Zaharia named to Cutting Horse Hall of Fame

With a little help from friends and relatives, Paige Ratkowski pulled a big surprise on her grandpa, Bill Zaharia.

The Zaharia family thought they were gathering Saturday morning at the National Cutting Horse Show at the Steele County Fairgrounds in Owatonna only to see Ratkowski, 9, win the Most Improved Rider award. Once she got the honor, the attention quickly turned to Zaharia. He was inducted into the Minnesota Cutting Horse Association Hall of Fame. He is only the fifth person to win the award since its inception in 2011.

“I knew my grandpa was getting an award,” said Ratkowski. “I was the bait to get him to come for the award.”
Though he’s been around horses pretty much his entire life, Zaharia has been involved with cutting horses for the past 20 years.

“It’s just wonderful, very humbling,” Zaharia said of being named to the Hall of Fame.

JP Bell of MCHA said Zaharia was chosen because he is a great competitor and displays excellent showmanship.

“We pick people that are sincere about growing the sport,” Bell said. “Bill is very instrumental in keeping it going,” he added.

Bell described Zaharia as having “a love and passion” for the sport of cutting. “He wants others to experience what he has,” Bell said, adding “we are darn lucky and blessed to have him.”

Inducting someone into the Hall of Fame, Bell said, is not something taken lightly by MCHA. “We are serious about the people who have our best interests,” he says.

Bell has noticed Zaharia’s generosity over the years. Bell has seen Zaharia give saddles to riders starting out on their journey. “He has unbelievable support of everybody,” he said.

Bell credits Zaharia for bringing the cutting horse show to Steele County for the past two years. MCHA will be back again next summer for three weekends, Bell said. “We are thankful for the venue we have in Steele County.”

Zaharia’s prized possession is Leonard, a 7-year-old horse he purchased from Texas. Last year he ran the horse in cutting shows 55 times and came away with 26 first place honors as well as fifth place at World Finals, which he considers the highlight of his performing career.

“He’s an exceptional horse,” said Zaharia, who is the owner of Owatonna Motor Company. “It’s the best horse I’ve ever had,” he added.

Zaharia has encountered a few setbacks over the past year. In addition to his horse nearly dying last year, Zaharia has been experiencing back problems forcing him to give up riding at least temporarily until he has surgery.

While at a show in Mississippi last fall, Zaharia got up one morning and couldn’t walk. It was mostly a morning episode where he was unable to walk for 15-20 minutes.

“I’m in a little bit of a vacuum and hoping to get back to it next year,” Zaharia said of riding. “I’m hoping my back will be put together, and I hope to dominate again.”

While he awaits surgery, Zaharia is diverting attention to his granddaughter. He works with her on his farm in eastern Steele County. Ratkowski often spends the weekend at the farm so she can be near the horses. They take care of them beginning at 5 a.m. She rides horses at least three times a week.

“I see a lot of my tendencies in the way she rides,” Zaharia said.

Ratkowski began riding was she was 2 years old. She has grown up watching her grandpa at the horse shows. “It’s fun and it gets to be competitive,” she said.

So far Ratkowski has competed in 10 shows. She said cutting is more difficult than barrel racing.

She is excited to see her grandfather inducted into the Hall of Fame.

“I’m glad grandpa got me into horses,” said Ratkowski, who will be in fourth grade at Washington Elementary School in Owatonna. “It’s just a really fun sport.”