Augusta Futurity show chairman William S. Morris III thanks members of the Champions Club during a meeting to dicuss this year's event. Rainier Ehrhardt/Staff

The 28th edition of the Augusta Futurity begins in two weeks with several changes in store.

The largest cutting horse event east of the Mississippi River runs Jan. 18-27. A new event and a scoring change in a newly-named arena will greet competitors and spectators alike.

Show chairman William S. Morris III spoke of the changes Wednesday at the annual Champions Club Roundup at the Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce. He also thanked the patrons group, along with sponsors, participants, volunteers and local residents, for their support throughout the years.

"Clearly, without a doubt the reasons this has been such a successful show for 28 years is the great spirit, the great help, the great hospitality that the people of Augusta give to this show," Morris said. "I go to a lot of horse shows as some of you do, too. I can tell you there is no show like this."

Morris also commented on some of the alterations to the show, which will feature more than 700 entrants vying for a share of the $1,080,000 purse.

Spectators will immediately notice the show's most controversial change - the scoring system.

In years past, the Augusta Futurity has displayed scores from all five judges throughout the arena. The highest and lowest scores are dropped and the remaining three comprise the rider's total.

Last year, the National Cutting Horse Association implemented a new rule which forces sanctioned shows to display just the total score for the rider. Individual scores from all five judges will not be announced until the following day.

"We have a very heated difference of opinion with the national association on this matter, but we will be abiding by the rule this year of only showing one score," Morris said.

"The national association feels like it's controversial for people on the floor and in the stands to see all the scores. I don't agree with that. I think we live in a free and open country. I don't think any of us like people telling us what we should know or what we should not know."

The 10-day show also will feature a new event with the addition of the $100,000 Non-Pro Any Age competition. That brings the number of official events to nine.

A pair of non-official events are also sure to draw plenty of interest.

The Western Horseman Cup finals will return for a fourth consecutive year. The prestigious $250,000 final, which features 30 non-pro and open entrants, will be held Friday, Jan. 26.

The USC Aiken Benefit Championship Bull Riding moves from its typical Friday slot to Saturday, Jan. 20. Kenny Thomas, the event's organizer, said 1,000 tickets were sold in December. The event has sold out the previous three years.

"Bull riding is the hottest sport going in Western sports," Morris said. "It's unbelievable how popular it is. We fill the arena for this event."

Morris acknowledged the recent death of music superstar James Brown. In honor of the legendary performer, the Augusta-Richmond County Coliseum Authority changed the name of the civic center in August to James Brown Arena.

"We have a new name this year and appropriately so," Morris said. "A great tribute to a great man."

From the Thursday, January 04, 2007 edition of the Augusta Chronicle