As entries and added money are on the rise during summer horse shows and elite 3-year-old horses begin their futurity careers, the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) is eagerly looking ahead.
The NRHA Futurity Judges Final Selection Subcommittee met on August 2 to finalize the list of judges for the 2023 NRHA Futurity & Adequan® North American Affiliate Championships (NAAC). The subcommittee unanimously voted to accept the following judges and alternates.
The non pro team in the Coliseum will include Bob Kail, Van Luse, Terry Thompson, Patrick Wickenheiser, and Buddy Fisher. The open team in the Coliseum will include Bub Poplin, Maik Bartmann, Kelly Sapp, Cathy Luse, and Mark Turner. Coliseum alternates include Ryan Kail, Rick Lemay, and Enrico Righetti.
The equipment judge will be Greg Darnall, with Tom McBeath as an alternate.
The Adequan® arena judges will be Todd Arvidson, Mack Weaver, Ryan Kail, and Jan Hay, with Rick Weaver and Jan Dublin as alternates.
“I am so pleased with the selection of judges for the 2023 NRHA Futurity,” said NRHA Sr. Director of Education & Officials Patti Carter. “The judging process is crucial to ensuring fairness and accuracy in evaluating the performances of our great equine athletes and their riders. This is a top-shelf group of judges and monitors. Kudos to the judges committee for their commitment to excellence in judge selection.”
We look forward to a successful 2023 Futurity & Adequan® NAAC.
The selection process for judges at each major NRHA event begins several months before the first horse even enters the pen. Here is how they are chosen for the NRHA Futurity and NRHA Derby:
- Each eligible judge is contacted for their availability for the event.
- All available judges are compiled into a list and sent to each member of the Judges Committee.
- Judges Committee members make selections from the list to fill the allotted slots for the event.
- These names are compiled into a shortlist and discussed on a conference call with all members of the Judges Committee. Nominations are allowed on this conference call.
- The committee members, except for the chair, then rank their choices, and each ranking equates to a certain number of points. The points are compiled and submitted to the committee chair.
- The committee chair reviews and makes recommendations based on the outcome of the vote and the needs of NRHA.
- The ranked list with the Judges Committee Chair recommendations is submitted for final selection.
This process is set in place to ensure that the Futurity and Derby will be well-judged competitions with the quality and professionalism of the selected judges.
For more information, visit NRHA.com/judges