$5,000 Amateur finals Patty Ravenel Breaks Tradition and Becomes Champion It's rare in a cutting horse show that a go-round leader in a class goes on to win the title. In what would be something of a trend in the 1998 Augusta Futurity, Patty Ravenel broke tradition to win this class, the first title decided in the week. Later in the week, the first and second go-round leader in the Classic Non-Pro (Smart Little Jerry) and the Futurity Open semifinal winner (Autumn Boon DNA) would win their classes. Ravenel did it with a 219 on Jae Bar Dedra, the mare who carried her to the go-round lead with a 217.5. She won $3,740. It's a good thing Ravenel wasn't superstitious. She drew up 13th in the finals. As it turned out, she had little to worry about. The second-place finishers ã Miles Elliott on Harmonys Badger and Max Richardson on Lindy Lena 393 ã were well back, with 214s. Jae Bar Dedra caught the judges' eyes when she held an explosive first cow to keep Ravenel's title hopes alive. "The first cow scared me because she darted off," Ravenel said. "This mare is so good she saved me. It was a recoup. She's a better horse than I am rider." Ravenel won the cutting on a second cow that allowed her to show Jae Bar Dedra's ability to control a cow. Unlike the first cow, this one respected Ravenel's horse. "The second cow was great," Ravenel said. Ravenel had thoughts of breeding Jae Bar Dedra, who is by Docs Wrangler out of Supreme Question, in 1997, but that thought was put on hold. "I'm not going to do it because she's doing so well," Ravenel said. "I'm going to show her. Maybe I'll breed her next year." Almost stealing the spotlight from Ravenel was the plight of Bill Simpson of Grayson, Ga., and the effort some of his friends made so he could ride in the finals. Simpson did not realize he was in the finals until less than three hours before he rode. The problem was that Simpson was in Augusta at the time and his horse Peponolie was in Grayson, where Simpson had left her on Friday night after the go-round. Grayson is 118 miles from Augusta and the finals were scheduled for Saturday night. Simpson marked a 210 in the go-round. When he left Augusta, only scores of 211 and higher were advancing. What Simpson didn't know was that after he left, one score that was above 211 was adjusted to below 209. That moved him into the finals. Unaware of that, he returned to the Augusta Futurity on Saturday to buy some pictures of his ride. Around 6 p.m., he picked up a working order for the finals and discovered he was scheduled to ride first in the second cattle bunch. Simpson immediately called his friend Al Cofer of Loganville, Ga., and told him his problem. "I said, 'Help,'" Simpson recalled. Cofer, who lives 10 miles from Simpson, got Peponolie and made it to Augusta 20 minutes before Simpson was scheduled to ride. The Richmond County Sheriff's Department gave Cofer an escort to the Civic Center. "It's great to have friends in cutting," Simpson said of Cofer. "He made it and I had a nice run. I was real pleased with that." Simpson had a 210 to finish 10th in the 18-horse finals.