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First go-round victory helps validate Smooth O 'Toole
By Chris Gay
Staff Writer
Jason Clark was unsure whether Smooth O'Toole's performance last month was valid.
He got his answer Monday.
Clark and Smooth O'Toole marked 219 to win the first go-round of the Futurity Open at James Brown Arena.
On top of Starstruck Ichi, Austin Shepard finished second at 218.5. The Summerdale, Ala., cutter advanced four horses to the next round.
The top 41 horses with scores of 212 or better advanced to the second go-round, which begins at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Clark and Smooth O'Toole, a gelding by Smooth As A Cat out of Aglows Little Peppy, finished tied for 11th in the National Cutting Horse Association Futurity Open finals last month in Fort Worth, Texas. Clark gave the horse, which won more than $65,000 on that one run, time off to heal from soreness. The pair competed together Monday for the first time since the NCHA World Finals -- a span of six weeks.
"You're always wondering if they're going to be good," Clark said. "You're wondering if it's real or if it was just kind of a fluke."
There's a good reason the horse has performed well. Clark trained Smooth O'Toole, who Darren Blanton bought in November, all of last year.
"He's just a real good cow horse," Clark said. "He tries really hard.
"He's just got a big heart and a lot of cow. A lot of times, that overcomes a lot of things."
Smooth O'Toole is smaller than a lot of horses. When the 6-foot-4 Clark hops aboard him, his legs hang down quite a bit.
"He doesn't have any problem getting me around," he said. "He's got a big motor on him."
Clark, who grew up on a 100,000-acre cattle ranch near Fresno, Calif., began showing cutting horses 15 years ago. He moved to Texas in 1997 to further his progression in the cutting field.
As a youth, Clark excelled as a shooting guard in basketball and as a linebacker/safety in football. After a stint in junior college, Clark transferred to Fresno State to play football during his junior year.
During Clark's junior year at Fresno State, a horse kicked him below his right knee, shattering his bone. Doctors inserted a steel rod in his leg, and the incident ended his playing career.
"After that," Clark said, laughing, "it was time to go to work."
Reach Chris Gay at (706) 823-3645 or chris.gay@augustachronicle.com.
ANNUAL EVENT STAYING PUT
The Augusta Futurity has no plans to move from Augusta despite a media report that the annual cutting horse show is considering leaving.
Show manager Pete May said the rumor is unfounded and he has never been told of such a move by the executive committee of the Atlantic Coast Cutting Horse Association.
"This show has been here 31 years and hopes to be here 31 more," May said.
-- Staff reports
From the Tuesday, January 26, 2010 edition of the Augusta Chronicle
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