Category: Members

For Immediate Release – August 23, 2020 – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – The Reining Horse Foundation Board of Directors has elected Andrea Stillo of Pilot Point, Texas, to serve on the Board of Directors. Under RHF Bylaws, the recommendation was reviewed and approved by the NRHA Board of Directors at the August meeting.

Stillo is an NRHA judge and steward and competes in reining as an NRHA Non Pro, serving as chairman of the NRHA Non Pro Committee. He has professional and volunteer experience in the fields of law, business management and fundraising. He is recognized as a 2020 RHF Reiners Club Contributor and provided volunteer support for the 2019 Sliders’ Night Out benefiting RHF. He is married to NRHA Professional Mirjam Stillo.

“I intend to support the important role of the Foundation in our industry and help to continue the growth and development of its core,” Stillo said. With his election, the RHF Board has 19 members, one shy of the maximum allowed under the bylaws. Elections for the 2021 Board are set to be held in September 2020.

The RHF Board meets via conference call at least quarterly. There are working committees and subcommittees to advance the work of the Foundation and make recommendations to the Board. Under the Bylaws, the Board is split to serve rotating terms, with members elected to serve for terms of three years.

Generally speaking, directors are eligible to serve two consecutive full, three-year terms before retiring for a minimum of one year. Officers may continue to serve while on the Executive Committee.

If you have an interest in serving, contact Tim Anderson, RHF president, at rhf@nrha.com.

For Immediate Release – August 20, 2020 – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – The National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Board of Directors met via video conference to conduct association business. The agenda included 2021 rule change proposals, review of the proposed 2021 fees policy and a financial report among other items of business.

“I commend our Board members from around the globe and our staff team for adapting to global conditions and making this such a productive meeting,” said Mike Hancock, NRHA President. “We appreciate their dedication to leading our association under any conditions and value members who provide input and take an active role in NRHA.”

Hancock also thanked for their service Board members whose terms will end December 31: Peter DeFreitas, Southeast Regional Director, and Bub Poplin, Mountain Regional Director. This also marked the final full Board meeting led by President Hancock, who completes his two-year term December 31. A respected businessman from Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Hancock has been a lifelong reiner, respected for his historical and contemporary knowledge of the sport and NRHA.

Rule changes formed a large portion of business for the August meeting. Complete details are available in ReinerSuite, the web-based portal for NRHA members, where members can find association business under the Library menu heading. Rules will be published in the 2021 NRHA Handbook.

Action items included:

• Approving NRHA Board candidates by acclamation: Vice President Mark Blake, Director-At-Large John Tague; Southwest Regional Ginger Schmersal, Mountain Regional Director Drake Johnson, and Southeast Regional Director Karen Shedlauskas. All are to serve two-year terms that commence January 1, 2021
• Moving the deadline to fill remaining NRHA Board of Directors seats to October 1 to improve the timeliness of filling vacant executive committee seats and appointing committees for the following year
• Establishing two task forces: one to help identify additional opportunities to streamline NRHA programs and procedures and another to explore opportunities for international competition.
• Approving the 2021 fees policy, with a move toward more digital options
• Approving the 2021 worldwide eligibility policy with no changes from the 2020 policy
• Changing NRHyA officer elections to include a scored interview in addition to member votes
• Approving 2021 Adequan North American Affiliate Championship (NAAC) conditions
• Confirming the 2020 NRHA Futurity schedule
• Approving the 2021 NRHA Derby and Futurity conditions and 2021 Nomination conditions
• Adding judges to the officials list
• Approving the election of Andrea Stillo to the Reining Horse Foundation Board of Directors

Informational items covered included:

• Financial update from Chief Financial Officer John Foy
• Commissioner’s report from Gary Carpenter
• Reining Horse Foundation update
• Discussion of the 2021 NRHA Winter meeting
• Update on the Oceania Council
• Usage statistics for the new ReinerSuite member software
• Futurity Challenge update
• Corporate Partner update
• NRHA Reiner update

Look for continued communication about NRHA news in the NRHA Reiner magazine and at nrha.com.

For Immediate Release – June 29, 2020 – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – The National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) has added a new feature to its popular ReinerSuite™ member software with the debut of the Eligibility Checker. The handy feature appears on the member dashboard after logging in and allows for simple checking of a horse/rider/class/date combination. More detailed searches are available to check eligibility for worldwide events or those specific to Europe and Mexico.

“We are very happy to announce this new offering,” said Angie Honeywell, senior manager of ReinerSuite and Futurity Sales. “Member service is our top priority, and this tool is a way to offer eligibility information quickly and accurately. If members have questions about eligibility or using  ReinerSuite, please contact us at memberships@nrha.com.”

Eligibility for various levels of competition is determined for the beginning of each calendar year. NRHA exhibitors are responsible for verifying eligibility for each class they enter to make sure their placings and earnings count, and this new tool streamlines the process considerably.

“The response to ReinerSuite has been overwhelmingly positive,” said NRHA Commissioner Gary Carpenter. “We know this eligibility tool will provide added convenience for our members and is something they can use from any device connected to the internet.”

ReinerSuite was unveiled to NRHA members in late February 2020, providing advanced, online member services. The web-based software has innovated association records management for the equine industry.

Beginning with its August issue, the National Reining Horse Association’s Reiner magazine will have a new but familiar face at its helm. Kelsey Pecsek Hruska, former editor of Quarter Horse News, will bring her years of experience to the magazine.

“Moving into this new role as editor of the Reiner feels a lot like coming home,” Pecsek Hruska said. “The sport of reining ignited my passion for the Western performance horse world many years ago. I look forward to working closely with the industry’s players and with the NRHA to make the magazine the best it can be.”

There’s no question that the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have been far-reaching, changing the way business is done. As the NRHA continued to streamline its fiscal and staffing profile, an opportunity presented itself and resulted in a joint venture between the association and its longtime Corporate Partner Quarter Horse News. Morris Equine Group, parent company of Quarter Horse News, Western Horseman, and Barrel Horse News, will take over the production and publishing duties of Reiner magazine, with Pecsek Hruska as editor.

NRHA Commissioner Gary Carpenter said, “The goal of this transition is for NRHA members to have a magazine that they enjoy, share, and consider a true reflection of NRHA. Since NRHA and Quarter Horse News serve many of the same people, it is a logical fit. The Morris Equine Group staff has a strong familiarity both with reining and with the unique and specific needs of association publications, as they already publish the NCHA’s Cutting Horse Chatter and the NRCHA’s Reined Cow Horse News.”

Pecsek Hruska is looking forward to working with NRHA and creating content that features, entertains, and educates the association’s 15,000 members. “It’s an exciting time to be part of the reining community. Reconnecting with our friends during the NRHA Derby presented by Markel and watching some of the sport’s best horses compete for the biggest purse in Derby history has me and the rest of the staff at Morris Equine Group more enthusiastic than ever,” she said.

Carpenter is confident that Pecsek Hrushka and her group will be carrying on in important legacy, thanks to the dedication and commitment of the previous Reiner team. “I appreciate their hard work, professionalism, and devotion to their craft. A lot of behind-the-scenes hours went into developing this publication and they were always too busy working to take credit,” he said.

Morris Equine Group will also handle Reiner advertising sales, with Karen Barnhart (karen.barnhart@morris.com, 620-951-4026)  handling commercial and breeder accounts. Pecsek Hruska can be reached by phone at 817-569-7170  or by e-mail at reiner@nrha.com.

Have you ever read a Reiner article, wanted to refer back to it, but couldn’t remember which issue to find it in? Or struggled with a training or horsekeeping question and wished you had a search function for all your Reiner magazines? We have a solution!

We’re excited to launch the brand-new Reiner web presence found at reiner.nrha.com. Here you can find articles by section in the magazine—Member, Rider, Competitor, and Horsekeeper—as well as search topics and authors to find the information you need, when you need it. We’ll also be adding a blog, called The Rundown, where we’ll post timely, fun content generated by the Reiner team and outside resources.

Take a spin around reiner.nrha.com, and let us know what you think by emailing reiner@nrha.com. The site presently hosts the January, February, and March 2020 articles, but look for more in the weeks to come. We’re excited to offer you Reiner content—and more—at your fingertips wherever you might need it.