Tom McCutcheon's The Show

Tom McCutcheon is one of the most accomplished reiners in the history of the sport. Born into the performance horse business in western Wisconsin, he is the youngest of four brothers — Jim, Scott, and Terri — who all followed their father Bob McCutcheon into professional horse training. Tom rodeoed from an early age, qualifying for the National High School Rodeo Finals in calf roping, bulldogging, and cutting before going into business for himself at just 18 years old.

He chose reining because the cattle disciplines seemed too expensive for a young man starting from scratch. It proved to be the right bet. McCutcheon eventually spent several years training in Italy, alongside friends including Duane and Dean Latimer, Dale Harvey, and Jim Kiser, before returning to the United States and settling in North Texas. His first NRHA earnings came in 1984 at an event in St. Paul, Minnesota. In 2006, he crossed the million-dollar mark in lifetime NRHA earnings. In August 2022, he surpassed two million dollars — achieved at the North American Reining Stakes at the World Equestrian Center in Ocala, Florida.

On the international stage, McCutcheon has represented the United States at four World Equestrian Games (2002, 2006, 2010, and 2014). His defining moment came in 2010, when he rode Gunners Special Nite to Individual Gold and Team Gold at the WEG in Kentucky — a performance that earned him the United States Equestrian Federation's Equestrian of the Year award for 2010, with Gunners Special Nite named USEF Horse of the Year. His championship record also includes the NRBC Open Championship and Reserve Championship, multiple NRHA Derby Reserve Championships, the NCRHA Open Futurity Championship, and the 2011 FEI World Reining Finals Championship.

McCutcheon operates Tom McCutcheon Reining Horses out of Aubrey, Texas — one of the premier reining training, breeding, and rehabilitation facilities in the country. The operation stands 10 resident stallions including NRHA Five Million Dollar Sire Gunners Special Nite. His wife Mandy McCutcheon is an NRHA Hall of Fame inductee and the only three-million-dollar Non-Pro rider in NRHA history. Their son Cade became the youngest NRHA Million Dollar Rider in history, and daughter Carlee competes at the elite level in both reining and show jumping. He co-founded and chairs the board of the National Reining Breeders Classic, the largest added-money reining event and stallion incentive program ever created.

Tom McCutcheon's The Show is the premier reining industry podcast. Each episode, Tom sits with NRHA Million Dollar Rider Gunny Mathison and trainer/judge Joe Schmidt to host roundtable conversations with top riders, trainers, breeders, and industry figures. The format is relaxed and candid — part shop talk, part storytelling, all reining. For anyone who follows the sliding stop, it's essential listening.