Category: History

When standout athlete Patriot, ridden by Nathan Piper, claimed the 2022 The Run For A Million Championship, he became the highest money-earning horse in the history of the National Reining Horse Association.

But that’s not all. His win catapulted both his owners, Shannon and Hershel Reid, and his dam, Dunit A Lil Ruf, past the million-dollar mark.

Dunit A Lil Ruf was bred by Sandi Holt and was sold to NRHA Professional Ann Salmon-Anderman during her two-year-old year. With Anderman at the reins, Dunit A Lil Ruf won more than $32,000, including a Level 2 Open Championship at the 2013 Derby.

From the beginning, Dunit A Lil Ruf was a producer. Her first foal, Ruf Lil Magnum (Magnum Chic Dream), won more than $107,000. Ruf Lil Magnum won an American Quarter Horse Association World Championship in Senior Reining, a Level 3 Open Championship at the NRHA Derby, was an NRHA Futurity Finalist, and placed just outside the top 10 at the 2019 The Run For A Million Invitational.

The mare’s next four foals were winners, as well, averaging nearly $20,000 per horse.

Then came Patriot, sired by NRHA Eight Million Dollar Sire Smart Spook. An NRHA Futurity finalist, the colt hit his stride in his first Derby year, tying for the win of the 2019 National Reining Breeders Classic, then finishing third at the NRHA Derby before winning an AQHA Junior Reining World Championship to wrap up the year.

In 2020, Patriot continued to reign, finished second at the NRHA Derby, and placed well at other major events. In 2021, Patriot made his first appearance at TRFAM, finishing sixth. By the time the 2022 TRFAM came around, Patriot had already become one of the Association’s biggest money earners at more than $330,000. As the year nears its end, the 7-year-old stallion boasts earnings of $834,632, becoming not only Dun It A Lil Ruf’s highest earner but also the highest money-earning horse in NRHA history.

In November, NRHA Corporate Partner Teton Ridge purchased the blue-hen mare, who has continued to produce winners. In fact, Dunit A Lil Ruf’s first nine foals have all won money in NRHA events. The mare was honored for her achievement during the MS Diamonds TX L4 Open Finals at the NRHA Futurity.

Dunit A Lil Ruf’s top earners include:

• Patriot (Smart Spook) $834,632
• Ruf Lil Magnum (Magnum Chic Dream) $107,276
• Maximum Mag (Magnum Chic Dream) $54,031
• Dunit At Nite (Gunners Special Nite) $28,018
• Ruf Nite (Gunners Special Nite) $22,814
• Ruf Lil Joe (Lil Joe Cash) $21,665
• Ruf Up My Jersey (Yellow Jersey) $14,654
• Shine Ruf Shine (Shine Chic Shine) $5,529
• Ruf Lil Sixty Six (Inferno Sixty Six) $2,728

While in Oklahoma City for the NRHA Futurity, one of the Association’s most accomplished riders, Kelle Smith, passed away.

Kelle was fierce in everything she did, and that tenacity helped her win countless titles, including two NRHA Futurity Non Pro Championships. On Sunday, she competed on her horse, See Ya Seven, and advanced to yet another NRHA Futurity Finals.

“On behalf of NRHA Board of Directors and Staff, I extend our most sincere condolences to Kelle’s husband Sam, her loved ones, the members of their team, and her friends throughout the reining industry. This is a loss that has hit so many of us hard,” shared NRHA President Rick Clark, who’s known Sam and Kelle for nearly 30 years. “Kelle was a tremendous competitor, and I always thought a lot of her.”

He added, “We plan to recognize Kelle this weekend during one of the Finals, and we will share details once they are finalized.” Arrangements for a memorial service will be made in the coming days, and a memorial will be planned for mid-December so that her family and friends can attend.

Sam Smith designated the Reining Horse Foundation for gifts in Kelle’s memory. Donations can be made at reiningfoundation.com/kellesmith

We’ll share memorial information when we have details.

On Nov. 19, a pillar in the history of the National Reining Horse Association passed away. Richie Greenberg, 86, passed away peacefully in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Greenberg first became involved with reining in the 1970s, in the early years of the association, and boasted membership number 59. His accomplishments as a non pro were impressive, but his legacy truly lies with a breeding program that is still influencing the sport of reining a half-century later. He was recognized for his impact with induction to the Association’s Hall of Fame in 2000.

As an entrepreneur, Partner in Wexner-Greenberg Associates, and Owner of Mid-North Realty, Inc., he pursued his interests in real estate development, management, and design, Native American Indian History, Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Lyric Opera, downhill skiing, and was also a proponent of equine therapy programs for children with special needs.

Greenberg’s love of horses developed in his youth, and he got his first horse at only 12 years old. In 1972, he discovered Hollywood Jac 86, and the pair would make history together.

With “Jac,” Greenberg won his first bronze and his first saddle in 1974 at the All American Quarter Horse Congress, and that year won NRHA’s first Non Pro World Championship. They repeated both feats the following year, and it was the start of a run of six consecutive Non Pro World Championships, with 1976 won on Mr Nifty Bee, 177 Mr Ditto String, 1978 on Miss Doll Pine, and 1979 on Boggies Last.

He also won Non Pro World Championships in 1984 on Miss Yellow Jac and in 1992 on Darlene Dillon. In 1986 he took the Novice Horse Non Pro World Championship in 1986 with Hollywood Bandito.

In total, Richie won nine world championships, one reserve world title, three Non Pro Futurity championships, one reserve world title, three Non Pro Futurity reserve championships, two Non Pro Derby wins, two Superstakes Championships in the Non Pro and Limited Open, and one Superstakes Reserve Championship. At the time of his passing, Greenberg’s lifetime earnings finished just short of $200,000.

An avid businessman, he quickly became involved in the management side of the NRHA, serving on the Executive Board from 1975 to 1977, including a term as President. He was a staunch supporter of opening the NRHA to all breeds and is credited with helping establish the Non Pro divisions.

In the May 2000 Reiner, NRHA Hall of Famer and Three Million Dollar Rider Time McQuay shared, “Richie Greenberg can be credited with making the Non Pro division what it is today. He stayed involved throughout the ups and downs and had a large part in ensuring it was a solid organization.”

While Greenberg and Hollywood Jac 86 made their mark in the show pen, it was the stallion’s prepotency as a sire that ensured his name is still found in the lineage of top horses competing today.

In 1984, Greenberg and Sally Brown created The Jac Pac, centered around Hollywood Jac 86 and his son Mr Boggie Jac. In 1993, Hollywood Jac 86 became the first stallion to sire the earners of more than a million dollars in NRHA money alone, and that same year was inducted into the NRHA Hall of Fame.

No doubt his most well-known son is Six Million Dollar Sire and fellow Hall of Famer Hollywood Dun It. Hollywood Dun It is also the sire of NRHA Three Million Dollar Hollywoodstinseltown.

While both Greenberg and Jac are gone, the legacy they left in the reining industry will remain in perpetuity.

Memorial donations may be gifted to: “Equestrian Connection,” Equine Assisted Therapy, Not-for-Profit, 501(c)(3). equestrianconnection.org/donate.

A Memorial Service will be held Sunday, Dec. 18, 2022, at 11 a.m. at the Congregation Sukkat Shalom, 1001 Central Avenue, Wilmette, IL. 60091.

Fifteen years ago, NRHA Professional Jared Leclair accepted a raw-boned 2-year-old into training. With a royal pedigree and phenomenal confirmation, the colt showed outstanding promise as a performance prospect, but that is where Leclair’s plans for the colt ended. Even still, Leclair made a deal with the colt’s owner, Danny Dugan, and joined in a partnership for the ownership of Electric Code.

“You could just tell that he was special,’ Leclair explained. “He was a great mover, a huge stopper, and really good-minded. If you ride enough of these horses, the special ones stand out. It was pretty early in my career to show one of my own, but I knew I needed a horse like that to get me on the map.”

As the colt’s training progressed, he continually impressed his owners with his intelligence, athleticism, and willingness. “He was just a really cool horse to train,” Leclair said. “He was really strong and could handle pressure really well. He was obviously a show horse and enjoyed doing his job.”

Electric Code, by NRHA Three Million Dollar Sire Jacs Electric Spark out of Hot Coded Candy, went on to claim multiple futurity titles, including winning the 2008 NRHA Level 3 Open Futurity Championship and placing 3^rd in the level 4 with Leclair in the saddle. He was the #1 Reining Horse All Ages/All Divisions in 2008 and the highest-scoring stallion at the NRHA Open Futurity! The horse and rider team went on to win multiple major event championships during the stallion’s derby years, bolstering his lifetime earnings to more than $204,000.

Through an unfortunate turn of events, the L & D Partnership was dissolved, and Leclair retained ownership. He found himself deciding on the future of the promising young stallion alone. “A horse has to prove himself to be a stallion. There are a lot of them out there that shouldn’t be studs. Cody had to prove to us that he was capable to produce babies that people are going to want to go horse show, and he did that,” Leclair said.

Once Electric Code had done his part, Leclair felt the pressure to do the horse justice as a stallion. “I tried to pair him with really good mares and actively invited people to breed to him. I stood him with the McCutcheons because I believe they are the best at what they do. I put my customers on his offspring, and they would breed mares to him, too. I just tried to be as involved as I could possibly be,” he said.

Electric Code’s first foals became performers in 2011 and quickly made a name for their sire. The stallion produced 195 NRHA money earners that carried the stallion to the elite rank of NRHA Million Dollar Sire in 2022. His top five money earners are:

Coded N Karma out of Whiz N Snap – $78,347.44

Electro Star out of RG Miss Starlight – $70,011.09

Fille Code out of Smartest Sister – $56,641.55

Codalicious out of Custom Easy Breezy – $54,034.32

Darlins Cody Boy out of Darlins Not Painted – $47,219.34

Leclair thanked everyone who has supported him and Electric Code on this journey, including the McCutcheons, the owners, customers, and his friends. He also thanked his wife, Karla, for helping him get Cody to where he needed to be. Then he added, “I’m glad to be a part of it because I don’t think there are very many horse trainers who own Million Dollar Sires, so it’s pretty cool.”

In the fall of 2022, Arno Honstetter rode the talented mare Ms Dreamy, owned by Frederick Christen, to finish fifth place at The Run For A Million presented by Teton Ridge. The $60,000 prize – the second largest in the German native’s career, was enough to push him to the precipice of a major milestone – a million dollars in earnings.

Just two months later, the talented professional passed that marker and joined an elite group of million-dollar earners in the National Reining Horse Association.

“Reaching a million dollars in earnings hasn’t always been the goal. When I came over here in the beginning, I never thought I could be a million-dollar rider,” Honstetter admitted. “But when I started getting closer, maybe to a half-million in earnings, I thought maybe I could do it.”

He added, “So this accomplishment means a lot. It’s what I do all day long. I love to ride, train, and raise horses. I gave up everything in my home country to come over here to try to be a horse trainer, so it’s pretty special.”

Honstetter grew up in Liggeringen, Germany, in the southern part of the country in the Bodensee on the Lake of Konstanz. His family didn’t have horses, but he’d always wanted to ride one. His parents purchased his first horse when he was eight years old, and while he tried his legs in an English saddle at first, he soon set his sights on western disciplines.

He was introduced to cutting, and when he was 16 years old, his father began asking where he could send his son to learn more about training horses. That’s when he met National Reined Cow Horse Association Hall of Famer Ken Wold and spent several years working with Wold in the United States, honing his skills in multiple disciplines, including cutting, cow horse, and reining.

“I learned everything about training, showing, and breeding horses there. We did everything on that ranch,” Honstetter recalled. “Kenny, his wife Ramona, and his mom were like family. It was probably the best time of my life.”

After spending four years with the Wolds, Honstetter moved back to Germany. “I started showing, and Andrea Fappani saw me show. I can’t remember what year it was – maybe 2004. We had a big show over there, and all these guys from the United States came over. Andrea asked me if I wanted to come work for him, and long story short, I ended up being there for several years.”

Honstetter spent eight years total with Fappani, the NRHA’s All-Time Leading Rider, but he also took a year to ride with NRHA Million Dollar Rider Randy Paul, as well.

Eventually, he went out on his own for several years before accepting the position of head trainer for Brenda Joyce and Rick Christen’s Story Book Stables, located in Scottsdale, Arizona, in 2020.

“I thank Brenda and Rick for the opportunity they have given me, as well as all the owners over the years who have trusted me to ride such nice horses,” he said. “I thank Andrea Fappani, Randy Paul, and Ken Wold for what they’ve done for me, as well.”

Arno and his wife, Laura, welcomed daughter Tatum nine months ago. He added that he hopes to help Story Book Stables become even more successful in the future.

“My biggest goal is to train and raise nice horses and do a good job running the ranch. I want us to produce really nice horses here at the ranch more than just buying and training them,” he said.

Honstetter’s Top 10 Wins:

• 2011 NRHA Futurity Level 4 Open Reserve Champion – $113,176 – Show Me The Buckles
• 2022 The Run For A Million 5^th Place – $60,000 – Msdreamy
• 2013 NRHA Futurity Level 4 Open 5^th Place – $50,947 – Holier Then Thou
• 2010 NRHA Futurity Level 4 Open 5^th Place – $47,642 – Chicsdundreamin
• 2016 NRHA Futurity Level 3 Open Champion – $28,061 – Whizkey Chaser
• 2010 NRHA Futurity Level 4 Open Champion – $23,789 – Chicsdundreamin
• 2014 NRHA Derby Level 3 Open Champion – $22,302 – Colonels Splashy Gun
• 2021 High Roller Reining Classic 4-Year-Old States Reserve Champion – $18,534 – Electric Whizkey
• 2016 NRBC Level 4 Open 8^th Place – $16,625 – Gunners Special Glo
• 2015 NRHA Futurity Level 4 Open 14^th Place – $15,873 – See U Saturday Night

For more information about Arno Honstetter, visit ArnoHonstetter.com or StoryBookStables.com