Kelle Earnheart marked a 216.0 Thursday on KL Kit Cat to easily advance to the second go-round of the Futurity Non-Pro event. Special

You'd think Kelle Earnheart would own some insider information when it comes to the Augusta Futurity.

Her father, Pat, is a National Cutting Horse Association Hall of Famer. He won the inaugural Augusta Futurity Open finals in 1980 and then captured the Classic Open title a decade later.

So what exactly is the secret he lets his daughter in on for the Augusta show?

"He just tells me to watch my cattle really well," she said.

Earnheart did just that Thursday afternoon. She and KL Kit Cat marked 216 and easily advanced to the Futurity Non-Pro second go-round at James Brown Arena.

The top 51 horses with scores of 208 or better advanced to the second go-round, which begins at 8 a.m. today. The finals will be held at 6 p.m. Saturday.

Skip Queen of Lipan, Texas, and Bronzed Feather won the go-round with a mark of 218. Stacie McDavid of Fort Worth, Texas, and Dual Donnie Rey, finished second at 217.5, while Kenny McLean of Point Clear, Ala., and Thomas E Hughes, and Mark Pearson of Spearman, Texas, and Clifford Rey, tied for third at 217.

Queen rode first in the 93-horse first go-round. To him, it was an advantageous position.

"I had my pick of cattle," he said. "We ran in and cut the first two cows we picked. The last was just right off the top. The cattle were good. My horse was good. My help picked good cattle."

Earnheart of Hernando, Miss., is trying to do what she fell just short of last year. The 21-year-old Ole Miss senior led for most of the Futurity Non-Pro finals until Matt Miller and Hokies Cat marked 225 late in the competition. Earnheart and High Stepping Cat finished in a tie for second at 220.

"It was a good run last year," she said. "We tend to do well in a small arena."

Earnheart is making her third Augusta appearance, though the sport is not new to her. She showed cutting horses for the first time at age 3. She received an award when she was 5 for being the youngest cutter.

At age 15, Earnheart won the NCHA Non-Pro Derby championship. She became the youngest rider ever to win a major aged-event title.

She gives no outstanding reason for her success.

"I just ride horses all the time with my dad," said Earnheart, whose mother also is an accomplished cutter.

These days, Earnheart has to split her time between college and cutting. She plans to graduate with a finance degree in December. She's unsure of exactly what she wants to do in the future.

All she knows is she'll continue showing cutting horses as a Non-Pro. That should come as no revelation. Cutting's in her blood.

From the Thursday, January 26, 2007 edition of the Augusta Chronicle