Category: Partner

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.

The National Reining Horse Association welcomed a bevy of new partners in the 11^th hour of 2021, including Enjoy LLC, based out of Whitesboro, Texas. Owners Stefano and Elena Ronco of Italy partnered with longtime friend and NRHA Professional Francesco Martinotti to create the business.

“Enjoy LLC was created by Stefano and Elena, who have been clients and friends of mine for a long time,” Martinotti explained. “It is their dream to own and care for exceptional horses in the reining industry. They are passionate about every part of the industry, from breeding to the show pen and everything in between. It’s all about the horse for them!”

Martinotti and the Roncos’ relationship began many years ago in Italy. “They were my clients there, and were actually the first people to buy a horse from me when I was only 17 years old,” Martinotti recalled. “When I moved to the United States in 2016, they came to visit and said they wanted to start something here.”

One of the first horses purchased by Enjoy LLC was Smoking Trash, by NRHA Four Million Dollar Sire Gunnatrashya out of NRHA Million Dollar Dam Snip O Gun.

With Martinotti at the reins, Smoking Trash was a 2019 NRHA Futurity Level 4 Open Finalist and has made the finals at every major event since his career began. At the 2021 The Run For A Million presented by Teton Ridge, Martinotti guided the stallion through an impressive and flawless pattern in the $100,000 Shootout. That score qualified the pair for the 2022 The Run For A Million Invitational.

“We knew from day one that he was going to be special, and he has proven us right time after time. Each year he shows tremendous growth and strength in the show pen,” Martinotti said. Smoking Trash will stand for the 2022 breeding season at Foals-R-Us, also an NRHA Corporate Partner, in Whitesboro, Texas.

According to Martinotti, joining the NRHA Corporate Partner family served dual purposes. “We decided to become an NRHA Corporate Partner for a couple of reasons. The first was to introduce Smoking Trash as a stallion and promote him. The second is because NRHA has been very good to us, even as foreigners. To come here and grow this business is very hard, but NRHA has been great for me and the owners, so we wanted to be a bigger part of the association and help it grow,” Martinotti, Enjoy LLC’s head trainer, explained. 

Sammi Miller, NRHA Senior Director of Corporate Relations & Communications, said the Board of Directors and Staff of the Association were thrilled for this new partnership. “We at NRHA are excited to welcome Enjoy, LLC as a new corporate partner. We look forward to working with Francesco Martinotti, Stefano and Elena Ronco, and the rest of the team at Enjoy, LLC to heighten exposure of their program,” she said.

Follow Enjoy LLC, Smoking Trash, and Foals R Us on Facebook, or connect with Enjoy LLC at enjoyreining@gmail.com. Find information about breeding opportunities at Foals-R-Us.com or by emailing breeding@foals-r-us.com

Rooted in a shared appreciation for the reining horse and the sport of reining, the National Reining Horse Association and Tenda Horse Products have entered into a three-year Corporate Partnership agreement. Tenda Horse Products, based in Sandusky, Ohio, manufactures and distributes horse and pet care products, specializing in those formulated for the needs of equine athletes.

Tenda spokeswoman Allison Thorson, whose once-childhood hobby of Tennessee Walking Horse competition propelled the family’s business interests to expand into the equestrian world, is now also an avid NRHA competitor. “High quality care is a priority for our horses,“ Thorson explained. “In the reining discipline especially, we use Tenda products daily and that helps us ensure we’re providing top-of-the line care for our customers.”

NRHA President Rick Clark was thrilled with the news of the new Corporate Partnership. “On behalf of NRHA, I welcome Tenda Horse Products to the Corporate Partner family. We are honored that they have chosen to support us, and that support will help our association grow – not just at the Futurity, but at shows of all sizes. Our association is thriving, and there is no way we could do it without sponsors like Tenda Horse Products, as well as all of our Corporate Partner and Event Sponsors,” he shared.

Thorson echoed that sentiment, and added, “As advocates for NRHA’s mission of ‘promoting the reining horse worldwide, while celebrating and advancing the finest traditions of western horsemanship,’ we at Tenda are excited to be a part of the reining world and its exponential growth.”

As part of the partnership, the company is the official sponsor of the Tenda Drag Awards for the NRHA Futurity and Adequan® NAAC. The high scoring entry of each drag of the Open and Non Pro Futurity preliminary rounds receives Tenda Horse Products, which include Holistic Hoof Oil and Sheen Hair Polish & Detangler.

NRHA Senior Director of Corporate Relations and Communications Sammi Miller noted, “NRHA is proud to join with Tenda Horse Products in creating a sponsorship that promotes premium grooming products and care of our equine athletes.  Tenda’s increasing support of NRHA events is a benefit seen at every level. That’s what makes this partnership so special.”   

The Tenda Horse Products line includes nutritional supplements; leg, muscle, and hoof care products; poultice; healing salves; state-of-the-art wound and skin care products; topical aids; grooming products for horses and pets; and more.

Acquired in 2018, Tenda Horse Products is among several interests owned by the family, which include FarmPaint, ThorTurf arena footing, and EquiClear arena dust control solution. The latter three are produced by ThorWorks, the family’s global coatings manufacturing company. Horse power also extends to family-owned ThorSport Racing, the longest tenured NASCAR team in the sanctioning body’s truck series.

ABOUT TENDA HORSE PRODUCTS

Tenda Horse Products has been serving the performance horse industry for more than half a century, developing and manufacturing high quality products to promote and improve the overall health, soundness, performance and well-being of equine athletes. Tenda products include equine nutritional supplements; leg, muscle, hoof, wound, and skin care products; healing salves; and topical remedies; along with shampoos, conditioners and grooming products for horses and dogs. Tenda products are in use at show rings, race tracks, training facilities, and backyard barns across the country and around the world. For more information, visit TendaHorse.com.

The National Reining Horse Association is not responsible for the information contained in this press release. Please contact the author or submitting organization for further information, requests, or questions.

Frankfort, Kentucky’s Colston Paving, Inc., is the National Reining Horse Association’s newest Corporate Partner. Not only that, but this sponsorship helped create a new division at the NRHA Derby presented by Markel, the Non Pro Stakes.

The Non Pro Stakes, open to 4-year-old reiners, is an exceptional fit for the company, which is owned by Kevin and Amy Colston. Their son, Lane, is quickly rising in the ranks of Non Pro standings with more than $300,000 in lifetime earnings. The Colstons came onto the reining scene eight years ago following a 15-year hiatus from horses. “When my father passed, I was trying to run a construction company and didn’t have time for horses anymore, so we got out of it for a while,” Kevin shared. “When Lane expressed interest in showing, we decided to start again. Now we try to hit all the major events and show locally as much as we can.”

Kevin and Amy have been staunch supporters of their NRHA Affiliate, the Kentucky Reining Horse Association, and regularly sponsor events close to home. “We have always tried to support the KRHA and other events, and since we go to all the major events now, we believed we should support the NRHA at a national level,” Kevin explained.

That thought led to discussions with NRHA Commissioner Gary Carpenter and NRHA President Rick Clark. “I brought up the idea of Corporate Partnership about a year ago with Gary. I think he and Rick really wanted to find something that would be a good match for us, and the Non Pro Stakes is definitely that,” Kevin shared. “Up until now, the only Stakes we have been able to attend was at the High Roller, and we have always looked forward to that. I think the Stakes at the Derby will be great for everyone because our futurity horses will have had time to rest after the Futurity and will be ready to roll.”

Carpenter said, “From the start, I knew Kevin had a genuine interest in making a difference in our industry. He is doing this for the sport above all and is part of the growth that we are seeing. I believe we will see increased participation in the 4-year-old division. We appreciate his foresight and vision.”

The Colston Paving, Inc. Non Pro Stakes boasts an impressive $20,000 in added money. The Stakes will run concurrently with the NRHA Derby go-rounds, and while cross-entry into the NRHA Derby is allowed, it is not mandatory. Horses may be shown one-handed in any legal bridle, and the winner will be determined in the go-round.

For more information, about the Colston Paving, Inc. Non Pro Stakes, visit NRHADerby.com.