Kittennish and Austin Shepard add The Run For A Million $200,000 Cutting Challenge to Resume

Kittennish, recently dubbed “The Queen” by her fans, added yet another major title to her resume by winning the Cutting Horse Challenge at The Run For A Million (TRFAM) with EquiStat Elite $10 Million Rider Austin Shepard in the saddle. The mare and Shepard have dominated limited aged events in the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) for the past year and their historic resumes only continue to grow.

No stranger to the arena at the South Point Equestrian Center in Las Vegas, Kittennish (Hottish x Show Biz Kitty x High Brow Cat) and Shepard had previously won the Pacific Coast Cutting Association (PCCHA) Futurity Open Derby class in the arena in 2023 while on the road for Kittennish’s successful 2023 NCHA Horse Of The Year title run. She continues to prove her status in the pen as the successes pile up in her 5-year-old season with a big win at the NCHA Summer Spectacular and now, at The Run For A Million.

“I got some cows cut for my horse and she’s just a great horse,” Shepard said. “She’s the best horse I’ve ever ridden in my life and when everything’s there in front of her, she’s just a winner. I’d love to take all the credit but she just wants this. I mean, she’s a Michael Jordan-type personality, and she came that way.”

Shepard has piloted the mare throughout her whole career, to the tune of more than $660,000. Her win at The Run For A Million, worth $50,000, pushed her to become the third-highest earning mare in cutting history, according to EquiStat.

TRFAM creates some special circumstances for the cutting competitors, requiring them to ride their horses across the empty end of the arena and into the working pen, unlike any other event in the sport.

“It’s just a really neat atmosphere, a great night to showcase the cutting horse in front of the whole world,” Shepard said. “My daughter-in-law, Kamryn, she she gets her ready every day, all the time, and she had her ready back there. She’s [Kamryn] got her [Kittennish’s] routine down to an art now.”

TRFAM Connections

In 2023, Shepard brought Kittennish to TRFAM but chose to ride Wood She B Magic (Woody Be Tuff x Magic Metallic x Metallic Cat) opting for the horse with more show experience at the time. Given the opportunity to grow her career at the right pace, Shepard selected the Kittennish for another major event at the beginning of 2024, also riding her at The American Performance Horseman.

Kittennish has a special connection to TRFAM Cutting Challenge though the event is only in it’s second year. Blackish, who took the championship title in 2023 with Lloyd Cox aboard, is also by $17 Million Sire Hottish and out of SS Blacks Lil Kitty (a daughter of Kittennish’s dam, Show Biz Kitty).

Billy Wolf owns Show Biz Kitty as well as Kittennish and Wood She B Magic.

“I want to thank Billy Wolf, my owner. He’s, he’s behind me at all times,” Shepard said after the big win.

Billy Wolf isn’t the only person behind Shepard of course.

“I want to thank my helpers. Boyd Rice and Matt Miller turned back for me, and Kory Pounds came out of the announcers stand this year and came down and helped me and my son came,” Shepard said. “We couldn’t have done it without their help. And God gave me a great horse.”

Reserve Champions

Monty Buntin and Kat Play took home the Reserve Championship for owners Dacole Investment Company with a score of 226. This was also their second year showing at The Run For A Million $200,000 Cutting Challenge. The 2016 stallion by EquiStat Elite $11 Million Sire Kit Kat Sugar is out of NQH Shadow Play (by Playgun). They took home $35,000 for the Reserve Championship.