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Horse aficionados, including some
famous names, are well-aware. At
McCutcheon’s ranch, for example, musi-
cian Lyle Lovett keeps his quarter horse
Smart and Shiney in breeding residence.
In the farm’s trophy-filled viewing area,
visitors can see Smart and Shiney’s stal-
lion card—a glossy 8½-by-11-inch glam-
our shot with stats on the back that doc-
ument his lineage and accomplishments.
The card is like a cross between a mod-
el’s one-sheet, a professional resume, anda sperm donor’s profile. “The more black
type on the card,” the tour guide says,
“the more prestige and money won.”
In the same rack, you’ll also find a
stallion card for Gunners Special Nite,
one of McCutcheon’s prize horses and
one of the most decorated horses in
the sport of reining. A favorite in the
barn and the show arena, Gunners
Special Nite is top-ranked among sires
for the earnings of his offspring in
reining competitions.McCutcheon’s trophy room also pro-
vides a window view of the arena, where
visitors look on as trainers like Cade
McCutcheon work with both green horses
learning the ropes and celebrity horses
getting serious workouts. It’s a marvel
to watch as Cade puts a reining horse
through its paces, maneuvering the
quarter horse like a driver maneuvers a
car: drive forward, back up, circle, turn
on a dime, slide to a dramatic dust-
raising stop.