Michael Blewitt

Cutting horses

Lessons & Clinics

At Michael Blewitt Cutting Horses we offer individual lessons as well as beginner and intermediate cutting clinics. We have conducted these clinics for the past five years.  Though we had two clinics for the past two years we only have time for one clinic this spring due to the show schedule. The 2008 spring clinic will be held April 17-19 and will accommodate only 15 students. A deposit is required to hold a slot. If the clinic is full you may be on a waiting list in case there are any openings.

             The clinic will begin on Thursday and end on Saturday when we have a clinic cutting. Again, the clinic is limited to fifteen riders and each receives individual instruction. After working cattle on the first day, everyone gathers to review the Judges DVD in order to discuss the rules of cutting. There are opportunities to expand your knowledge in whatever area you feel you may need instruction. Many people would like to know and understand more about tack, or how to properly tie a horse up. There are so many things to learn. You need only to request and we will be happy to show you.

             Breakfast and lunch is provided and the menu reflects the western atmosphere. Breakfast varies day by day and may include breakfast casseroles and cereal along with coffee, milk and orange juice.

 

A sample lunch menu:

Day 1:

BBQ Beef, chili beans, slaw, authentic Tex-Mex salsa, chips, Apple dumplings with ice cream.

Day 2:

Hamburgers and hot dogs with chili and slaw, chips and dip, apple crisp with ice cream

Day 3:

Authentic Texan smoked, sliced brisket, chili beans, chips and salsa, dinner rolls, fresh fruit and salad, pecan pie, apple pie, ice cream.

 

             Saturday is always a festive event. There will be an audience to watch the cutting and each rider is required to treat it as an actual show. Entry forms are filled out and western attire is required.  A judge will be brought in to judge the cutting competition with buckles awarded to the Intermediate Champion and the Beginner Champion. (A beginner is someone that has not won NCHA earnings) The Reserve Champion for Intermediate and Beginner will also receive an award.   

Pictures are taken throughout the clinic and copies are sent to each student after the clinic.

Individual lessons are always available at Michael Blewitt Cutting Horses.   Students that have taken lessons from us or have attended our clinics have done very well in the show pen.  Last season we had five new cutters earn their achievement buckle.  In addition they won several year-end awards with the local associations.  Gray Segars, Hartsville, SC, earned two buckles with Folly Moon CHA and he made the Classic Amateur Finals at the NCHA Summer Cutting Spectacular earning a finalist buckle. In 2005 he won the Clinic Cutting and the trophy. The same year his mare, Freckled Four Bits, won the APHA Sr. Open Cutting Championship.

             State Representative Alan Clemmons, Myrtle Beach, SC, earned his achievement buckle followed by a string of victories in the show pen. He won a buckle from Wateree CHA, Area 18 CHA and from the NCHA, he won the year-end trophy for Area 18 in the 20,000 Non-Pro. At the All American Quarter Horse Congress, he placed third in the finals of both the 10,000 Amateur and the 20,000 Amateur winning two medals. At the 2006 MB Cutting Horse Spring Clinic, he won the Championship trophy.

Another client, Billy Harbin, Landrum, SC, earned the Rookie of the Year trophy from Wateree CHA and a buckle for the year-end award.

Shaun O’Hearn, Ashville, NC earned her achievement buckle and the year-end buckle for the Wateree CHA 10,000 Amateur and the Res. Champion buckle for the 10,000 Amateur at Folly Moon CHA.

Alex Alexander, 12-year-old son of Teresa Alexander, Laurenburg, NC, began cutting for the first time at the 2005 MB Cutting Horse Spring Clinic. In the first year he earned his Achievement buckle, won a scholarship and buckle at NCHA Day and made the finals at the Area 18 Youth Finals held at the Augusta Futurity.

Other students that have just begun to cut have earned their first check in the show pen. Phil Emmitt, Gastonia, NC, won the Championship trophy at the 2006 MB Cutting Horse Summer Clinic and soon earned his first check in the show pen.  Juanita Ardis, Hartsville, SC, has recently earned her first check in the 2000 LR Class. She has attended two clinics.