Cutters still have a long way to go to catch Tag Rice and Chiquita Pistol.

In 2003, the record-setting pair posted the top score in the Augusta Futurity. Rice and his famed mare marked 230.5, coming as close to perfection as any pair has in Augusta.

Five judges rank runs between 60 and 80 points, with half-points being allowed. The final score is reached by dropping the high and low scores and adding the remaining three scores. The highest possible score is 240.

For cutters, a score of 220 is considered exceptional. In Augusta, few riders over the past 28 years have been able to reach the exclusive "225 Club."

Three riders posted scores of 225 or better last year, bringing the members of the "225 Club" to 25.

In the first 23 years of the event, only 11 runs were marked 225 or higher. In 2003 and 2004, eight scores matched or bettered that number.

In 2006, Matt Gaines and Matt Miller joined the club. Gaines and One Time Pepto scored 229 in the Classic Open finals, the top score in event history. Miller and Hokies Cat marked 225 in the Futurity Non-Pro finals, the highest score in that event's history.

Last year, Skip Queen and Sister CD had the show's top score of 227 in the Classic Non-Pro finals. Sister CD recorded another top score, a 226 with Paul Hansma aboard, in the Western Horseman Cup Open finals. Austin Shepard and Woody Be Tuff matched that total in the Classic Open finals.

Everybody still is chasing Rice and Chiquita Pistol. The duo posted 230.5 in the 2003 Futurity Open finals.

The pair broke Pete Branch's Augusta record of 227 set on Little Badger Dulce in the 1995 Classic Open.

Rice and Pistol also edged Lindy Burch and Play Peek A Boon, who marked 227 in the 2003 Futurity Open finals. Burch is the lone woman in the 225 club.

In 2004, Rice and Chiquita Pistol posted 230 in the Western Horseman Cup Open finals. The mark stands as second best in Augusta Futurity history.

From the Sunday, January 20, 2008 edition of the Augusta Chronicle