First published in the Aug. 13 print issue of the Burbank Leader.
Julie McBurney of Burbank, riding a 4-year-old gelding called Dee Oh Double G — owned by McBurney and her husband, Vince — recently won the Rios of Mercedes Intermediate Amateur Derby at the 2022 NCHA Great American Insurance Group Summer Cutting Spectacular in Fort Worth, Texas, according to the National Cutting Horse Association.
In the derby first-go, Julie McBurney and Dee Oh Double G marked a score of 216 making them one of the 30 horse-and-rider teams to advance to the finals, where the pair scored 218 to win $6,961.07 and the championship title.
“It’s a crazy feeling,” Julie McBurney said during an interview following her championship run. “It was a last-minute decision for us. We had planned [to come], but then I was like ‘No, it’s too hot in Texas in July,’ and my husband was like, ‘We’re going.’”
The 2022 NCHA Great American Insurance Group Summer Cutting Spectacular was held at the historic Will Rogers Coliseum from July 16 through Aug. 5.
To learn more about the National Cutting Horse Association, including upcoming events, visit nchacutting.com.
