Hope Justice is searching for her next Freckles Lena Boon. Tuesday, she might have found the horse.

On Foxy Santana, Justice, of Weatherford, Texas, marked a 219 in the first go-round of the Futurity Non-Pro division in the 24th annual Augusta Futurity at the Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center.

The Futurity Non-Pro division ran late Tuesday night and did not finish. Two more sets of 12 horses run this morning, beginning at 8. When it ends, the top 52 horses and ties will advance to Thursday morning's second go-round.

One thing is assured, though. Justice, the 2002 Futurity Non-Pro champion, will take the defense of her title to the next round.

"You don't think about it much," Justice said of being the defending champion. "Here, it's anybody's ball game, I guess. Hopefully, I can come back with a good draw and get in the finals again."

Last year, Justice and Freckles Lena Boon marked a 222 on the first run of the 20-horse Futurity Non-Pro championship and won by a half-point.

"I knew I could put up a big score and they'd have to chase it," Justice said. "The minute I put my hand down, that mare she just did everything she absolutely ever could when you put a cow in front of her. It was all or nothing."

Justice, 28, sandwiched her Augusta victory with non-pro wins at the Abilene Spectacular and the Super Stakes.

Freckles Lena Boon, who came within a point of tying for 2002 Horse of the Year honors, earned more than $140,000 - more than any horse in all ages - through the first six months of 2002. Justice rode the mare to more than $100,000 of those earnings.

"She was phenomenal to have," Justice said. "Every run, she gave 100 percent."

Justice has earned more than $700,000 in her career and was named the 1993 National Cutting Horse Association Youth World Champion. For a cowgirl whose cutting horse career began at age 8, the culmination wasn't until last year.

As good a year as Justice had, she decided to sell Freckles Lena Boon, a mare by Peptoboonsmal out of Freckles Quick Girl, on Christmas Eve.

"It was very bittersweet," Justice said. "That was very hard to do. But I'm going to have a little Lena baby born out of her this year. It'll be all right."

Reach Chris Gay at (706) 868-1222, Ext. 114.