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Judy Spaulding: 1940-2019

Jul 14, 2019, 09:17 AM by Sally Harrison

Long-time NCHA member Judy Spaulding, 79, passed away.

Judy Spaulding, 1940-2019

Long-time NCHA member Judy Spaulding, 79, passed away Wednesday, July 3, 2019.

Judy was born April 27, 1940 in Las Animas, Colorado, daughter of Basil and Opal Ruth Simpson Smith.

She graduated from Lajunta High School in 1958 and attended Otero Jr. College. She married Jim Spaulding in 1965, and they spent 54 happy years together.

Judy was involved in many business ventures, including the cutting horse and cattle business. An avid photographer, she filled in as an emergency replacement for the show photographer at the NCHA Western National Championships one year. That launched a career which saw her pictures featured in Cutting Horse Chatter, as well as on the walls and in the albums of countless cutters.

Judy enjoyed the success of their High Brow Cat son Neat Little Cat, shown by Hall of Fame Rider Sean Flynn in his aged event career, which included reserve championships at the prestigious Western Horseman Cup, and the Brazos Bash. and a win at the Texas Classic. Neat Little Cat earned over $275,000 in a career that also saw him make the Top 10 in the NCHA Open World Standings two years in a row.

The Spauldings also bred a string of major aged event finalists, including Dualin Lights, Playing Short and Neat Little Shorty.

Survivors include her husband, Jim Spaulding of Millsap, Texas; brother, Stanley Smith of Pueblo, Colo.; sisters, Bettie White of Rocky Ford, Colo. and Joy Stark of Colorado Springs, Colo.; and many other extended family members and friends.

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