Silently Working Stock - Sask Cutting Horse Association Show

Photos and Story by Robert Thomas

A sport that has its origins in the first cattle herds in North America was on full display on the weekend as the Saskatchewan Cutting Horse Association held their annual show.

And although it’s a rodeo sport that is featured at events like the Calgary Stampede it’s an event that relies upon silence and as little stress as possible to succeed.

Moose Jaw’s event featured riders from novice right up to a hall of fame member who had won over $500,000 competing in the sport.

About 100 people participated in the annual event.

There is also a national cutting horse competition.

Here is the sport described with the help of the Calgary Stampede:

In a cutting horse competition, each horse and rider faces a herd of cattle with two and a half minutes on the clock.

Working together the rider and horse are given a single cow to move out of or ‘cut’ from the herd.

Once the cow is cut the rider and horse pair must then demonstrate their ability to keep the cow from returning to the herd.

The horse uses great strength and agility as it mimics the movements of the cow, always staying one hoof ahead.

Once the cow has lost interest and looks away, the team may re-enter the herd for a fresh cow to cut.

Riders are awarded points for each run.

The event traces its roots to the time when people would share grazing land and in the fall the cattle would be cut from the communal herd and returned to their rightful owner(s).

The top cutting horses can be worth tens of thousands of dollars.

Here are some photos of the action from this weekend.