Category: Partner

Longtime National Reining Horse Association event sponsor Priefert has recently joined the Association’s impressive list of Corporate Partners.

It’s hard to picture the NRHA Futurity and 6666 Ranch NRHA Derby presented by Markel without the signature, high-quality Priefert panels and products that can be found around the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds. Priefert has been an Event Sponsor for the past several years, and the new Corporate Partnership will help to enhance the NRHA Award program.

Sammi Miller, NRHA Senior Director of Corporate Relations and Communications noted, “It is an honor to welcome Priefert as NRHA’s newest Corporate Partner. As a proud ‘Made in America’ manufacturer, Priefert has long supported the western and equine industries. We are thankful for Priefert’s commitment to NRHA and the sport of reining!”

Family-owned and operated since 1964, Priefert is one of the largest farm, ranch, and rodeo equipment manufacturers in the world. Priefert is recognized as having the highest quality equipment on the market and is proud to have its products used and endorsed by the top cattle, equine, rodeo and roping organizations in the country. Priefert offers horse owners practical solutions for creating a safe, functional environment for their valued animals.

Designed with the highest degree of consideration for safety of both the horse and the handler, Priefert products are proudly manufactured in Mt Pleasant, Texas. Behind its success is a workforce of almost 1,000 employees helping to create and ship a multitude of Priefert products to dealers all across the US and around the world.

Courtney Dyer, Priefert’s Director of Marketing, shared, “Priefert’s partnership with the NRHA felt like a natural fit given our shared mission of preserving and promoting the Western lifestyle. As a family-owned company, Priefert recognizes the shared values of integrity, faith, family, and leadership that both of our organizations hold dear. We look forward to serving the members of the NRHA and sharing with them how our products can help keep their equine partners safe, healthy, and happy.”

About Priefert

Priefert is considered the leading innovator in the livestock handling industry. Dedicated to developing and producing equipment that is safe and durable for both the animal and the operator. Starting with Marvin’s invention of the first side closing, gliding action headgate, Priefert has continued to lead the way by introducing the first contoured side squeeze chute, the first double pivot calf table, the first open-sided sweep, and the first full line of powder-coated products. Priefert maintains total quality control by designing and executing each part of the development and production of its products. Starting with raw steel, Priefert oversees each step of the process through to finished good, creating products that are pound for pound, dollar for dollar, the best value on the market. With a dealer network of over 1200 dealers around the world, Priefert is recognized as having the highest quality equipment on the market. For more information, visit priefert.com.

Raised in Italy, Lorenzo Lotti has always had a passion for horses, and over the years, he has transitioned that love into thriving businesses that are all equine-centered. Lotti, under the name of Foals-R-Us Reproduction Center and Stallion Station, recently joined the National Reining Horse Association Corporate Partner lineup.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Lorenzo Lotti and Foals R Us as an NRHA Corporate Partner, and we look forward to a successful partnership,” Rick Clark, NRHA President, noted. “Corporate Partners support our association and our industry in a way that is wonderful for the riders, owners, breeders, and everyone else who has committed their lives to this sport.”

A spontaneous trail ride when Lotti was just 10 years old in Italy sparked his drive to be around horses. “I haven’t been away from horses since then,” he shared. “From the age of 10 to 16, I helped every day after school in a barn close to home. From 16 to 18, I helped at Latorre Quarter Horses, and then at the end of 1998, I went to Texas to work for 50 days with (NRHA Million Dollar Rider) Craig Johnson.”

Two years later, Lotti went back to work for Johnson for three months, then began to train two-year-olds before starting work as a horseshoer assistant.

During that time, he met renowned reproductive veterinarian, Dr. David Hartman. “I got to be at the Hartman clinic pretty much daily, and I was always trying to stay longer than I needed and help if they were short-handed,” he recalled. “One day, Dr. Hartman told me, ‘If you ever need a job, just drive in and start.’”

When his boss decided to downsize his business, Lotti knew it was time to take Dr. Hartman up on that invitation. Fourteen years later, Dr. Hartman decided to retire. “He gave me the opportunity to purchase the Hartman Equine Reproduction Center, and I am excited that it is now the home of Foals-R-Us Reproduction Center & Stallion Station, the home of Pro Fit Equine and EQ Promo. I am finally able to run all my businesses under one roof.”

Lotti’s services include breeding, foaling, stallion management, semen freezing for domestic and export, on-site full-service embryo transfer, oocytes aspirations, ICSI transfers, sale fitting, sales, and more.

“I would never be where I am today if it weren’t for David. He helped me and did more for me than I can ever thank him enough for. I feel it is only right for me to take on and continue with the business,” Lotti said. “Thank you to all my past, current, and future clients for keeping me going forward.”

Learn more about Foals-R-Us, Pro Fit Equine by Lotti, and EQ Promo, visit foals-r-us.com. 

The National Reining Horse Association continues to thrive, and a major contributor to the association’s success is the support from Corporate Partners. Most recently, Teton Ridge, a wholly American-owned multi-platform brand dedicated to the American Western way of life, pledged its support to reining when it joined the NRHA Corporate Partner line up.

“The impact and promise of Teton Ridge’s influence can hardly be overstated. I believe it is an honor for NRHA to be part of this brand’s vision and future,” Gary Carpenter, NRHA Commissioner, said. “This is a paradigm-shifting development for all western horse sports, and we at NRHA look forward to years of partnership and prosperity.”

Teton Ridge has made a splash in the industry, not only through partnerships and acquisitions, but also in the show pen. At the 2021 NRHA Futurity, NRHA All Time Leading 7 Million Dollar Rider, Andrea Fappani, piloted Teton Ridge’s Winding Inferno (Inferno Sixty Six x Wind Her Up Chic) to the Level 4 Open Futurity Co-Reserve Championship.

In fact, Fappani is one of an elite group of riders who now represent Teton Ridge in the western performance horse industry as part of TEAM:TR. Joining Fappani is NRHA and National Reined Cow Horse Association Two Million Dollar Rider Todd Bergen, and NRCHA Million Dollar Rider Corey Cushing.

TEAM:TR also includes dynamic barrel racing champions Sherry Cervi, Lisa Lockhart, Brittany Pozzi-Tonozzi and Hailey Kinsel. The brand has also formed a Professional Bull Riders (PBR) team, the Arizona Ridge Riders. The new elite league features some of the world’s top bull riders and will begin games in June 2022. In addition to competing in the PBR Team Series, the Arizona Ridge Riders will host an annual bull riding event and western lifestyle festival in Glendale, Arizona to continue building on the excitement and enthusiasm for the sport.

In 2021, Teton Ridge acquired The American Rodeo, the iconic event of the rodeo circuit, to continue to expand the audiences for rodeo sports and make it the world’s premiere western culture event. The American is a beloved event in the world of rodeo, a true showcase for our nation’s most treasured way of life and the sports that grew out of western culture.

Over the course of qualifier events across the country, competitors vie for the biggest single-day paycheck of their careers. A true open competition in format, the iconic event brings together top professional rodeo athletes and honest, hardworking cowboys and cowgirls in a winner-take-all showdown, meant to crown the finest talent the world has to offer. The American Rodeo will be held on Sunday, March 6 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas and will also feature a live concert by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill.

Leading up to The American, INSP is broadcasting the world television premiere of Teton Ridge’s all-new action-packed, unscripted original series, “Guts and Glory.” The five-episode series will air on INSP every Sunday at 5 p.m. ET through Feb. 27. “Guts and Glory” chronicles twelve rodeo athletes hailing from the Midwest and beyond, as they arrive at TR9 Ranch in Weatherford, Texas to compete for the life-changing opportunity to compete for millions at The American alongside storied icons of the sport.

In addition to supporting the equine industry, the Teton Ridge Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Teton Ridge, has partnered with the NRHA’s Reining Horse Foundation, Sherry Cervi Youth Championships, Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund, Western Sports Foundation, and the Cowgirl Hall of Fame.

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Cinder Lakes Ranch has long been a supporter of not only reining, but the western performance horse industry as a whole. The facility, which focuses on reproduction and horse sale services, has been a National Reining Horse Association Corporate Partner in the past. In late 2021, Cinder Lakes Ranch once again joined NRHA’s Corporate Partner family.

“It is an honor for NRHA to join with Cinder Lakes Ranch on a corporate partnership level, once again! Thank you to Rick and Jade for continuing to support NRHA in service and sponsorship,” noted Sammi Miller, NRHA Senior Director of Corporate Relations and Communications.

Cinder Lakes Ranch, located in Whitesboro, Texas, is owned by Rick Ford and ran by Rick and his wife, Jade. “Our primary focus is stallions, and we are a full-service management company. We export all over the world, and cover every continent. I think the only major country we haven’t shipped to is China,” Ford explained. “We also do mare management, sale fitting, and just try to be full service for our clients.”

In fact, Cinder Lakes Ranch shipped more than 750 shipments of frozen and just under 3,000 shipments of cooled semen in 2021. “It’s kind of funny, we had a meeting with FedEx recently and have an in-person account manager that came to visit.” He laughed, and added, “Apparently we bumped up to a higher shipping bracket.”

Rick has been involved with horses his whole life, beginning with 4H. “I guess I’m kind of old school with how I got into it. My first trainer was Darren Stancik when I was a youth. I kind of wanted to do something a little more, and then my parents actually got the breeding part of it going. When we moved to Texas, I took that over,” he recalled.

The Cinder Lakes Ranch business model has evolved over the years. “In the beginning, when we were first a Corporate Partner, we were more of a private operation. Now that we’ve come back, we’re more of a commercial operation. That has allowed us to better service our customers,” Ford explained.

Cinder Lakes Ranch stands several heavy-hitting stallions from the reining, cow horse, and barrel racing industry, headlined by NRHA Two Million Dollar Sire Spooks Gotta Whiz, whose NRHA lifetime earnings exceed $346,000. Joining Spooks Gotta Whiz in the lineup are ARC Gunna Sparkya, PS Mega Shine Chic, Snip O Lution, Wimpys Littlecolonel, Hey Joe, Jacs Electric Spark, Reysin On The Rocks, Spatatino, What A Wave, and Shiners Voodoo. Other stallions in the lineup are A Dash Ta Streak, A Streak Of Fling, Al Cappone, Barue, Bullseye Bullion, Heavenly Firewater, Jets Smashin Cash, JKL Raynin Firewater, JL Dash Ta Heaven, and Tres Fortunes.

Learn more about Cinder Lakes Ranch, its services, and stallion line up at CinderLakesRanch.com.

At the urging of industry peers, White River Ag Products has joined the lineup of National Reining Horse Association Corporate Partners. White River Ag Products is owned by a trio of Vernon brothers: Richard, Todd, and Craig. Richard Vernon met Kevin Colston of NRHA Corporate Partner Colston Paving, and the two hit it off.

“Kevin asked me why we weren’t a Corporate Partner, and I said that I didn’t know enough about it and that I didn’t see anywhere it could benefit our businesses,” Richard explained. White River Ag is a grain and feed producer serving mostly Northern Wisconsin. He continued “After Kevin mentioned it to me, I discussed it with Frank Costantini [of Markel Insurance] who explained to me that there is much more to NRHA Corporate Partnership. Frank introduced me to Sammi [Miller], and that’s how it all went. My brothers and I had a sit-down and said, ‘let’s do it!’”

Miller, NRHA Sr. Director of Corporate Relations and Communications, said, “It is with joy that NRHA welcomes White River Ag as a new Corporate Partner. Richard Vernon’s solid attachment to our sport will make for a strong partnership. We look forward to growing with White River Ag!”

Led by their mother, Louise, a Western Saddle Clubs Association and 4-H judge, the Vernon brothers grew up showing pleasure horses and gaming, but once they discovered reining, they were hooked. Richard shared, “Larry Kasten introduced my brother, Todd, to reining when my kids were little. We followed his lead and fell in love with it. We like the competitiveness, and the way it is judged by points, but, mostly, we like the people. When you have a good ride, people cheer you on. They’re happy for you.”

Richard’s daughter, Allana Vernon-Michol, and daughter-in-law, Jenna Vernon, show reiners, as does Craig’s daughter and daughter-in-law, Paige Vernon-Zebzyck and Molly Vernon.

Through White River Ag Products, the Vernons now own more than 60 reining horses. “We have some with our resident trainers, Tanner and Christina Boyes. We also have some with Tom McCutcheon, Brian Welman, Dallas Cunningham, and Jeff Kasten,” Richard explained. “We put seven in the Futurity this year, and three made it back to the finals: one each with Tom, Tanner, and Christina. It was super exciting. We had a great year!”

The Vernons know that sponsorships are important. White River Ag Products has been a longtime supporter of their local North Central Affiliate shows including the derbies, futurities, and rookie shootouts. “We also sponsor some youth stuff, for the affiliate and for the club,” Richard added.

“I am looking forward to meeting more people and growing our network through this NRHA Corporate Partnership,” he said. “We are pretty excited about this sponsorship. I think it’s going to be fun, and I look forward to learning more about the industry.”

Located near the shores of Lake Superior, White River Ag Products is situated on 2500 acres of prime farmland where a wide variety of grains are harvested for energy and animal feeds. The business began in 2011 on 800 acres in Mason, Wisconsin, and was grown by the Vernon family to include a seed cleaning and packaging facility, complete equipment servicing shop, a machine storage building, straw storage facilities, and pellet mill factory, and a retail store. For more information about White River Ag Products, visit whiteriverag.com.