2007 Congress News

Special Nu Cat and Rob and Pam Foster Have a Double Take in the Congress Cutting Classic
By Carly Williams

Rob and Pam Foster are ‘old hands’ at the All American Quarter Horse Congress. They have both been coming to the Congress for the majority of their lives, but each year brings new excitement and adventures for the couple.

On Monday, October 8, Pam won the Non-Pro Cutting Classic with a score of 147 on Special Nu Cat. On Tuesday, October 9, Rob won the Open Cutting Classic with a score of 146 on the same horse.

Although these wins are special for the Fosters, they definitely are an addition to an already full and impressive showing resume. Rob grew up around cattle horses and always dreamed of one day riding Cutters. After he graduated high school, Rob attended college in Stephenville, Texas, where his roommate was actively involved in the Cutting industry. At the time, many of the big winners in the Cutting industry were also actively involved in raising cattle, and Rob knew he did not have the money to join the cattle industry at the time.

Instead, Rob threw himself into the pleasure horse industry, and began working for Cleve Wells. Rob learned a lot while working with Cleve, and decided that Western Pleasure was the route he would take for his own career. He attended his first All American Quarter Horse Congress in 1990 with Cleve, and then began training on his own in 1992.

Not only did Rob gain an avalanche of information while working for Cleve, he was also lucky enough to meet his wife, Pam. “I was at the Solid Gold Futurity and was looking at a horse that Cleve had for sale. Rob was working for him, so of course we met each other while I was looking at the horse. That was August of 1991 and we were married in September of 1992,” Pam said. “Oh, and I bought the horse!”

Pam and Rob have been an unstoppable force ever since. Rob is quick to brag about his wife’s accomplishments, even though he has many of his own. “Pam has been showing at the Congress since she was just a little kid, and she has always done well. I’m pretty sure she’s won almost every pleasure class possible down here,” Rob said.

“I don’t know if that’s true,” Pam said. “But the Congress has been really good to both of us.”

In 2000, Rob and Pam made the big switch from Western Pleasure to Cutting. “It was definitely a big move when we changed over to Cutting,” Rob explained. “ I went to work with Clint Allen and Matt Gaines to really learn the ins and outs of Cutting. Clint Allen has really helped over the past few years. I worked with him over the summers for three years, and on and off during each year.”

Rob knew he would never be able to get into Cutting unless he could do it at a high level. “I was very competitive in Western Pleasure, and left the industry when I was on top. I knew that I would need to stay at the same level in the Cutting industry if I was going to make the change,” Rob said.

“I have been very fortunate and lucky to find some really good friends that are always willing to help me out and help me learn,” Rob explained. “The whole Cutting industry is really friendly and welcoming. You always have to have four friends that are willing to ride the turn-back horses and the herd holders or else you can’t do it.

“Even though there is still a lot of competition in Cutting, it is just different than the pleasure horse industry,” Rob said. “In Cutting, it’s not just your horse; it’s the cow, the horse, the rider. There are so many things that can affect your score that it’s almost impossible to get upset with the person who beat you.

“You also have the score sheet in Cutting, so you always know where you lost or gained points and what you need to work on for next time.”

Rob also explains that being on top in Cutting does not take as much running as Western Pleasure. “When I was showing Western Pleasure, it seemed really hard to recover from a bad ride. If you had a bad ride at a big circuit, it was really hard to move up at the next circuit. In Cutting, you can recover a lot more quickly, because your score is based on so many different things each time.”

That does not mean that Rob and Pam are taking a vacation, however; they have been traveling nearly ever weekend since July. Rob spent the three weeks before the Congress in Weatherford, Texas, hitting some large Cutting events, while Pam stayed at their farm in Weikert, Pennsylvania, holding down the fort and raising their son, John Ryon.

For the 2007 Congress, Rob and Pam brought three horses for the limited age classes and four horses for the NCHA (National Cutting Horse Association) classes.

With Special Nu Cat, both Rob and Pam felt that they had good first go’s, and Rob had a good second go as well. (For the 2007 Congress, the non-pro limited age classes only have a first go, and then a finals; while the open limited age classes have two go’s and a finals.)

Pam and Rob both felt confident going into the finals, but then each of them were drawn to go first in the final rounds. “Who would have imagined we both would draw the first run in each of our finals,” Pam laughed. “I know that it is very hard to have the first cut of a class. The judges tend to score the first horse a little lower, to allow room to score the rest of the class.

“I completely understand why they do that, but it does make it hard to go first. I knew that I would have to ride really aggressively and have one good cow. I didn’t care if I had any other cuts, as long as I got one good cow and rode as hard as I could,” Pam said.

“I finished my first cow and even though I had no idea how much time was left, I dropped my hand to show I was done. I had 28 seconds left!”

Pam’s tactic obviously worked, as she scored a 147 and won the class. The following day, Rob followed the same plan in the finals for the Open Cutting Classic and won with a score of 146.

It may seem like the Fosters can take the rest of the Congress off after two big wins, but they still have more horses to show this week, as well as a very special class later in the Congress. Their ten-year-old son, John Ryon, will come down to compete in the Cinch Dummy Roping this year. The Fosters have already had a better Congress than anyone could expect, but one more jacket couldn’t hurt, right?