Category: Members

During their first meeting of the year, the NRHA Board of Directors unanimously approved a new strategic plan to shape the association’s direction effectively over the next 3-5 years.

The last strategic plan, adopted in 2017, was highly successful and boasted years of all-time records for purses, entries, and nominations.

“We set a strategic goal of 125,000 [annual] worldwide entries within five years, and I am happy to share that not only did we meet that goal in 2022, but we have also now exceeded it with over 131,000 entries,” said NRHA President Mark Blake. “Instead of sitting around spending a lot of time asking ourselves, what’s next? We already know. This plan helps us accomplish that.”

The new plan, formulated with members of the board, staff, and committee members alongside facilitator Glenn Tecker of Tecker International, creates an envisioned future for the association, with clear goals and detailed objectives to help achieve those goals.

Four major benchmarks include reaching 18,000 members, increasing youth membership by 10%, achieving 175,000 total worldwide entries, and reaching nearly 2,000 professional members.

Additionally, NRHA will focus on four core values that will serve as cornerstones of the association: Leadership, Camaraderie, Integrity, and Respect.

A refined mission statement of “to promote the reining horse worldwide and advance the finest traditions of western horsemanship” will continue to serve as the backbone of the association.

“There is a renewed sense of energy when you have an incredible team who have all come together to tackle something like this strategic plan,” said Blake. “It’s incredible to see everyone ready to get to work.”

NRHA Commissioner Billy Smith highlighted the plan during his Annual General Membership address, stressing the importance of association alignment. “Nothing meaningful happens without a strategy that everyone can get behind. Hope is good, but it’s not a strategy,” stated Commissioner Smith.

The association alignment will allow the board to develop and accept committees’ specific priorities tied directly to the strategic plan. Committees will present recommendations to the board to achieve these priorities. “Our staff, committees, and board must all be pulling on the same rope, in the same direction,” added Smith.

Many of NRHA’s advisory committees reviewed and discussed the plan at length during last week’s Winter Meeting in Oklahoma City.

You can read more on the new strategic plan here.

The annual National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Winter Meeting concluded on February 6 following three days of productive meetings of the board, executive committee, Reining Horse Foundation Board of Directors, and various advisory committees.

After three consecutive years in Texas, the meeting relocated to Oklahoma City, a refreshing change that was well-received by those in attendance. For members unable to attend, links for various presentations have been conveniently provided in this article.

The general theme throughout the NRHA Winter Meeting was the overall current strength of the association while simultaneously looking to the future to build on the momentum.

The NRHA Board of Directors convened for two days of meetings, tackling typical business matters while also addressing new items.

Election procedures were updated to include slight changes in affiliate reallocations, which were unanimously approved. You can read more about the opportunities to run for a 2025 leadership position here.

An updated schedule for the 6666 NRHA Derby presented by Markel was approved, and it features a few member-friendly changes, which include moving the Para Reining Championship to take place following the NRHA Invitational Freestyle presented by OKC CVB as well as the addition of the Open Level 4 and Level 2 Maturity division to run concurrent with the second slate of Open ancillary classes on Monday, June 17.

Take a look at the full schedule here.

A recommendation from the NRHA Bylaw Committee was unanimously approved to add an additional Director-at-Large seat to the executive committee, which rounds out the group to seven. The NRHA Nominating/Governance Committee will meet to put forward a candidate to fill the position, which will help alleviate issues with filling leadership positions, specifically the role of Vice President, which has been difficult to find candidates for in recent years. Additionally, this will avoid having an even-numbered committee and bring the number of seats closer to the original eight that served on the Executive Committee prior to 2017.

The board of directors also approved a new code of ethics, elevating their leadership by holding themselves to a higher standard along the same lines expected of NRHA judges and stewards.

Chief Financial Officer John Foy delivered the association’s financial report, highlighting that the association is in its strongest financial position in history, that purse trajectory continues upward with the largest total purses awarded last year, that worldwide membership totals remain stable, and that NRHA’s media reach have grown exponentially. NRHA’s annual audit was completed without issue and has been available to the members on ReinerSuite since January. He emphasized to members that the reining industry is extremely strong and is experiencing continued growth through membership numbers and purses. You can review the full presentation here.

The Adequan^® North American Affiliate Champions (NAAC) conditions were approved, with a small update from the last three years. Based on member feedback, to compete at an Affiliate Regional Championship (ARC), a rider must show proof of membership to an affiliate within the region they are qualifying in at the time of entering. Proof of affiliate membership is the responsibility of the exhibitor and will be verified by the show office. Riders who score higher than a zero at an ARC are qualified for the NAAC on that class, on that specific horse. Read more here.

In addition to the meetings, the well-attended Futurity Judges Review provided an opportunity for members to discuss the NRHA judges program and to look back at runs from the 2023 6666 NRHA Derby presented by Markel and NRHA Futurity alongside members of the teaching panel. The panel shared video from additional camera angles to demonstrate how maneuvers can be viewed and marked differently from different vantage points.

The panel also showcased HorseIQ, the online equine learning platform that can be utilized whether you are an exhibitor tuning up your skills or a judge who needs a refresher. Check out HorseIQ here.

The Annual General Membership Meeting (AGM) was especially poignant as it marked President Mark Blake’s last in his official role and Billy Smith’s first as NRHA Commissioner.

Blake highlighted 2023 and the records broken- including over $24 million awarded (up from $23 million in 2023), over 9,046 Non-Pro members, and a Nomination Program foal crop of 3,203, breaking the record set the year prior.

A full statistical overview of 2023 can be downloaded here.

Commissioner Smith spoke about the recently approved strategic plan and the importance of association alignment moving forward. He also stressed the need to focus on strategic plan-based decision-making and to celebrate the association’s storied history. The association will refocus energy through this discipline to produce more creativity, simplicity, forward-thinking, accountability, and data-driven decision-making.

Various NRHA Advisory Committees then met to round out the Winter Meeting to tackle current projects and look ahead at ways to implement the new strategic plan. A full highlight of this approved plan will be announced in coming days at news.nrha.com.

Riders will surely see many new faces at the 2023 National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Futurity and Adequan® North American Affiliate Championships. One of those will be in the form of bronze as NRHA introduces the newest edition of the coveted Lawson Trophy.

Mehl Lawson, the original creator of the Lawson Trophy, is a world-renowned artist and a horse trainer, making him the obvious choice to create a new version of his depiction of reining. Lawson worked with photos sent by NRHA to update the look of the Lawson Trophy to reflect the current reining horse aesthetic and celebrate the sport’s progress.

“Our brand really means a lot to our members,” NRHA Commissioner Gary Carpenter said. “They’re passionate about what we do. That passion is what puts the fuel in our tank and keeps us moving. It has built and improved our horses as well as their training and breeding. That passion runs everything we do. I hope this new trophy is one more piece of that passion and meaning.”

Although the first NRHA bronze was awarded in 1969, Mehl created his first bronze for the association in 1979 and made updates in 1982 and 2004. After months of work and collaboration, the anticipation is high for members to see the newest version in the flesh.

“I hope people will think, ‘Holy cow, why didn’t we do this sooner?’” NRHA President Mark Blake said. “You can’t buy one of these trophies. They’re museum quality, and earning one is an honor all on its own.”

To learn more about the updated Lawson Trophy, read the article in the November issue of the Reiner Magazine.

As entries and added money are on the rise during summer horse shows and elite 3-year-old horses begin their futurity careers, the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) is eagerly looking ahead.

The NRHA Futurity Judges Final Selection Subcommittee met on August 2 to finalize the list of judges for the 2023 NRHA Futurity & Adequan^® North American Affiliate Championships (NAAC). The subcommittee unanimously voted to accept the following judges and alternates.

The non pro team in the Coliseum will include Bob Kail, Van Luse, Terry Thompson, Patrick Wickenheiser, and Buddy Fisher. The open team in the Coliseum will include Bub Poplin, Maik Bartmann, Kelly Sapp, Cathy Luse, and Mark Turner. Coliseum alternates include Ryan Kail, Rick Lemay, and Enrico Righetti.

The equipment judge will be Greg Darnall, with Tom McBeath as an alternate.

The Adequan^® arena judges will be Todd Arvidson, Mack Weaver, Ryan Kail, and Jan Hay, with Rick Weaver and Jan Dublin as alternates.

“I am so pleased with the selection of judges for the 2023 NRHA Futurity,” said NRHA Sr. Director of Education & Officials Patti Carter. “The judging process is crucial to ensuring fairness and accuracy in evaluating the performances of our great equine athletes and their riders. This is a top-shelf group of judges and monitors. Kudos to the judges committee for their commitment to excellence in judge selection.”

We look forward to a successful 2023 Futurity & Adequan^® NAAC.

The selection process for judges at each major NRHA event begins several months before the first horse even enters the pen. Here is how they are chosen for the NRHA Futurity and NRHA Derby:

• Each eligible judge is contacted for their availability for the event.
• All available judges are compiled into a list and sent to each member of the Judges Committee.
• Judges Committee members make selections from the list to fill the allotted slots for the event.
• These names are compiled into a shortlist and discussed on a conference call with all members of the Judges Committee. Nominations are allowed on this conference call.
• The committee members, except for the chair, then rank their choices, and each ranking equates to a certain number of points. The points are compiled and submitted to the committee chair.
• The committee chair reviews and makes recommendations based on the outcome of the vote and the needs of NRHA.
• The ranked list with the Judges Committee Chair recommendations is submitted for final selection.

This process is set in place to ensure that the Futurity and Derby will be well-judged competitions with the quality and professionalism of the selected judges.

For more information, visit NRHA.com/judges

The National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) held its annual August Board Meeting virtually on August 23. The efficient meeting reviewed event conditions and other committee initiatives, and the Board also heard updates from multiple departments.

NRHA Chief Financial Officer John Foy gave an extremely positive, in-depth financial overview of the association. Not only is NRHA in its strongest financial position to date and boasting stable membership numbers, but the industry is also experiencing the highest purses in history. Additionally, reining is experiencing more media coverage than ever, adding to the good positioning. An official budget for the fiscal year was unanimously approved.

Following the Board meeting, the Judges Committee presented a review of the 2023 6666 NRHA Derby presented by Markel. Each judge made 840 decisions during the Open Finals, 2,079 decisions during the Open go-round, 768 decisions during the non pro finals, and 2,051 decisions during the non pro go-round. Their dedication throughout the event showed impressive consistency and a wide use of the judging scale.

The following items were also discussed:

2024 NRHA Elections

Following the deadline for NRHA elections, three North American regions had only one candidate nominated. The board unanimously accepted the following candidates by acclamation for the 2024-2025 term: East Central, Margaret Fuchs; North Central, Mike Davis; and Northeast, Ed ‘Hoot’ Bricker. The remaining seats are up for election September 1-15, 2023; Director-at-Large: Paulus Beurskens and Sebastian Petroll; Northwest: Nicole Renick and Kylie Warn; South Central: Andrea Stillo and Brooke Wharton. Voting information is located at nrha.com/elections. Members will be emailed a link to the voting portal along with their information to log in to vote.

NRHA Dues and Fees Policy

In 2022, the Board approved a multi-year plan to proactively ensure member fees kept up with NRHA’s expenses of providing services to those members. Roughly, the plan set a path for small incremental increases in membership and competition license fees in 2023, 2025, and 2027. Additional fees were approved, including raising the medications fee at European events in an effort to address increased costs, as this fee has been the same for over a decade.

North American “AA” events and North American Affiliate Regional Championships will also see a medications fee increase to $35 to support increased testing and the overall program. Statistics from the past five years can be found online at nrha.com/welfare.

Additionally, there was support to enhance the fees and fines related to show approvals and results as NRHA nears the release of show approval and show results programs within ReinerSuite to improve the efficiency with which results will be available to riders, breeders, and owners, creating a more accurate picture of standings.

Eligibility Policy

The NRHA Worldwide Eligibility Policy for show year 1/1/2024–12/31/2024 was unanimously approved. The policy features Category 7 being counted toward Categories 1 & 5 eligibility and the addition of amateur eligibility as previously approved for 2024 implementation. The 2024 NRHA Mexican, Oceania, and Israeli Restricted Eligibility policies were also approved, which are all tracked and managed by each affiliate, not by ReinerSuite. Additionally, the 2024 NRHA Restricted European Eligibility Policy was approved. View all of the policies at nrha.com/eligibility.

2024 6666 NRHA Derby presented by Markel and NRHA North American Futurity Conditions

The Board approved conditions for both events, including fee schedules. The events will be held June 11–June 23, 2024, and November 26–December 7, 2024, respectively.

2024 Nomination Conditions

In February, the Board announced the official addition of a 4-year-old component to the North American nomination program to begin with 2023 foals. NRHA is proud to provide new and significant additional investment in the industry by committing $100,000 in added money for the next three years to elevate the 4-Year-Old Derby, grow the entire event, and add further value to horses. Approximately $285,000 in total added money based on a 3-year average of nominated weanlings will be provided to the purse once the 2023 foal crop is of derby age.

This is an exciting and unique opportunity for this specific group of horses as they progress in their show career from futurities to derbies. The support of this program will also draw more participation in the NRHA Derby, creating supplementary event success.

The existing North American weanling fee increase of $100 has been incorporated to supplement this program, which you can read more about here.