For Immediate Release – August 20, 2020 – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – The National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Board of Directors met via video conference to conduct association business. The agenda included 2021 rule change proposals, review of the proposed 2021 fees policy and a financial report among other items of business.
“I commend our Board members from around the globe and our staff team for adapting to global conditions and making this such a productive meeting,” said Mike Hancock, NRHA President. “We appreciate their dedication to leading our association under any conditions and value members who provide input and take an active role in NRHA.”
Hancock also thanked for their service Board members whose terms will end December 31: Peter DeFreitas, Southeast Regional Director, and Bub Poplin, Mountain Regional Director. This also marked the final full Board meeting led by President Hancock, who completes his two-year term December 31. A respected businessman from Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Hancock has been a lifelong reiner, respected for his historical and contemporary knowledge of the sport and NRHA.
Rule changes formed a large portion of business for the August meeting. Complete details are available in ReinerSuite, the web-based portal for NRHA members, where members can find association business under the Library menu heading. Rules will be published in the 2021 NRHA Handbook.
Action items included:
- Approving NRHA Board candidates by acclamation: Vice President Mark Blake, Director-At-Large John Tague; Southwest Regional Ginger Schmersal, Mountain Regional Director Drake Johnson, and Southeast Regional Director Karen Shedlauskas. All are to serve two-year terms that commence January 1, 2021
- Moving the deadline to fill remaining NRHA Board of Directors seats to October 1 to improve the timeliness of filling vacant executive committee seats and appointing committees for the following year
- Establishing two task forces: one to help identify additional opportunities to streamline NRHA programs and procedures and another to explore opportunities for international competition.
- Approving the 2021 fees policy, with a move toward more digital options
- Approving the 2021 worldwide eligibility policy with no changes from the 2020 policy
- Changing NRHyA officer elections to include a scored interview in addition to member votes
- Approving 2021 Adequan North American Affiliate Championship (NAAC) conditions
- Confirming the 2020 NRHA Futurity schedule
- Approving the 2021 NRHA Derby and Futurity conditions and 2021 Nomination conditions
- Adding judges to the officials list
- Approving the election of Andrea Stillo to the Reining Horse Foundation Board of Directors
Informational items covered included:
- Financial update from Chief Financial Officer John Foy
- Commissioner’s report from Gary Carpenter
- Reining Horse Foundation update
- Discussion of the 2021 NRHA Winter meeting
- Update on the Oceania Council
- Usage statistics for the new ReinerSuite member software
- Futurity Challenge update
- Corporate Partner update
- NRHA Reiner update
Look for continued communication about NRHA news in the NRHA Reiner magazine and at nrha.com.