sense to follow a bird, a true cow horse comes equipped
with what they call “cow” or “cow sense,” meaning they
know how to read a cow and therefore are better at holding it or moving it away from the herd. Such talents led
to fun and jovial contests of who had the best horse. This
later evolved into what would be the highest paying horse
discipline in the world where lucrative purses would be
paid out in Fort Worth.
Saunders father, who was Vice President of the Fort
Worth Stock Show for 23 years, was instrumental in bringing cutting to the Stock Show, which was held at the Stockyards Coliseum back then. He became the first secretary of
the NCHA when it was founded in 1946.
HORSES RICH IN PARKER COUNTY
While Parker County is referred to as the “Cutting Horse
Capital of World” it houses a wide array of horse ranches
and breeding farms that accommodate numerous equine
disciplines. According
to Saunders, the impact
of the horse industry in
Parker County dates back
to when the Comanche
Indian tribes inhabited
the area. Saunders referenced their early tactics
that dated the horse
sources back to the 1800s
when the tribes would
steal horses from a large
ranch near Aledo.
“They bred and raised
a bunch of horses there.
The Comanches would
come get them, but those
Indians were smart. If
they came across anything that didn’t have a
saddle mark, they’d leave
it and come back and get
it the next year when it
was good and broke,” he
said with a laugh.
The history of the horse
and ranching industry
in Parker County was a
major supporting factor of
agricultural events in Fort
Worth, such as the Fort
Worth Stock Show and
later the NCHA’s Triple
Crown events.
“Parker County was
where the ranching,
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