Miles Elliott, aboard Smart Lil Maverick, won the first go-round of the $50,000 Amateur Any Age competition Friday at Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center. They teamed for 219 and will ride in the finals tonight. Special

The problem Randy Aldridge has with cutting horses is his wife, Nicole.

She wants all his good horses, and she'll probably swipe his favorite horse when the Augusta Futurity ends.

"She'll wind up with mine," he said. "I'll give her about 30 days and she'll be riding that one and hers. And I'll be looking for another horse, but I know she'll take it away from me."

For now, Randy Aldridge can enjoy riding Instance. The pair rung up 218 to finish third in the $50,000 Amateur Any Age go-round Friday at Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center.

Nicole Aldridge rode Smart Lil Badger to a fifth-place finish with 217.

Miles Elliott and Smart Lil Maverick finished atop the pack with 219, while Dan Koontz and Cloud Nine (DNA) placed second at 218.5.

Thirteen horses with scores of 213 or better advanced to tonight's finals. The competition will follow the Area 18 Youth Scholarship Cutting, which starts at 7:30.

The Aldridges qualified for the finals in their first trip to Augusta. They've only been competing for three years. So far, Nicole is the better rider.

"She usually beats me like a drum," he said. "She just rides better. I think females ride better than men anyway."

Nicole Aldridge should have an advantage. She's ridden horses for three decades, even casually competing in barrel horses and polo.

She had a friend who asked if she wanted to try riding a cutting horse. Nicole jumped on a mare. It was love at first cut.

"Poor thing, I rode her into the dirt," Nicole said. "They had to drag me off her. It was a blast. It was an addiction."

It took Nicole two years to persuade her husband to try it. He found a cutting horse from a trainer he knew and decided to try it out. Wearing street clothes, Aldridge cut a cow and became hooked.

"I pulled my groin muscle and couldn't hardly walk for about a week," he said. "But it's such an adrenaline rush."

Randy Aldridge, a real estate developer based in Killen, Ala., has had limited success on the futurity circuit. But he hopes his fortunes have changed after he purchased Instance from Skip and Elizabeth Queen about two weeks ago.

Nicole has an edge over her spouse since she's won one title - a 5/6-year-old amateur event in Tunica, Miss., last year.

Expect a friendly rivalry between the two tonight.

"Maybe this will be his time," she said. "Or maybe it'll be mine and he can be reserve. We'd be proud either way."

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