Sherry Fulmer knows why the number of entries are up for the 27th edition of the Augusta Futurity.
"The industry is up, which trickles down to us," said Fulmer, the futurity's operations manager.

The Augusta Futurity begins at 8 a.m. Thursday at Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center. The 10-day show will culminate with the Futurity Open finals on Jan. 28.

Fulmer and her staff expect 35 more entrants from the previous year. In 2005, the Augusta Futurity welcomed 603 entrants in its eight official events.

Competitors will vie for a share of a third consecutive $1 million purse. The money ranks the Augusta Futurity as one of the top shows on the cutting circuit.

"I think the word is out that Augusta pays well," Fulmer said. "You almost have to put this on your schedule if you're a professional rider."

Futurity officials made a few changes to this year's show, including:

- Contestants can enter three horses of each age, instead of two, in every contest

- The $100,000 Amateur 4-year-old and $100,000 Amateur 5/6-year-old contests will replace the $50,000 versions

- All contests will take the top 20 percent plus ties from the go-rounds to the finals

One constant is the popular Extra Inning World Championship bull riding competition, which will be held at 8 p.m. Friday. The event has sold out the past three years, and event organizer Kenny Thomas said ticket sales have again been brisk.

"We are blown away by it," Fulmer said. "What we have in town is people who love horses. The people who come that first weekend can see cutting and bull riding."

During the first weekend of the show, the futurity will hold its annual Wrangler Family Fun Fest. The free event will run from noon to 3 p.m. Saturday on the civic center's Seventh Street plaza. There will be pony rides, a petting zoo, a western town, music, clogging and contests for the cutest cowboy and cowgirl from ages 2 to 8.

Later that night, families of any size can watch live competition inside the arena for only $10 per family.

Another fan-friendly event is the annual Futurity Country Dance. It will be held at 8:30 p.m. Jan. 25 at Julian Smith Casino.

The Classic Open and Non-Pro finals will be held at 6 p.m. on Thursday. The Western Horseman Cup finals begin at 6:30 on Jan. 27.

The show will then conclude with the Futurity Open and Non-Pro finals.

Opening ceremonies begin at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 28.

Reach Chris Gay at (706) 823-3645 or chris.gay@augustachronicle.com.

--From the Sunday, January 15, 2006 printed edition of the Augusta Chronicle