Kyle Manion pumped his fist and patted Ricochet Pep four times after the clock struck zero.

Manion and his gelding rung up 225.5 and won the inaugural Western Horseman Cup Non-Pro Finals by 1.5 points Thursday at Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center.

Kyle Manion, on Richochet Pep, scores a 225.5 to win the Non Pro division of the Western Horseman Cup finals. Jeff Barnes

With his first Augusta Futurity win, Manion of Aubrey, Texas, took home $30,001. Mary Ann Rapp of Weatherford, Texas, and TM Quiver placed second at 224.5 for $16,440, while Hope Mitchell of Weatherford, Texas and Zee Dualy finished third (223, $10,618).

"I've been dying for an Augusta win since the first time I ever came here," Manion said.

Manion first started showing cutting horses in the Augusta Futurity in 1993. Two years later, he lost in a workoff to his father, Tommy, in the 1995 Futurity Non-Pro finals.

Running 14th in the 15-horse draw, Kyle Manion didn't need a workoff this time. He cut three cows, with the momentum and the crowd noise building on each cut.

"I knew (Ricochet Pep) was right on," he said. "And as the run went, the horse and the run got stronger. When you get down to the end you always want to end on a good note. That's when your heart really gets to racing. You know you have a good run going. You don't know whether you're winning or not, but you know you have a good run and then you just don't want to mess it up."

Tommy Manion, a three-time Augusta Futurity champion, waited until Kyle dismounted before giving him a bear hug after the winning run.

"I get as much gratification, if not more, watching him do well than I do myself," Tommy Manion said.

On TM Quiver, Rapp marked her score to take the lead on the 10th ride. Ironically, Rapp purchased the mare from Kyle Manion in December.

Manion did not know that he'd qualified for the Western Horseman Cup finals until he received a phone call during a vacation this month in the Caribbean.

Shortly afterward, he purchased Ricochet Pep, by Smart Lil Ricochet out of Pep Up Tari, from a man in Wyoming. Manion first showed the horse Wednesday and lost a cow in the Classic Non-Pro first go-round.

"It felt good to go down there and have a good run and get through a run on that horse," he said.