Published: July 03, 2009 02:18 pm      

Millsap pair inducted into NCHA Hall

Phil Riddle

editor@weatherforddemocrat.com

Two stars in the world of cutting horses, both from Millsap, are among the recently announced inductees into the National Cutting Horse Association 2009 Members Hall of Fame.

Second-generation trainer Greg Welch and long-time NCHA secretary Murlene Mowerey highlighted a list of five new Hall members. Joining the Parker County pair are Pat Earnhart of Hernando, Miss., Kenneth Jackson of Glatia, Ill. and Mel Shearin of Villa Ridge, Mo.

Welch, according to a release from the NCHA, was one of just a few trainers to win both the NCHA Futurity and the NCHA Open World Championship.

He also served as the organization’s president in 2002-2003, overseeing the association’s expansion into new quarters and the movment to revamp the World Finals format.

Welch, son of well-known trainer Buster Welch, is also a member of the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame.

Local cutter Chubby Turner, who nominated Welch to the Hall of Fame, said the new member was good for the NCHA.

“Greg was responsible for many new members by putting on free clinics,” Turner said. “He was a great ambassador for cutting. Greg loved children and never left a cutting before the youth class was over.”

Welch’s dedication to youth led to his name being added to the Greg and Whitney Welch Memorial Spportsmandhip Award following his death on July 4, 2004. The award was established in 2000 in honor of Welch’s daughter, Whitney, who was killed by a drunk driver in 1998.

Mowery, nominated for admission to the NCHA Hall of Fame by Jim Ware of Western Bloodstock, a cutting horse sales company, was cited for her work in improving the organization.

“Mrs. Mowery was an integral part of the NCHA staff during some critical times for the association,” Ware said. “She has tirelessly devoted a lifetime to the betterment of the NCHA. Her unrelenting devotion to cutting is to be admired and honored.”

Mowery’s husband Bill was a trainer, as are her sons Rick and Mike. Mike is also a former NCHA president.

“When I first started it was just part time,” Mowery said. “I think after one month it became full time.”

She is credited with organizing record keeping for NCHA events.

“We found the same horse under two or three different barn names,” she said. “That’s when we started verifyting with AQHA on registered Quarter Horses.”

She was also instrumental in formulating a handbook for new secretaries.

The five new Hall of Fame members were honored at a ceremony at Denver’s Inverness Hotel and Resort June 20.