Each year, NRHA members are given the opportunity to nominate and elect representatives to serve on the NRHA Executive Committee and Board of Directors. The final deadline to nominate candidates passed on August 2, so a complete slate of candidates now can be presented to the membership for consideration.
Votes in this year’s election (October 1 – November 1) will determine the names of:
- Two members to serve on the Executive Committee as a Director-At-Large
- One member per region to serve as a North American Regional Director (On a rotational basis, approximately half of the regions have this opportunity each year)
Eligible voting members will receive voting information via email prior to October 1.
DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE CANDIDATES
Each voting member will be given the opportunity to cast a vote for two Director-At-Large candidates. The candidate receiving the largest number of votes will have a two-year term, and the second-largest vote-getter will have a one-year term.
Four members were nominated by the NRHA Nominating / Governance Committee: Shane Brown, George King, Brian Welman and Joe Wolfe. An additional candidate, Tom McCutcheon, was nominated via the write-in process. Therefore, a total of five candidates are campaigning for member votes.
NORTH AMERICAN DIRECTOR CANDIDATES
North American Director elections will be held for the Northeast region featuring Kelly Hedges and Heather Powell. Only one candidate was nominated for the other four regions. Therefore, no elections will be held for these regions and these candidates will be elected by acclamation: East Central – Brett Walters, North Central – Larry Handley, Northwest – Jeanine Kern and South Central – Ann Salmon Anderman.
DIRECTOR-AT-LARGE CANDIDATE BIOGRAPHIES
Shane Brown • Elbert, Colo.
“As a member of many NRHA committees and positions, currently and in the past, I am excited to be considered for an NRHA Executive Committee position. I look forward to becoming even more involved in programs that help to grow NRHA from the grass roots level at the Affiliates to my ongoing dedication to the Professional and non pro members at the trainer/ breeder/owner level. I am an active, dedicated NRHA non pro coach so it is important to me to continue the upward track that NRHA has established, taking all members into consideration. I would be honored to be a participant and pledge to be an active, productive member of the NRHA Executive Committee to help NRHA meet its goals for 2018.” ~READ MORE~
George King • Idaho Falls, Idaho
“At the young age of 59, I have been a member of the NRHA for almost 30 years. I remember those early years when we gathered together at an outdoor arena in Montana for Dick Pieper clinics. In those days, a reining show only lasted one day. You would drive to the show in the morning and go home that evening (sometimes quite late). I’ve seen amazing growth in the NRHA and the reining horse industry; what an incredible journey it has been. You can see the results of our prosperity in that we now have 24 NRHA Million Dollar Riders, two of which are non pros; we have 36 NRHA Million Dollar Sires and several that have turned over nine million dollars. ~READ MORE~
Tom McCutcheon • Aubrey, Tex.
Tom McCutcheon is one of the reining industry’s leading riders with lifetime earnings exceeding $1.7 million. His accolades include winning a National Reining Breeders Classic Open Championship, two NRHA Derby Reserve Championships, a Tradition Open Futurity Championship, a Southwest Reining Horse Association Open Futurity Championship, multiple North Central Reining Horse Association Open Futurity Championships and earning multiple NRHA Open Futurity finalist positions. On the International stage, Tom is a two-time United States Equestrian Team Reining Championship winner. As a member of the 2002 USA Reining Team at the Federation Equestre Internationale World (FEI) Equestrian Games in Jerez, Spain, Tom helped Team USA bring home the Gold Medal. Along with the Team Gold, Tom…” ~READ MORE~
Brian Welman • Hastings, Minn.
“I have been an NRHA member for over 30 years and have been an NRHA Judge since 1990. I attended the University of Wisconsin – River Falls, and then I went on to work for a few of the NRHA Hall of Fame inducted trainers until I started my own training business Brian Welman Training Center in Minnesota. I have been an active board member of the North Central Reining Horse Association (NCRHA) from the beginning and I have been a president of the NCRHA. I have served on the NRHA Board of Directors in 2008 and 2011 through 2015, NRHA Judges Committee, Eligibility Committee and the NRHA Executive Committee since 2016. I am actively involved with all aspects of the reining horse industry.” ~READ MORE~
Joe Wolfe • Catlettsburg, Ky.
“I have been married to my wife Emmy for 46 years. We have two grown daughters and four grandchildren. We live in Catlettsburg, Kentucky where we have been involved with horses and, at times, cattle. I attended Morehead State University where I earned my bachelors and masters degrees in math. I worked for Blue Cross Blue Shield in Kentucky for 26 years in sales and sales management. I retired in December of 1999 and started my own small independent insurance agency in January of 2000 with my current partner George Arnold. My wife and I became involved with reining in the mid 1980s and became members of Ohio Valley Reining Horse Association (OVRHA) and NRHA at that time. Both of us continue to…” ~READ MORE~
NORTHEAST CANDIDATE BIOGRAPHIES
Kelly Hedges • Perrysburg, N.Y.
“I am 61-years-old and have been a professional in the equine industry for over 40 years. My wife Kim and I own and operate Hedges Reining Horses in western New York. I also own and operate Hedges Custom Carpentry which specializes in custom cabinetry and custom home interiors for over 30 years. I am currently the vice president of the Yankee Reining Horse Association (YRHA), and I am on the horse show committee, as well as the Bylaws Committee. I have been a judge for over 30 years. I hold cards with the National Snaffle Bit Association, Appaloosa Horse Club (ApHC) and NRHA. I have judged all the ApHC’s major events in The States, as well as the Aphc’s European Championship show three times. ~READ MORE~
Heather Powell • Chalfont, Penn.
“In 1989, we bought a horse that we thought did tricks. A few weeks later we saw Richie Fisher giving a reining demonstration at Belmont Park Horse Fair and the “penny dropped.” I was introduced to trainer J.C. Daudelin from Quebec and started to learn about reining, ably assisted by our mare “April.” It has been a passion for me and the horses and people have kept me actively involved in the sport as an exhibitor (when the trainers let me have my horses back!), owner, breeder, judge, show secretary and steward since my first show at Willowbrook also in 1989. I have served as a director for Eastern Pennsylvania Reining Horse Association (EPRHA) for eight years. The past two years as NRHA Northeast Director have…” ~READ MORE~
WANT MORE DETAILS ON THE ELECTIONS? Visit the NRHA Elections page!
Boasting an NRHA Lifetime Earnings (LTE) of more than $219,730, he has been just as successful in the show arena as in the breeding barn. Some of his major accomplishments include the 2007 NRHA Futurity Level 4 Open Reserve Champion and Level 3 Open Champion, 2008 NRHA Derby Level 4 Open finalist, 2008 American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) World Championship Show Junior Reining Top Ten, 2009 National Reining Breeders Classic (NRBC) Level 4 Open finalist, and 2010 NRBC Level 4 Open finalist, all with Marcy Ver Meer behind the reins. Tom McCutcheon piloted Gunners Special Nite to two Federation Equestre Internationale World Equestrian Games gold medals, with one in the team competition and one in the individual competition. Gunners Special Nite was also the 2010 United States Equestrian Federation Horse of the Year, making him the first western horse to receive this award.