The NCHA Triple Crown comprises three major cutting horse aged events beginning with the

NCHA Futurity The NCHA World Championship Futurity (NCHA Futurity), originally established in 1962, is an annual cutting horse event, or limited age event, that is hosted by the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA). It is the debut event for 3-year-old cutt ...

for 3-year-olds, followed by the

NCHA Derby The NCHA Derby is the final jewel in the National Cutting Horse Association's Triple Crown; the first being the NCHA World Championship Futurity followed by the NCHA Super Stakes. The NCHA Derby is open to 4-year-old horses of all breeds, and offe ...

for 4-year-olds, and

NCHA Super Stakes The NCHA Super Stakes is the second jewel in the National Cutting Horse Association's annual Triple Crown. It is held in April following the November/December NCHA World Championship Futurity and a few months before the NCHA Derby, which is held d ...

for 5-year-olds. All three events are held at the

Will Rogers Coliseum The Will Rogers Memorial Center (WRMC) is an American public entertainment, sports and livestock complex located in Fort Worth, Texas. It is named for American humorist and writer Will Rogers. It is a popular location for the hosting of specia ...

in Ft. Worth, Texas. The culmination of prize money for all three events in 2008 was in excess of $10 Million, surpassing that of the

Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing, often shortened to Triple Crown, is a series of horse races for Thoroughbreds, often restricted to three-year-olds. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplis ...

. There have been only 3 NCHA Open Division Triple Crown winners and 1 NCHA NonPro Division Triple Crown winner since the inception of the NCHA in 1946: *

Smart Little Lena Smart Little Lena (June 29, 1979–August 30, 2010) was an AQHA registered Quarter Horse, an NCHA Triple Crown Champion cutting horse, and sire of champion cutting horses. He was inducted into both the AQHA Hall of Fame and NCHA Horse Hall of Fa ...

ridden by Bill Freeman (1982-1983) Open Division *

Docs Okie Quixote Docs Okie Quixote (1980—1985), AQHA #1613457, was a sorrel Quarter Horse stallion. In 1984, he became the second horse ever to win the NCHA Triple Crown (1983-1984), and 1st to be owned, trained, and ridden by the same person, Joe Heim, a cutti ...

ridden by

Joe Heim Joe Heim (born 1949) is a horse trainer and clinician residing in Thackersville, Oklahoma. He trains primarily Quarter Horses in various disciplines of western riding, including reining and cutting. He was inducted into the NCHA Rider Hall of Fa ...

(1983-1984) Open Division *Chiquita Pistol ridden by Tag Rice (2002-2003) Open Division *Watch Me Whip ridden by Armando Costa Neto (2015-2016) NonPro Division

References

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External links

Armando Costa Neto Makes Historic Win in Non Pro Derby Final of 2016 NCHA Summer Spectacular, Video West, August 7, 2016
National Cutting Horse Association