On December 25, past National Reining Horse Association President Mike Deer passed peacefully in his sleep at 82 years old. The reining community feels the loss of Deer, who not only served the industry and participated for more than 20 years but was a true fan of the sport.
Prior to serving as NRHA President from 2017 to 2018, Deer served as a regional director for two years, on the executive committee for three years, was vice president of the Reining Horse Foundation, and served his local affiliate.
“Mike Deer joined the NRHA Board in 2008, the same year I did,” said Rick Clark, NRHA past president. “I worked with him many, many years, and my first term as president, he served as my vice president. I knew him personally and his wife Rita, and Mike was a strong vice president. He supported me in every way, and it meant a lot to me. We were great friends. He would ask for advice while he was president, we owned horses together, and took trips together.”
Deer and his wife Rita both participated in the show pen and bred reining horses. He took pride in representing the average member and the small breeders who impact the sport so greatly.
In addition to this NRHA experience, Deer was a Colorado Licensed Commercial Insurance Agent and Broker for a Ranch Real Estate Company covering most of the U.S. for more than 30 years. He and his wife Rita then moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, in 2018.
“Mike had such a passion for NRHA — running from the green reiner to the Level 4 Open and the masters classes. He just had a charming personality and was one of the finest, honorable individuals and truest friends I have ever known.”
Deer leaves behind his wife of 37 years, Rita, and his four children and seven grandchildren.
“Mike went through the ups and downs together, and it is a big loss for NRHA – but Mike lived life to the fullest,” said Clark. “I have a lot of respect for that man and learned a lot from him, and he served a lot of years for our association. He played a big part in where we are in the association today.”
Deer wrote in an NRHA Reiner article, “Grab your friends and neighbors, encourage them to buy a nice horse with slider plates, find a decent patch of dirt, and just say, ‘Whoa!’” May his legacy and joy for the reining industry continue.
Services will be held in Kansas on Saturday, May 6, at St. Ignatius Parish Hall, 816 Grant St., Neodesha, KS 66757. A service will follow in Glenwood Springs, CO, date yet to be determined.
Memorials can be sent to Mountain Valley Developmental Services, 700 Mt. Sopris Dr., Glenwood Springs, CO 81601. mtnvalley.org
During the 2022 National Reining Horse Association Futurity, Martin Larcombe was able to make the finish line to $1 Million NRHA earnings when he marked a 221.5 in the Level 3 Open Futurity finals aboard Vincent Van Whoa (Spooks Gotta Gun x FM Master Tag Chex), pocketing $40,375 for a Reserve Championship.
“You’re just thinking about riding your horses that you have, and you have a little bit of an idea if everything goes okay what they are capable of and just let things fall where they may. There is always the pressure of going and doing well, the earnings milestones are just that, it’s milestones along the way,” Larcombe shares. “You know, I don’t have a big barn full of horses, I tend to just try to concentrate on smaller numbers but better quality.”
Larcombe, a multiple world champion rider originally from Australia, is no stranger to the winner’s circle and certainly has earned his way into the million-dollar riders club. As a top contender inside the show pen himself with multiple world championships, not only in the United States but across the globe as well, he also takes on a huge responsibility to being an accomplished non pro coach in the industry. Larcombe was recognized and voted on by his peers to receive the 2021 Non Pro Coach of the Year award.
“I said to Sam [wife], you know, two or three years back, it’s [million-dollar mark] something that I really wanted. The joke always was once I get there, we’ll just go buy a house on the beach somewhere and retire,” Larcombe laughs. “But it looks like that’s not going to happen anytime soon, we’re still here, just business as usual. So, we’ll keep chugging along for a little while yet!”
When sharing who Martin would like to thank, he expresses, “My wife. We’ve been doing this for quite a while now, basically the better part of 30 years. She’s been there through the whole journey. That’s the main person I want to thank.”
With the beginning of his career competing in rodeos and quarter horse shows, Larcombe, along with his family, has progressed to finding success in the sport of reining. Larcombe, along with his sister, Shauna Larcombe, were part of the first Australian reining team to compete at the 2010 World Equestrian Games. Shauna also competed in the 2014 World Equestrian Games in Normandy, France. His daughter McKinnon is also a devoted reiner and competes in large shows such as the NRHA Derby in Oklahoma City, OK, alongside her dad.
Larcombe spent eight years training in Europe, managing the CS Ranch in Givrins, Switzerland, before moving to work at the CS Ranch in Gordonville, TX. In 2018, he and his wife moved his base to Rabboni Performance Horses in Whitesboro, TX, where his family now resides and trains.
Career Highlights:
2022 NRHA Professionals No. 19 Money Earner
2022 NRHA Futurity Level 3 Open Reserve Champion
2022 SWRHA Futurity Level 3 Open Champion
2021 NRHA Non Pro Coach of the Year
2014 NRHA Derby Level 4 Open Reserve Champion
2013 Southwest Reining Horse Association Futurity Level 4 Open Champion
2010 Reining Australia Derby Level 4 Open Champion
The 2022 National Reining Horse Association Futurity and Adequan® North American Affiliate Championships crowned new champions and helped add additional milestones to multiple riders’ careers. The 2021 NRHA Professional Horseman of the Year, Trevor Dare, passed the coveted $1 Million in earnings.
Just months after a coveted National Reining Breeders Classic (NRBC) Championship on Jerseys Baby Driver (Yellow Jersey x Wind Her Up Chic), owned by Janice Laney, Trevor continued to build on the momentum. Trevor made the million-dollar dream reality by placing sixth in the Level 4 Open Futurity onboard, Blame The Corona (Shiners Voodoo Dr x Corona Tag), owned by Courtney Brooke Battison, scoring a noteworthy 222.5. This performance would account for producing $57,078 towards the rider’s LTE.
“I just kept thinking, if I kept doing my job every day and doing the best quality work I could on my horses, then the million-dollar rider status would come,” shared Dare. “The million-dollar rider wasn’t something that I was counting down the dollars on. I did happen to look [at standings] about a month before the show [NRHA Futurity], so I had an idea that I was close,” he admitted.
Dare’s NRBC win not only earned this team from the Sooner state a $75,000 check but also helped gain traction for an incredible year-end accomplishment of becoming an NRHA Million Dollar Rider.
Jerseys Baby Driver and Dare are no strangers to the winners’ circle as they knocked out an impressive 226.5 winning run during the 2021 6666 Ranch NRHA Derby presented by Markel at State Fair Park in Oklahoma City, one of the most prestigious wins of his career and adding $75,000 towards his earnings.
When sharing who Trevor would thank, he expressed, “Obviously, my wife, because she runs our whole business and supports the lifestyle that we live. But you know, it’s all the team that’s around me. The clients that provide the horses for me to show and all the sponsors that help get us down the road and through the daily lifestyle. There are really too many people to thank.”
Formerly from Ohio, Dare started showing horses when he was 4 years old. He then transitioned to reining at 8, with influence from his immediate family of dedicated breeders and uncle, Hall of Fame member Rocky Dare. His first recorded win with NRHA was in 1996 as the winner of the All-American Quarter Horse Congress Youth 13 & Under class. Trevor Dare Reining Horses is now operating out of Silver Spurs Equine-Oklahoma located in Purcell, Oklahoma.
Career Highlights:
2022 NRHA Professionals No. 9 Money Earner
2022 National Reining Breeders Classic Level 4 Champion
In 2010, a flashy young colt burst onto the reining scene. By National Reining Horse Association Thirteen Million Dollar Sire Gunner, and out of Shining Little Peach (by Shining Spark), Colonels Shining Gun was poised to do great things. In early November, the stallion, affectionately known as Jojo, added another line to his resume when he became a Million Dollar Sire. While he’s now known for his prepotency, he proved his prowess in the show pen early on.
The stallion, bred by KC Performance Horses, was shown to a third-place finish at the 2010 Scottsdale Classic Futurity by All Time Leading Rider Andrea Fappani. Fappani and the colt then traveled to Oklahoma City for the NRHA Futurity, where they finished in the Top 10 of the Futurity Finals.
As fate would have it, reining enthusiast Katarzyna Roleska was in the stands during the first round of the Futurity, and Colonels Shining Gun immediately caught her eye.
“I saw him show in the first go of the Futurity with Andrea in the saddle, and I couldn’t stop thinking about him. He stole my heart,” Roleska recalled of watching Jojo show.
The very next year, Jojo was in his new home, Roleska Ranch, located less than an hour’s drive from Krakow, a southern Poland city. While Fappani continued to show Roleska’s horses in the United States, Jojo found success in Europe with a multitude of trainers, including Clint Ramsey, Million Dollar Rider Gennaro Lendi, Alessandro Frassa, and Million Dollar Rider Cira Baeck.
With Baeck at the reins, Jojo accumulated numerous wins, including the NRHA European Open Derby Championship. The pair was also on the Silver-medal winning team for Belgium at the 2014 World Equestrian Games in Normandy, and Baeck posted her highest score ever – a 231.5 – at the 2013 Reining International de Lyon.
Roleska eventually elected to move the stallion back to the United States, and he now stands at Brent and Paula Loseke’s Colt Company. “In the United States, he has the opportunity to breed more mares, and I know that Paula and Brent love him. What makes me proud is that his offspring in Europe contributed incredibly to him reaching the million-dollar mark,” she said.
Jojo’s first foals arrived in 2013 and began dominating on both continents. A prime example is his leading money earner, NF Shining Whiz, a 2015 mare out of Whowhizthispeppychic. The mare, bred by David Perneel, was shown initially by Baeck and took reserve honors at both the Italian Reining Horse Association Futurity and the European Futurity. In 2019, she was purchased by Tamarack Ranch and shown to numerous wins in the United States by NRHA Professional Gabe Hutchins. The talented mare has now earned more than $97,000.
“My goal is for him to be a healthy and happy horse. His foals will do the rest,” Roleska said.
Colonels Shining Gun’s top money earners are:
NF Shining Whiz (Whowhizthispeppychic) $97,937
Snips Shining Gun (Snip O Gun) $75,511
CSG Copshot (Finest Copyshot) $56,798
CSG Kenzo (Shiner Brimolena) $54,749
Copyride (Finest Copyshot) $51,225
CSG Wisemanfear (Tejana Chic) $49,940
Showgirl Shining Gun (Shes A Lil Showgirl) $46,262
“The timing of this accomplishment is really crazy. You know, we just lost Sam Rose last week, and he’s a big part of how we got us into all this,” said Hershel Reid, who, along with his wife, Shannon, recently became a National Reining Horse Association Million Dollar Owner.
The Reids had previously been team ropers, later moving to calf roping and reined cow horses. “Sam really taught us a lot about how to breed good horses and also how to really get one shown,” Reid shared. “He had an integral influence on our business, and we miss him a lot.”
Although the influence of the late National Reined Cow Horse Association Hall of Fame Inductee is undeniable, the Reids’ road to NRHA elites was aided by many horsemen, horsewomen, and horses.
It was through a horse named Lena Cat Jac in training with NRCHA Two Million Dollar Rider Todd Crawford that the Reids were first introduced to reining. Although the horse had never been shown in reining, Crawford made the Level 4 Futurity Finals on him, and the Reids were intrigued with the new event.
Shannon, a lifelong horse enthusiast, credits NRCHA Hall of Famer Ron Ralls and his wife, Patty, with teaching her true horsemanship. She said, “I still ride with them today. They are just amazing people that taught me the caring side and the horsemanship side of it. They are just good people who have had a lot of influence on my life.”
Eventually, NRHA Stefano Calcagnini came to the ranch and leased the training facilities and started training and showing the Reids’ horses. With him and their crossover cow horses, they attended their first NRHA Derby.
One day, the Reids heard of a horse that NRHA Million Dollar Rider Nathan Piper was selling. They bought the horse, and Shannon and Piper’s wife, Jean, hit it off right away. The seed of a new relationship had been planted.
Later, Nathan and Hershel found themselves attending the same Bible study group, and the two were quickly united by their love for the Lord, horses, and doing honorable business. “I had known [Nathan] for a few years, and we started putting a few colts in training with him. He is top-notch in integrity, and we prioritize integrity in our own business, so we feel really blessed to know him,” Hershel explained.
At this time, the Reids’ horse business had grown to huge proportions. Selah Performance Horses had become home to about 100 horses, mostly broodmares and foals, and the Reids were beginning to feel the pressure. Their need to downsize came to a head after a series of events, including the Calcagninis’ resignation, the death of a daughter, and a residence that was located too remotely from the ranch in Pilot Point, Texas. The Reids were actively cutting back when they received a call from their friend Nathan Piper.
Piper had been training a horse owned by Toyon Ranch that he knew would be great. When Toyon Ranch decided to sell the stallion, Piper hoped to find a buyer that would keep him in training with him. Jean urged him to contact the Reids, as they had been searching for the right breeding stallion for years.
“Nathan called us and said that he had a stud that we needed to look at,” Hershel said. “A lot of people don’t know this, but my wife has a natural eye for spotting a good horse, and she can do this across many disciplines: the rope horses, the cow horses, and even jumpers. My daughter shows jumpers, and Shannon can pick a good jumper, too. She passed that ability on to our daughter. I was hesitant to go look at this stud because we were trying to sell horses, not buy them, but since Nathan said we needed to look, we went and looked.”
The Reids arrived at Piper Performance Horses in Aubrey, Texas, late one evening to see the stud Piper had spoken of. Piper, always a stickler for the well-being of the horses in his care, told them that he had already worked the horse that morning and didn’t want to work him again. “He still didn’t know about the eye my wife had for a good horse,” Reid said of Piper. “She told him that all he needed to do was throw a saddle on him and trot him around a little, and that would be enough for her. He didn’t need to slide him or spin him for us at all. Boy, when he came out of the stall with that horse, we were asking where to sign!”
That stallion was none other than Patriot, who has since won the 2022 The Run For A Million Championship, the 2019 National Reining Breeders Classic Co-Championship, and the 2020 NRHA Derby Reserve Championship. He is by NRHA Eight Million Dollar Sire Smart Spook out of Dunit A Lil Ruf, who recently became an NRHA Million Dollar Dam.
Reid admitted he was more interested in his bird dogs and rope and cow horses than he was reining until that fateful day when he first saw Patriot. The charismatic sorrel stallion has earned more than $834,600 through his many accolades and helped boost the Reids to NRHA Million Dollar Owner Status. He currently stands at Brent and Paula Loseke’s Colt Company in Valley View, Texas.
The Reids thanked the many people they have met along the path to Million Dollar Owner status, including the Pipers, Crawford, Rose, the Ralls, Calcagnini, Toyon Ranch, and the Losekes for the care and hard work they put into Patriot. They also thanked their Office Manager, who keeps up with their endless paperwork, Joanne McDonald.
