First-time finalist Emma Martin got more than she hoped for when she rode Wasabi Spice (Smooth As A Cat x Sofie Rey), owned by Pam Keller of Mineral Point, Missouri, into the Kubota $2,000 Limited Rider Finals. The pair scored 217, earning $8,637.56 and the championship title.

“This is the first time I’ve ever shown [Wasabi Spice] and I like him a lot,” Martin, 20, said. “I’d loped him a lot and he is my favorite horse to lope! I was kind of hyped up; I don’t remember a lot about the finals. I remember my last cow and Trevor Bullock cheering for me, which made me really excited, and I was getting with it. My horse gave me everything he had.”

Martin was quick to thank her turnback help, Ashley Backstrom, Nate Miller, Andy Philo and her dad. The trip to Fort Worth was fun, she said.

“Meeting all the different people that I hadn’t talked to a lot was cool,” Martin said. “My mom and my dad have always done well [in Fort Worth] and I wanted to make the Finals just once. I had a lot of fun!”

This story was first published in the summer 2025 edition of Cutting Horse Chatter and has been printed with permission.