Category: Partner

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.

 

The National Reining Horse Association has announced that longtime Corporate Partner, Bob’s Custom Saddles, will be expanding and increasing its sponsorship in 2021. Although details are still being worked out, the new aspects of this sponsorship will come to fruition at next year’s NRHA Futurity and Adequan® North American Affiliate Championships with the new Adequan® North American Affiliate Championship Shootouts.

“Bob’s Custom Saddles will become the presenting sponsor of three NAAC classes, each of which will have a preliminary round and a final, beginning at the 2021 NRHA Futurity and Adequan® NAAC. The top riders from each preliminary of those three NAAC classes will earn a chance to perform center stage in the Jim Norick Coliseum, where they’ll get to compete for even more money and prizes,” noted NRHA Senior Director of Corporate Relations and Communications Sammi Miller.

Bob’s Custom Saddles has been a staunch supporter of reining at all levels of competition, and this new sponsorship exemplifies its continuing commitment. The Intermediate Non Pro, Intermediate Open, and Rookie Level 2 are the classes that will become a part of this program.

“We are focusing on growth for the reining industry and for ways to attract new people and increase the longevity of the sport,” said Chris Weaver, Vice President of Bob’s Custom Saddles. “This sponsorship is based on not only growing the overall Reining Futurity but also growing the Reining industry.”

Miller added, “We thank the entire Bob’s Custom Saddles team for continually going above and beyond in their support of our industry and of NRHA.

More details of the NAAC Shootouts will be forthcoming.

For Immediate Release – November 27, 2020 – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – It was only a handful of years ago when Kalicia and Shane Walters got involved with reining, but in the time since, their Diamond Dub Ranch has become a household name in the industry. Now, the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) welcomes Diamond Dub Ranch as an NRHA Corporate Partner.

While relatively new to the reining scene, the Walters are veterans in the horse industry. Shane is an avid team roper, and he and Kalicia bred ranch versatility horses for several years. All it took, though, was some time spent watching reining for the couple to adjust their plans for the ranch.

“I owned a store called Cactus Lillys, and had a booth at the 2014 NRHA Futurity,” Kalicia recalled. “There was just something about the reining horses that was so finished and polished, and I knew I wanted one. I bought a non pro horse, and one thing led to another and we realized we wanted to be a part of reining.”

As their passion for reining evolved, so did the breeding program.

“We knew we wanted to focus on quality horses for our program, and one of our first purchases was the mare Electrinicki from Rhodes River Ranch,” she shared. “Then we purchased Pale Face Whiz from Jordan Larson, as well as a few others. We changed up our game tremendously, focusing on quality over quantity.”

The Walters are determined to leave a legacy of great reining horses for their children.

“We want this to be something our family does, and it’s important to us that reining continues to grow,” Kalicia said. “We were approached by John Tague from Toyon Ranch about helping with the Futurity Challenge. We donated to that, and then realized we could help more. We want to support and help grow this sport as much as we can.”

Sammi Miller, NRHA Senior Director of Corporate Relations and Communications, noted, “Kalicia and Shane Walters have jumped in with both feet, ready to help grow our sport through their commitment to the Futurity Challenge and now as Corporate Partners. NRHA is excited to welcome Diamond Dub Quarter Horses into the NRHA Corporate Partner family!”

Although Kalicia won’t be showing at this year’s Futurity, the event will still be special.
“Electrinicki has three foals in the show pen for the first time this year, and we’ll be there to support them,” she shared. “We’re planning to go be proud parents of them.”

With Dany Tremblay at the reins, the Walters’ stallion, Tinker With Dreams, was just crowned the 2020 American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) Senior Reining World Champion.

“Fred and Dany do their homework, and Rhodes River Ranch has helped us a bunch,” Kalicia said. “We are new so we’re not afraid to get other opinions, and then we can talk it out and make our own decisions. We get as much help as possible.”

Kalicia and Shane live in Marietta, Okla. Diamond Dub Quarter Horses is located on the former Washington Ranch, which was home to legendary cattleman Billy Washington. The ranch features 500 acres of lush pastures and is highlighted by an exceptional horse training and breeding facility. For more information about Diamond Dub Quarter Horses, visit their website at DiamondDubQH.com.