FORT WORTH, Texas — The first cutting horse competition took place in Haskell, Texas, in 1898. About 1,500 spectators watched a man on a 22-year-old horse win a $150 prize.

The National Cutting Horse Association in Fort Worth says its NCHA approved shows now have purses that exceed $39 million a year. And the seemingly endless chatter of an auctioneer inside W. R. Watt Arena at Will Rogers Memorial Center this week tells you the quest for that prize money, and the perfect horse, is alive and well.

The National Cutting Horse Association Futurity is considered the triple crown event for 3-year-old horses in Fort Worth. Competitions culminate this Saturday inside the John Justin Arena.

But across the street in Watt Arena, where individual horses sold at auction for more than $225,000, r

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