Category: Members

With difficulties still being seen by show management teams due to COVID restrictions, NRHA has amended its approval deadlines for events to be considered as “Top Ten.” The first accommodation involved events from January 1 through May 31 and allowed them to be submitted up to 30 days prior to the start of the event. This extension is now available for all 2021 events.

Depending on the size of the event, these are typically due 90 or 60 days prior to its start. It is recommended that approvals be sent in according to typical deadlines if possible. This will allow events to be approved and listed online as soon as possible for members. However, NRHA hopes this later deadline accommodation will help those events that are struggling to secure dates and help members have more showing opportunities.

Summary:

• Any size event received 30 days prior to the start of the event will be considered a 2021 Top Ten event.

Approval requirements:

• Must be submitted with required information – retainage, fees, patterns, judges, general conditions (ex. ages and equipment) for aged events
• Membership for secretary must be current; not needing to be renewed

• If an event wishes to order trophies, NRHA needs the completed order with a form of payment no later than 45 days prior to the event.
  • On request, NRHA can wait until approximately 30 days out to order trophies. In this case, it is recommended to use a shipping address that is acceptable should the trophies arrive after the event. In most cases, this is not an issue and something we work hard to avoid, but if there is a spike in orders or other issues with shipping channels, this could create delays. NRHA cannot reimburse additional shipping expenses for any order placed less than 45 days prior to the event.
  • NRHA will continue to work with events that place an order, but later have to cancel.
• This will apply to any events submitted thus far for 2021.

ReinerSuite Event Calendar Tips for Members

To search for approved, tentative and pending events in ReinerSuite, click on the EVENTS tab on the left sidebar.

If you want to see all events for the year, simply enter 01/01/2021 in the Start Date field and hit SEARCH. This will give you a complete list!

Want to search by more detailed criteria, use the fields provided to narrow down your search by date, country, etc.

 

 

For Immediate Release – March 11, 2021 – Although a one-year anniversary is traditionally celebrated with gifts of paper, paper is just what the National Reining Horse Association’s phenomenally successful ReinerSuite has helped to reduce. That is because the online membership tool has already significantly lessened the need for printed forms and applications in its very first year of existence.

NRHA Commissioner Gary Carpenter was the driving force behind the creation of ReinerSuite, a program released in late February 2020. The web-based software was developed in concert with The Jockey Club Technology Services. TJCTS, a sister company to The Jockey Club, is a worldwide leader in the equine industry as far as technology and responsible for the custom system that powers Thoroughbred horse racing.

Looking back on last year’s successful rollout of ReinerSuite, Carpenter said. “We are proud of where we are today. In the next three to five years, we will look back and be amazed at the progress it has allowed us to make. We have a data-rich environment and there is so much information floating around that can be used more effectively for the good of our industry.”

ReinerSuite remains a work in progress as it continues with improvements and additions. Such was the case with the Eligibility Checker, which came four months after the release. “New features will be added as the NRHA staff and members use it and know what we need. Next will be offerings in the show program, but the whole process is continuous,” he added.

There will be new milestones to come, but a glitch-free rollout and a year of successful usage is something to celebrate!  Former NRHA President Mike Hancock said, “I believe this is one of the most significant projects in the history of the NRHA. It allows us to be more accurate, faster, and opens the door for more information at our fingertips.”

According to Angie Honeywell, NRHA Senior Manager of ReinerSuite and Futurity Sale, the association’s membership has overwhelmingly embraced the new technology. “Currently more than 73 percent of our members are using it,” Honeywell shared. “We continue to receive positive feedback about the convenience of being able to do tasks online, like renewing memberships, checking eligibility, and more.”

“ReinerSuite is loaded with features to help our members. They can use the Eligibility Checker, make nominations, access member reports and the calendar, and their membership card is available digitally,” she said. “All this is available to members 24/7. Memberships are effective immediately upon purchase, and competition licenses and transfers completed in ReinerSuite allow for a much quicker turnaround time, typically only a few days.”

The long-awaited technology has not only been a success for members but for show management and offices, as well. Kathy Gould, show secretary for the three largest NRHA-approved events, said, “During a show, people can use their phone to transfer a horse or update their memberships and get an immediate email confirmation, and using it saves them money as well. In the show office, we rely on it for eligibility verification.”

NRHA Professional Shannon Rafacz is an ardent fan of the program, and noted, “First and foremost, having everything online is super-efficient for me. Between the online memberships and the ability to do competition licenses ourselves, it has been a very helpful and simple process. Three or four clicks and it’s all done.”

Rafacz added that, although the program can seem imposing at first, help is only a phone call away. “Change is hard for anyone, for sure. But if we as members take time to learn how it works, it’s actually very simple. My advice is to just ask questions if you have them because the people at the NRHA have been great to help,” she said.

Honeywell added that one still under-utilized feature of ReinerSuite is the completion of competition license applications and license transfers. As user-friendly as the system is, additional learning materials like video tutorials, are being added so that members can benefit even more from what ReinerSuite has to offer.

To register for a ReinerSuite account, visit reinersuite.nrha.com. Questions can be submitted via email to memberships@NRHA.com.

Gone are the days of long, extenuating lists of member ineligibility lists thanks to an online, member portal: National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) ReinerSuite™. All it takes is an email address, NRHA member number, and PIN for reiners to gain access to their eligibility and that of their equine partners.

To check eligibility, members need to have an account with ReinerSuite. Click here for the three easy steps to registering with the online portal.

How to check eligibility on ReinerSuite:

1. Log into your account
2. On the main, Dashboard, page, the “Eligibility Tool” will be at the very top (pictured above). If you’re on a mobile device, scroll down until you see the tool.
   1. CLASS: Choose what class you would like to check your eligibility for
   2. RIDER: Input your name in the “Rider” search bar
   3. HORSE: You can also search for the eligibility of a horse, but a rider will need to be listed
      1. Pro tip: You don’t have to input a horse name to search for rider eligibility, but you do have to input a rider name to search for horse eligibility
   4. EVENT DATE: Since your eligibility remains the same from Jan. 1, 2021, through Dec. 31, 2021, you don’t need to include the exact event date. BUT you do need to make sure the event date is some time in 2021
   5. ELIGIBILITY AREA: Click the dropdown menu to choose your eligibility area or keep it listed as “WorldWide”
   6. After you’ve checked your information, click “Submit” or hit “Clear” if you need to start over

After hitting “Submit,” you’ll see a screen similar to this with either green or red to indicate the status of your eligibility. One unique feature of this tool is its ability to give you reasons why you might not be eligible for a certain class. If your membership is not active, you may see this listed as a reason. If this is the only reason, check back after your membership is renewed and you will see that you are eligible for the class.

If you are not eligible for the class selected, hit “Clear” and search your eligibility for a different level. In this case, NRHA Professional “John Doe” is not eligible for Category 2 – Level 3 Intermediate Open Aged Event (2200) because he’s in the Top 35 Pro Riders for the 2020 show season.

“John Doe” is, however, eligible for Category 2 – Level 4 Open Aged Event (2100). After hitting “Clear,” the Eligibility Tool will take you back to the previous screen and will not clear your information so all you have to do is change the class and submit again.

The Eligibility Tool also takes membership status and declarations into consideration when calculating your eligibility. Remember, all memberships (both horse owner and rider) need to be up-to-date before entering the show pen to avoid disqualification and penalty fees when the results are submitted to NRHA.

AS COVID remains a concern through the winter/spring months, NRHA will offer an extension of the deadline for all events starting now through May 31.

Parameters:

• Any size event received 30 days prior to the start of the event will be considered a Top Ten event.

Approval requirements:

• Must be submitted with required information – retainage, fees, patterns, judges, general conditions (ex. ages and equipment) for aged events.
• Membership for secretary must be current; not needing to be renewed.
• If you wish to order trophies, we need the completed order with a form of payment no later than 45 days prior to the event.
  • On request, we can wait until approximately 30 days out to order trophies. In this case, we recommend using a shipping address that is acceptable should the trophies arrive after the event. In most cases, this is not an issue and something we work hard to avoid, but if there is a spike in orders or other issues with shipping channels, this could create delays. NRHA cannot reimburse additional shipping expense for any order placed less than 45 days prior to the event.
  • We will continue to work with events that place an order, but later have to cancel.
• This will apply to any event submitted thus far for 2021.

Event Calendar Tips for ReinerSuite

To search for approved, tentative and pending events in ReinerSuite, click on the EVENTS tab on the left sidebar.

If you want to see all events for the year, simply enter 01/01/2021 in the Start Date field and hit SEARCH. This will give you a complete list.

If you want to search by more detailed criteria, use the fields provided to narrow down your search by date, country, “Only Top Ten Events,” etc.

Videos:

Nominating Online Part 1 (including how to nominate a horse that is not yet registered)
Nominating a Foal with Breed Papers

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Deadline Reminder:

• Nominations completed online must be completed and paid for by January 10 to be considered on time.
• For mailed nominations, since the deadline falls on a Sunday, any nominations received in the mail on Monday, January 11 will be considered received by the deadline. Sending via trackable mail is highly recommended.
• Nominations received between the first deadline and January 31 will be charged a late fee.

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How do I complete a nomination online?

Click on HORSES on the left-hand side of the ReinerSuite Dashboard, and then CREATE.

• If the HORSES link is not on your account, then your membership is inactive. You can renew by clicking on ACCOUNT and under Membership click RENEW. The HORSES link will appear once the membership has been paid!

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I do not have my breed registration papers back. Am I still able to nominate?

Yes! When completing the nomination online, select NOMINATE A HORSE, on the next screen select ADD REGISTRATION PAPERS AT A LATER TIME. This will put the name as pending and will not require the registration information.

• If that option is not available, return to the previous screen and make sure CREATE COMPETITION LICENSE is not selected.

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I entered a foal date and cannot correct it. What do I do?

Please continue with your nomination. When NRHA receives the breed papers, we can make the correction.

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I am receiving an error message to complete all pedigree fields.

• Be sure to click on the magnifying glass icon at the end of the text box to search for the horse. This icon appears where horse and member names can be added so that you can search for the correct one.

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I am receiving an error message to add a nomination, nomination date and nominator.

Be sure to click on the magnifying glass at the end of the text box to search for the nominator.

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I began my nomination but did not complete it and now the name says it has already been used.

• The in-progress nomination will be under your list of horses. To find it, click on HORSES on the left-hand side and then FINDER and MY HORSES. Select the horse and under Actions select RESTART HORSE WIZARD.