A rider helps out in the Summertime Fun Outback Cutting competition at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds Thursday. The event, which runs through Sunday, is free and open to the public. Ashley Thomas, show secretary, said the competition offers “great fun” for everyone.
Cutting is a western-style equestrian competition in which a horse and rider work as a team before a judge or panel of judges to demonstrate the horse’s athleticism and ability to handle cattle during a 2 1⁄2 minute performance, called a “run.” A contestant is required to make at least two cuts (isolating a single steer) from the herd, one of which must be a cut from deep inside the herd while the other(s) can be peeled from the edges, plus other maneuvers.
