Holcombe, mare improve in go-round

When Hot N Smart came up for sale, Seth E. Holcombe knew he found his horse.

One year later, Holcombe and his mare are making their mark on the first day of the Augusta Futurity. The pair marked 219 to win the go-round of the $100,000 Amateur for 5/6-Year-Olds by a half-point Friday at James Brown Arena.

Kayla Norris and Kual Gun placed second at 218.5. Chris Thibodeaux and Ginas Cat finished third at 217.

The top nine horses with scores of 214 or better advanced to Sunday's finals.

Holcombe of Troy, Ala., and his 6-year-old mare took the lead in the first bunch of 46 horses.

The duo smoothly cut three cows for the top go-round score.

"The horse is good. And that's pretty much it," he said. "That was fun."

Austin and Stacy Shepard of Summerdale, Ala., owned the mare for years. Stacy and Hot N Smart made the Futurity Non-Pro finals when the horse was 3.

It was then that Holcombe got an up-close view of the horse. The 19-year-old college student has developed a close relationship with the Shepards for the past six years. He started helping them out every summer since he was 13 years old.

"They're like second parents to me," he said. "They're always helping me out."

The Shepards helped out again when they announced they wanted to sell the horse. Seth's father, Van E. Holcombe purchased the mare, by Smart Tipster out of Tabasco Miss, last January.

"I'd always liked the horse," the younger Holcombe said. "She came up for sale. We thought it'd be a good fit."

Holcombe, a Troy University student, finds time to work on his cutting. The financial investment major, who only missed one class Friday morning and was off this weekend, said showing his horse hasn't become any more difficult with his additional studies.

"My days are pretty flexible," he said. "And I can live close to Austin and Stacy. So I can slip off down there on the weekends and practice."

Holcombe and his horse found success last year when they placed second in the amateur event at the Derby in Fort Worth, Texas.

"She always stops hard," he said about the mare. "She's always honest. She always tries. She has a big heart."

Hot N Smart showed that big heart again in Augusta when the horse cut three cows, the run building as it progressed.

"The first cow was kind of good," he said. "The second cow, she got really good. Then, the third cow was great."

Before the go-round run, Austin Shepard gave Holcombe some basic advice.

"He just told me to get up out of the herd," Holcombe said. "Do what we always do."

From the Saturday, January 24, 2009 edition of the Augusta Chronicle