Riding Kittennish (Hottish x Show Biz Kitty x High Brow Cat), Austin Shepard secured the 2025 Ike Cutting 5/6-Year-Old Open Classic at the Ike Hamilton Expo Center in West Monroe, Louisiana, marking an impressive score of 232 in the finals January 28, 2025. With a remarkable performance, the duo came out on top in a field of elite competition to claim the title and a $15,000 payout.
With competition stacked with the most talented cutting horses, trainers and riders in the industry, Shepard knew he had to execute flawlessly to rise to the occasion. Although Shepard always strives to win, he cares more about showcasing the exceptional talent of Kittennish, a mare he holds in high regard.
“It’s always good to win. It was a very competitive class, and it was very hard to make the finals. The best of the best are here, in my opinion — the best horses and the best riders,” Shepard said. “At this point in my career, it’s probably more important to win on this mare, because she’s such a special horse. I think she deserves to win every time, so to do my job to help her win is the most important thing to me.”
Shepard and the sorrel mare faced a challenge right from the start heading into the finals, drawing last in the working order. With several high-scoring runs ahead of him, including a 227 from Matt Gaines and Sugarr Daddy (Kit Kat Sugar x Andreya x Dual Rey), Shepard rode into the pen prepared to go at the cattle he had and cut them clean.
“We had two great cows that were questionable, but they were the kind of cows that if you could get them cut clean, I felt like they’d really fit this horse. They had a lot of move and a lot of feel, and they were going to be kind of fast. I was able to cut my first two cows clean, and they were excellent — exactly what I wanted to do,” Shepard explained. “Then I turned around, and there was a cow that had already been worked standing there that we thought would go again. That mare has a way of working a cow that can make an average cow really good. From start to finish, I couldn’t have been happier with the run. I think it’s one of the best runs I’ve ever had.”
With the Ike win, Shepard adds another prestigious title to his impressive career on the mare owned by Billy Wolf, further solidifying her place as one of the top cutting horses in the industry. The trainer from Summerdale, Alabama, knows what a special horse she is, and appreciates her even more every time someone with a 40- to 50- year career says she is the best horse they’ve seen.
“She is so big and strong, and physical. Her biggest strength is that she doesn’t have a weakness. She’s very smart, very willing, incredibly athletic and loves to do it,” Shepard said. “I’ve been doing this for 30 years, and she does things that I just don’t think I’ve ever felt or seen from a horse. She is going to go down as one of the all-time great horses, and she had her first baby born by Im Countin Checks (Smart Lil Ricochet x Autumn Boon x Dual Pep) just a couple days before this win.”
With their sights set on upcoming major events in her last year before aging out, they hope to continue their winning momentum. Their support system making this win possible runs deep with people like Shepard’s daughter-in-law Kamryn Shepard, who knows Kittennish just as good or better, as well as Cade Shepard, Matt Miller, Sean Flynn and Michael Cooper in the pen.
“She’s six years old, so she’ll be aged out next year. I just want to thank our team for making it all possible. I especially want to thank Billy Wolf for letting me ride her. It’s such an honor to ride a horse like this, and I can’t emphasize that enough. I’m just trying to enjoy every bit of it,” Shepard said.
Just behind Shepard and Kittennish, Matt Gaines and Sugarr Daddy, the 5-year-old sorrel stallion, claimed Reserve Champion honors with a 227, earning a $11,500 payout. Finishing third with a score of 225.5, John Mitchell and Moms Lil Rebel (Metallic Rebel x SDP Moms CD x High Brow CD), owned by Slate River Ranch, earned $9,374.99.
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