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Justice leads Non-Pro
By Chris Gay
Staff Writer
The way the economy has been lately, Chad Bushaw is finding quite a refuge in showing cutting horses.
The Poolville, Texas stockbroker rode Jerryoes to a score of 217 to advance to the second go-round of the Futurity Non-Pro. On Freckles Lena Boon, Hope Justice won Thursday's first go-round of the event with a 221.
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Hope Justice on Freckles Lena Boon leads the 4-Year-Old Non-Pro Division after Round 1 with a score of 221.0.
PATRICK KING/STAFF
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"It's just a good escape from the day-to-day pressure of everyday business and all that other stuff when you deal with the markets all day long," Bushaw said. "It's just a good escape from everything."
Forty-nine horses with scores of 207 or better advanced to the second go-round of the Futurity Non-Pro, which begins this morning at 8 a.m.
Bushaw is having quite a time on his stallion. Bushaw and Jerryoes won the National Cutting Horse Association World Championship Futurity Non-Pro event in December. On Thursday, the two were just hoping to advance here.
"I just cut two pretty good cows," he said. "The horse was good and the cows were good. I just died in the herd after the second cow. I was just playing it safe, trying to get to the next round."
Because of his job requirements, Bushaw said it takes some work to get time off. His vacation, though, is not all pleasure.
"I kind of have to juggle my schedule pretty good," he said. "But I'm fortunate in that I can use a couple of computers and telephones and get 95 percent of what I do in the office done when I'm on the road."
So, does he think the U.S. economy is starting to come around?
"It'll take a little longer than most people are expecting," Bushaw said. "But yeah, absolutely."
Meanwhile, Justice, of Canton, Texas, is looking to better her finish in this event from a year ago. In 2001, she finished 12th and 15th in the 21-horse Futurity Non-Pro finals.
But Justice feels that Freckles Lena Boon, a mare by Peptoboonsmal out of Freckles Quick Girl, is a much superior horse than the two a year ago.
"Those horses I rode last year might as well have been barrel horses compared to this one," Justice said. "They're not even in the same ballpark."
Justice won the Futurity Non-Pro finals in the Abilene Spectacular on Freckles Lena Boon in early January. Before that, she and her mare advanced to the Futurity Open and Non-Pro finals at the NCHA Futurity.
"It's been an incredible year so far," Justice said. "In two shows, she's won $105,000. You can't argue with that."
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