against any breed and come out on top. The quality and disposition are there."

That quality was evident throughout 2001. An American Paint Horse named Gunner marked the highest National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) score ever recorded on his way to United States Equestrian Team championship last summer. Later that year, a Paint named RR Star was nearly flawless as he won the NRHA Futurity. Paints also excelled in multiple other performance competitions, marking one of their best years in 2001.

"It certainly appears from all indications that 2002 is shaping up to be a great year as well," said Kelley. "We are looking forward to seeing more accomplishments from our members on their American Paint Horses in the months ahead."

Jeff Hooper, NCHA executive director, also praised the athletic talents of Paints. "JR Red Diablo is a great horse that defeated an excellent crop of 4-year-olds. ... We're very proud of his accomplishments and the cutting ability of not just this one, but many American Paint Horses."

More about the American Paint Horse and APHA
Since its founding 40 years ago, APHA has registered more than 660,000 horses. Currently, American Paint Horses are being registered at APHA's Fort Worth, Texas, headquarters at a rate of about 57,000 horses each year. The association serves nearly 100,000 members, who are located in every U.S. state, and 35 other nations around the world.

APHA employs 160 people and has an operating budget of $15 million for activities worldwide. Among the many qualities that make Paint Horses desirable are their sound conformation, versatile athletic ability, intelligence, calm temperament, willing disposition and beautiful coat color patterns.