Too Hot To Tagg & Kenny Platt Blaze at the NCHA Open Futurity, Winning the Championship Title

Despite the chill outside, the temperature was hot inside the Will Rogers Coliseum arena on the night of Dec. 7 when Kenny Platt pointed Too Hot To Tagg at the herd. To make it to the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) Metallic Cat World Championship Futurity Open Finals, Platt and the gelding competed against 609 other horses, but by Saturday night, it was their time to shine. From the moment the first cow was cut, the pair was on fire. Their Finals run scored a 227, winning the NCHA World Championship Futurity Open title as well as $337,730 in cash.

Platt, from Fort Lupton, Colorado, has been with the 2021 red roan gelding (Hashtags x Too Hot x Hottish) owned by J H Nail Ranch of Albany, Texas, since last year’s Futurity sale. Nicknamed “Hushpuppy” as a nod to his sire, who Platt jokingly calls “Hashbrowns,” the gelding caught Platt’s eye at the sale as a prospect for himself. When Jamie Nail purchased the horse, he sent Hushpuppy to Platt, who agreed to take him if he could be gelded. Nail agreed.

“[Hushpuppy] was pretty studdy, and Jamie agreed to geld him and whatever we needed going forward,” Platt said. “He just wanted him to do well and I could tell right then we were going to get along. He trusted me and I got to do what I wanted to do, take him where I wanted to take him, and do whatever I wanted to do with him.”

Hushpuppy has a big engine and does best with a lot of preparation.

“He’s a lot of horse, and I think the reason he turned out so well is I never, ever didn’t think I needed to work him,” Platt said. “He’s hot, and wild, and cowy, and he made me work at it, but in a really good way, and I always knew he was going to end up being a show horse.”

Fated for the Futurity

Hushpuppy wasn’t originally slated to go to the Futurity—Platt was set to show another mare, but she got sore just a few days before the event, so the gelding was called up to play. Luckily, he was ready.

“I’d worked at it a lot on him, and I knew how good he was, it was just a matter of consistency,” Platt said. “When the other mare got hurt, it was not even a question in my mind, I was just like ‘Well this is just what we’re going to do now.’”

Platt loves a fiery horse, and says their two personalities are a good blend. His aim was to stay steady throughout the event.

Kenny Platt rides out of the herd after cutting in the finals aboard Too Hot To Tagg. * Photo by Abigail Boatwright

“He’s just a rocket man—he’s sitting on ‘go’ all the time, which is what’s so awesome about him,” Platt said. “I didn’t worry about running out of horse at this cutting. He’s just a phenomenal horse.”

Starting with the first go-round, Hushpuppy was in good form. They scored a 220.

“The first round, he was awesome,” Platt said. “I tried to cut smart, cut something at a walk like I try to do all the time, just get through the run and he was great.”

In the second round, they had a little tougher set, but followed the same playbook.

“We just slipped through there and got shown really clean and marked a [2]16,” Platt said.

In the semifinals on Friday, Platt thanked his herd help for their expertise with the cows to help him through it: Grant Setnicka, Chris Jones, Lloyd Cox and Clay Johnson. The duo scored a 221.5 in the semis to win the round.

“Last night I was pretty nervous and I give them the majority of credit for getting me through that semifinals run,” Platt said.

Paula, Carter (7) and Kenny Platt. * Photo by Abigail Boatwrightt

Down to the finals, Platt had confidence in his horse.

“He’s tough,” Platt said. “When the cows were tough at this cutting I thought, that’s good because he’s tough and he likes it.”

After their finals 227-scoring performance, Platt says he’s reached a goal he’s had for a long time.

“This has been a lifelong goal to be able to win this futurity, and I can’t believe that I actually did it. This is what gets me out of bed, and it still will,” Platt said. “Now I really look up to Austin Shepard and Ronnie Rice and Craig Thompson, guys who have won it twice. This is what motivates me, this cutting right here.”

Platt’s cheering squad was in full force at the Finals, which he says upped the pressure, in a good way. This included his wife Rebecca, his mom, Paula Platt — who took him to cuttings since he was 9 — and his assistant trainer, Ella Blazek, whose invaluable contribution was getting the horse ready for him. And his son Carter, who is seven and his biggest fan.

“My son Carter has been telling me for the last year that I’m going to win the Futurity,” Platt said. “He got it into my head and then I didn’t want to let him down. And that means more than anything.”

Reserve Champion

Austin Shepard and Rollz Eh had the first run in the finals, and their score of 224 led the pack until Platt’s run in the second set. Taking reserve, Shepard from Summerdale, Alabama, and the 2021 sorrel mare (Rollz Royce x This Cats Smilen x WR This Cats Smart) owned by Billy Wolf of Whitesboro, Texas, were awarded $275,744 in prizes.The event paid out an estimated $2,344,820 in cash prizes.