Corey Cushing, 2 Million Dollar NRCHA rider sits down with Andrea to talk about his career as a leading trainer in the National Reining Cow Horse Association and what it takes to prepare for the biggest show of the year Snaffel Bit Futurity. Corey is one of the few riders to have success in both the NRHA & NRCHA Futurities, he and Andrea compare notes on what it take to set these top level horses up physically and mentally for the futurities and their show careers. A rare opportunity to listen to two of the top horseman in the performance horse industry get into the details of what it takes to compete and win.
His first professional breakthrough came in 1999, at the National Reining Horse Association Futurity, when Cushing, as a 19-year-old assistant trainer, won the NRHA Futurity Intermediate Open Championship and qualified for the Open Finals aboard Twice As Shiney (Shining Spark x Shine A Mite x Doc O Dynamite). As his career steadily progressed, Cushing’s reined cow horse accomplishments moved into the spotlight. In 2007, he claimed his first major NRCHA title, winning the Stakes Open Championship aboard CC Spin Cycle (Ray Gay Quixote x Lenas Peppy Cutter x Smart Peppy Lena), owned by Cathy Corrigan Frank. He won the 2009 NRCHA Derby for Kevin and Sydney Knight on their stallion, Smart Boons (Peptoboonsmal x Smart Little Easter x Smart Little Lena). Cushing also earned back-to-back American Quarter Horse Association Senior Working Cow Horse World Championships in 2011 and 2012 on the mare Rising Starlight (Little Bay Starlight x Peppys Hot Star x Lucky W Peppy Lena), owned by Eric Dunn. In 2014, Cushing and owner Cathy Corrigan Frank return to the winner’s when Cushing captured his second Snaffle Bit Futurity championship title aboard Good Time (One Time Pepto x Dual Nurse x Dual Pep).
Cushing credits his family, friends and mentors for guiding his success. His youth horsemanship skills were honed by Noel Skinner, the respected Utah horseman and Cushing family friend who passed away in 2010. Skinner encouraged Corey to follow his dreams by taking an assistant’s job with leading professional John Slack right out of high school in 1998.
“The neat thing was, even though I could’ve stayed in Utah and kept working for Noel, he encouraged me to go out and ride and train with those guys. He knew they could get me on some good horses, and he wanted to see me be as successful as I could,” Cushing said.
October 20, 2018 – Cushing becomes the third National Reined Cow Horse Association Two Million Dollar Rider.