Viagen in the News
National Cutting Horse Association Says Clones Can Be Shown
By Rebecca Overton, Quarter Horse News
September 11th, 2008
In a ruling that is the first of its kind in the performance horse industry, the National Cutting Horse Association has decided it will allow clones to compete in aged events.On Sept. 9 during the NCHA Executive Committee’s fall meeting in Fort Worth, Texas, the board unanimously approved a policy that will let clones to be shown, according to NCHA President Bronc Willoughby.
Executive Committee member Phil Rapp, who wants to show two clones in the 2009 NCHA Futurity, abstained from voting. The clones, Whats On Tap and Playboys Ruby Too, are being trained at Rapp’s ranch in Weatherford, Texas.
Whats On Tap is a replicate of Tap Olena, the multiple NCHA champion Rapp and his wife, Mary Ann, bred and own. Playboys Ruby Too is a clone of Playboys Ruby, the second all-time leading producer of cutting horses that Rapp showed and owned until he sold her and the clone to Waco Bend Ranch, Graham, Texas, in October 2006. Both of the originals and their clones remain at Rapp’s facility.
This is the first time an equine performance group has set a policy that allows clones to compete. The decision was made after NCHA member and attorney Lew Stevens addressed the committee and suggested that the policy be adopted, Willoughby said.
“Lew Stevens recommended that as a performance horse association, not a breed association, NCHA should allow clones to be shown,” he explained. “After it was discussed, Phil Rapp excused himself from the vote, and the policy was passed unanimously.”
Stevens was a member of the NCHA’s task force on cloning.
Rapp and his wife, Mary Ann, said they were relieved, but not totally surprised, by the vote’s outcome.
“According to NCHA rules, any horse can be shown if it’s 3 years old, whether it’s registered or not,” Rapp said.
Although other performance groups, including the National Barrel Horse Association, have no rules that prohibit clones, the American Quarter Horse Association, one of the world’s largest equine breed organizations, does not allow clones in its registry. AQHA tabled a proposal requesting that its rule be changed during its 2008 convention, pending a study on cloning by the association.
While the NCHA is the first equine performance group to actually establish a policy on cloning, it was just business as usual, said Willoughby, who was chairman of the NCHA’s task force on cloning. The policy was one of several items the Executive Committee considered during its annual two-day meeting.
“We didn’t look at it as a landmark decision. We just set a policy as we saw fit, like we do others,” Willoughby said.
“I hadn’t thought about it being historical, but I guess it’s a big step,” Rapp said after the meeting. “It’s pretty exciting. I guess we’ll get our entries in when we need to and go from there. We’ll send our check in shortly.”
The first payment for 2-year-olds to be entered in the 2009 Futurity is due Oct. 15. Whats On Tap and Playboys Ruby Too are being trained by Clint Modistach, who starts Rapp’s 2-year-olds. When he has time, Rapp plans to take over the clones’ reins.
“The clones are doing great,” he said. “I’ve been so busy getting my 3-year-olds trained and Clint does such an excellent job that I’ve been leaving the clones’ training up to him for a while. But I’m looking forward to working with them again.”
Meanwhile, Rapp has been busy in the cutting arena. On Sept. 5, the 39-year-old horseman, who is the industry’s all-time earnings leader, surpassed the $6 million NCHA milestone at a weekend cutting in Sweetwater, Texas.
Whats On Tap and Playboys Ruby Too were produced by ViaGen, a commercial cloning and gene-banking company headquartered in Austin, Texas. The company, which controls the patents for equine cloning, has successfully replicated at least 20 champion horses from around the world.
At press time, the company’s most recent clone to be born was foaled on Aug. 4. The clone is a replicate of Airwolf, the legendary saddle bronc horse who was inducted into the Canadian Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame in 2006. It was born at Timber Creek Veterinary Hospital in Canyon, Texas.