This sport comes from the old days, when
cowboys worked cattle from horseback. Cutting was the way a cowboy separated one cow at a time
from the herd in order to work with it or catch it.
This sport is dominated by quarter horses and paints, who were originally bred to be all around
working horses for cowboys. Horses must be able to stop, switch directions, anticipate, spin,
and gallop from a halt.
Horses must also have 'cow sense', which is a broad term that means horses can effectively read
cattle and anticipate their movements. This sport is basically done by the horse - the rider
can not interfere or direct the horse while the horse works the cow.
The rider must basically keep their balance and allow the horse to work. Riders can be heavily
penalized or disqualified for directing the horse.
A horse and rider team is usually given a certain amount of time. In that time, they must approach
a herd of cows and separate one cow, which can either be a certain numbered cow or just a random
choice. This is where the horse's cow sense enters, as the cow will attempt to return to the herd by
darting left and right and trying to pass the horse. The horse must be able to read the cow and
jump in front of it, cutting off its escape route.
The horse must either keep the cow out of the herd a certain amount of time or make the cow perform
certain movements before it is allowed to return to the herd. They must repeat this for as many
cows as they can during the given time. Rides are scored by how quickly and effectively the horse
removed and kept the cow from the herd, and how many cows they worked during the time.
This sport comes from the old days, when
cowboys worked cattle from horseback. Cutting was the way a cowboy separated one cow at a time
from the herd in order to work with it or catch it. 
The rider must basically keep their balance and allow the horse to work. Riders can be heavily
penalized or disqualified for directing the horse.