Category: Members

The National Reining Horse Association Winter Meetings held February 13-16 at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Denton, Texas, provided a venue for NRHA Board, staff, committee members and the membership to meet and discuss issues and to guide the Association’s direction going forward. Over the days of the meetings, the Board, Executive Committee and the Reining Horse Foundation Board, along with Aged Events, Eligibility, Professional’s, Judges, Non Pro, Stewards and Youth Committees all met in separate sessions as well as in the Annual General Membership Meeting.

In his comments at the February 15 Annual Meeting, NRHA President Rick Clark spoke about the growth of the NRHA and its events and shared his optimism about the future of the Association. He noted, “The Board, the Executive Committee, and NRHA Committees are all committed to making the NRHA the best it can be and I’m proud of the work they have done and how our industry has such a bright future ahead. Horses are selling well, the events are thriving, and this is a great time to be in the reining business!”

NRHA Commissioner Gary Carpenter agreed, and added, “The NRHA Board held a successful first meeting of the year. There was a lot of discussion, and some thoughtful and forward-thinking decisions were made. Our committees also convened, and I look forward to seeing the results of our hard-working and dedicated members who volunteer their time to the Association.”

A highlight of the meeting was the announcement of new Affiliates approved by the NRHA. The board and staff were glad to welcome the Sicily Reining Horse Association and the Western Canada Reining Horse Association along with recognizing the Israel Reining Horse Association as an NRHA National Association Affiliate.

In response to feedback from the membership, the Board created a working group to guide the process of planning a function to recognize the 2021 Top Ten achievers during the 2022 6666 Ranch NRHA Derby presented by Markel in Oklahoma City. Details will be announced as soon as they are available.

The following items were also discussed and amended:

Nomination Deadlines for Elections

Election procedures were simplified so that now there is one nomination deadline for both write-in and affiliate candidates, and that deadline will be 90 days prior to the start of the elections. For the 2023 elections, that will be a June 1 deadline. Additionally, write-in candidates for regional director positions must now obtain 25 endorsement signatures from members in good standing who are eligible to vote.

Show Results Correction Deadline

In the past, the length of time required for possible show results corrections has often made it very difficult to get eligibility information compiled in a timely manner. The deadline for show results corrections by members has been December 31. However, the large number of NRHA events that now take place in January mean members need their eligibility quicker, so it was necessary to push the deadline back to allow this. The new guidelines stipulate that members must contact NRHA with any possible show results corrections within eight weeks of the show results being published online, and no later than December 1 for events held after October 1.

Amateur Division Clarification and Extension of Trial Period

With two rule change proposals submitted for consideration in 2023, the trial period for the Amateur classification was extended from April 1, 2022, to December 31, 2023. NRHA events may apply to host an Amateur division during this time frame. There will continue to be only one level of Amateur and added money in the Amateur division cannot exceed half of the Level(L) 4 added money and also cannot exceed

the L1 added money.

New conditions were approved for Amateur eligibility as well. They were amended so that anyone who has NRHA lifetime earnings in excess of $100,000 in Categories 2, 6, 8 and 11 as of the previous year, or is currently eligible for L4 Non Pro only, or L4 and L3 only, will be excluded from competing in the Amateur division. Other eligibility and criteria were unchanged.

Bluetooth Headset or Electronic Communication Device Use

The use of Bluetooth headsets or electronic communication devices was previously allowed only in Para-Reining classes. Now, they can be used in any class other than category 2 and 6 aged events. Use in those events will result in a no score.

European Event Approval Deadlines

Responding to a request from the NRHA European Executive Board, the European Event Approval Deadlines for AA and A event have been changed to 180 days prior to the first day of the event. Additionally, one AA event will be allowed every three weeks, and A events will require two weeks in between or at least a distance of 1000km. The European Council felt this would allow them to organize the year’s events so the overall health of each event is maintained. This submission of major events well in advance will help provide to time adjust schedules for other events to allow exhibitors to plan their year accordingly.

Judging Unapproved Events

The definition of unapproved Events that NRHA Judges are allowed to judge was clarified by the Board to amend the following exceptions where NRHA judges may judge unapproved reining classes. Judges may now officiate unapproved classes with $1,000 added or less. Total added money for unapproved classes may not exceed $2,500 for the entire event. Changes were also made to the ratio of added money in affiliate level classes and National Federation classes when compared to the concurrent NRHA approved class. These unapproved classes can now offer up to 50% of the added money in the NRHA class.

Judges may still officiate unapproved beginner or green classes as well as Junior, Senior, Amateur and Youth breed association classes.

For a full summary of all NRHA rules and policies visit 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, and if that is the only reason, check back after your membership is renewed and you will see that you are eligible for the class.

You might find you are not eligible for the class selected, and if so, 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.

When Ten Thirty and Casey Deary claimed the 2021 National Reining Horse Association Open Futurity Championship, it was a dream come true for Brooke Wharton, who bred the colt by Gunnatrashya out of Dainty Little Step.

That win – and accompanying check for $350,000 – no doubt sparked dreams and aspirations for countless breeders around the world, and one of the first steps to that dream’s fruition is the NRHA Nomination program.

The opportunity to nominate weanling foals into the NRHA Nomination program at the lowest rate ends on January 10. These nominations must be received in the office by Monday, January 10, so the best way to ensure nominations are received by the deadline is to complete the process online through ReinerSuite.

The NRHA’s Nomination Program was created to grow its North American and European Futurities and Derbies to new heights through enhanced payouts. It has done that by allocating 60 percent of all the fees to the Futurities and 40 percent to the Derbies after a 10 percent retainage. Simply put, the enrollment of foals creates additional added money to the purses at the Futurities and Derbies which saw a 42% increase in the North American Open Futurity in the very first year.

Horses can be nominated to both the European and North American program or nominators may select one or the other. If only one is selected initially, the other can be added at a later date.

When a horse competes and wins money at one of the Futurities or Derbies, the nominator receives 5% of the earnings! It does not matter if the nominator still owns the horse or not. For example, at the 2021 NRHA Futurity, although Wharton had sold Ten Thirty during the 2019 NRHA Markel Futurity Sales, she still received $17,500 of the winner’s $350,000 purse.

Any horse can be nominated, and the original nominator can never be changed. NRHA Member and Show Services/Nomination Representative Emily Rush said, “We are so fortunate to have ReinerSuite available to us now because it really is the fastest and most economical way to nominate a horse. The $10 handling fee is waived when you do it online, and you receive an instant digital confirmation.”

When members log in to ReinerSuite, they can get guidance on how to complete nominations in the Resources Library.

Although NRHA staff is always available to help you with the online nomination process, they compiled a trouble-shooting page that can be found here.

The deadline for 2021 foals is approaching quickly! After January 10, the fees double until January 31, after which date the foal is considered a yearling and the fees adjust appropriately. Horses foaled in the Southern Hemisphere July 1^st through December 31^st will still be considered weanlings during the next calendar year. They will be considered yearlings during the subsequent year.

More information, including nomination forms, can be found at nrha.com/nomination.