The National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) is eager to share the announcement of the Season 3 premiere of The Last Cowboy from Academy Award® nominee and “Yellowstone” co-creator Taylor Sheridan, returning on Friday, November 18th at 10 p.m. EST on CMT.
The Last Cowboy takes an inside glance into the lives of the NRHA Professional cowboys and cowgirls as they compete in the high-stakes sport of reining and gear up for the incomparable event, “The Run for a Million.”
The Run for a Million, presented by Teton Ridge, is the richest event in the history of reining. Sixteen riders, including some of the most accomplished NRHA Professionals in history, will compete for a purse of $1,000,000, with $500,000 awarded to the champion.
The upcoming season dives deep into the intense preparation and training riders experience as they elevate and preserve cowboy traditions in this challenging athletic event. Sixteen riders will test their mental, physical, and emotional strength.
This year’s NRHA professionals include:
Casey Deary Andrea Fappani Shawn Flarida Arno Honstetter Francesco Martinotti Jordan McBurney Sean McBurny Cade McCutcheon Matt Palmer Nathan Piper Fernando Salgado Craig Schmersal Josh Tishman Dany Tremblay Jason Vanlandingham Billy Williams
The inaugural Run for a Million in 2019 generated excitement that spread beyond the world of reining to all western performance horse disciplines. Learn more about this awe-inspiring event and get to know the NRHA riders better at nrha.com/the-run-for-a-million.
The late Wind Her Up Shiner posthumously joined the short but elite list of National Reining Horse Association Million Dollar Dams in 2022. The 1998 mare by Shining Spark out of Wind Her Up Doc was purchased by NRHA Million Dollar Rider José Vazquez as a 3-year-old through a series of events that look a lot like fate.
Wind Her Up Shiner lived in NRHA Professional Ed Fear’s barn, where Vazquez rode as a non pro. The mare was offered to him as a 2-year-old, but he passed her up because he already had all of the coming 3-year-olds that he wanted. A tragic incident changed that when one of Vazquez’s futurity prospects died suddenly. With a spot open for another youngster and the mare up for sale again, Vazquez sealed the deal.
“I ended up lucky one more time,” Vazquez said with a laugh. “When the spot for another 3-year-old opened up, I was lucky that she was the right one.”
As far as the mare’s show career goes, Vazquez says that she was great but laments that he didn’t do her justice as her showman. “Unfortunately, I was too green, myself, showing. I was a rookie. I had a guy come to me and say that I should send her to him to show, and she could win $100,000 or more. I joked with him that if I gave him my best horse, how could I be as good as I wanted to be? I wanted to beat Mandy [McCutcheon], you know?
“We were always joking around about her, and he said one day, ‘You know, with more earnings, her babies will be worth a lot of money, too.’ I said, ‘Will they ride different?’ He said, ‘No.’ I said, well then, I’ll keep the babies, too!”
This, he staunchly held true to, only selling the geldings and keeping and showing all of the mares. “I probably let her down as a producer, also,” Vazquez mused. “If I had put those horses in the right hands, we would probably be celebrating two million right now instead of one!
“I do feel bad for the mare, though,” He continued. “She had potential to win way more money than she did, but she put me on the right track to show. She taught me what it takes to win. I think it was bad for her that I kept her to show myself, but it was very good for me. She taught me a lot. She was an amazing mare.”
Despite Vazquez’s perceived shortcomings, Wind Her Up Shiner earned nearly $34,000 in her own show career, and as a producer, she certainly shined. Interestingly, the mare has only been bred to the late Smart Like Juice, an NRHA $4 Million Sire that was also owned by Vazquez. The magic pairing produced 25 living foals, and 24 of them are NRHA money earners thanks to Vazquez’s faith in the breeding. There is no doubt that Wind Her Up Shiner’s prepotency contributed much to Vazquez’s achievements as a $2 Million Owner (under Smart Like Juice, Inc.)
The first foal of the magic cross, SLJ Smartlikewhinny, suffered a major injury when her leg got caught in the round pen fence. A veterinarian said that she would never be shown; however, Vazquez saw to the filly’s rehabilitation and earned more than $53,000 on her. The twenty-fifth foal is currently two years old, and Vazquez looks forward to making the most of her show career when she comes of age to ensure the offspring of Smart Like Juice and Wind Her Up Shiner are 100% money earners.
Wind Her Up Shiner’s top five earners are:
Like Shiner – $187,483
Moonshine Juice – $122,366
Moonshine N Juice – $$113,776
Wound By Juice – $112,369
SLJ Corazon Valiente – $108,216
Vazquez thanked all of the trainers who have helped him over the years so that he and his horses could reach such notoriety, along with his NRHA family with whom, over the course of his 25 years in reining, he has had the opportunity to have a lot of fun and secure many friendships.
The National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) is excited to announce the invitation to members interested in becoming NRHA judges to join the Judges Applicant Seminar. This unique, once-a-year opportunity will take place March 15–16, 2023, at the NRHA office in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
NRHA Judges serve an essential role in the reining industry by providing their time and expertise when judging NRHA events, which drives the future of how reining horses are trained and presented.
“Consistent and fair judging promotes a healthy association, and it’s exciting to have new talent coming into the reining industry,” noted Patti Carter, NRHA’s Sr. Director of Education and Officials.
Those seeking to be an NRHA judge will have the opportunity to receive proper guidance in this exclusive applicant seminar as the first step in becoming an NRHA Judge. Seminar attendees must pass testing requirements, and once accomplished, they will be eligible to attend an NRHA Judging School. At this event, they will complete testing and be able to apply for their official card.
Requirements include being at least 25 years of age and must have been an NRHA member in good standing for 24 months prior to the date of application.
Aspiring attendees must submit the mentioned application by December 31, 2022.
To check to see if you meet the applicant criteria and to apply, visit nrha.com/judges.
The National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) has challenged its members over the last few years to grow the purse at the NRHA Futurity. Many members came forward to do just this, the most recent being Robert and Linda Rosenfeld from London, Ohio.
“My reason for sponsoring Level 1 Open is that NRHA has more than 14,000 members, and not everyone can participate in the higher levels due to the cost of horses at those levels or finding the right trainer that can compete at those levels,” says Bob. “We all pay the same entry fees, so I thought I would help richen the pot for those riders and owners in Level 1.”
Bob got into the sport back in 2000 because of his son’s love of horses, and now it has become a family affair with him and his wife, Lin, both riding and showing. They have 15+ horses, the majority at home in Ohio with their in-house trainer Bill McGuire and others with Brandon Brant and Shawn Flarida.
“When Bob called me to ask, ‘why does Level 1 Open Futurity not have a guaranteed payout?’ I explained we did not have a Futurity Challenge Sponsor for Level 1,” said NRHA President Rick Clark. “Bob immediately stepped up as a Challenge Sponsor, and all the money goes into the Level 1 Open Futurity. I am extremely grateful to Bob and Lin Rosenfeld for their Futurity Challenge Sponsorship. This will help to grow our reining industry even more.”
“The best thing about NRHA is the friendships that we have developed over the years,” says Bob. “Some of our very best friends have come through NRHA, and those friendships make it easy to want to help and contribute to a great sport and a great organization.”
To see the list of current NRHA Futurity Challenge Donors, visit nrhafuturity.com/sponsors, and to find out more about donating, contact NRHA Sr. Director of Corporate Relations, Christy Landwehr, at clandwehr@nrha.com
In early fall, the Stewards Committee of the National Reining Horse Association hosted the first two Online Steward Recertification programs. This change has meant that NRHA Stewards, who previously had to travel for recertification, can now conveniently do so online.
The idea to change the recertification process was initiated by the Stewards Committee Chair Ed “Hoot” Bricker.
“One of our main goals was to move some of our programs to an online format,” noted Patti Carter, NRHA Director of Education and Officials. “We are very proud of the online recertification program that was launched. As a team, we have effectively saved everyone time, money, and perhaps most importantly, everyone worldwide is receiving the same, updated information to service the NRHA membership and the entire reining industry.”
Carter gave special accolades to the three individuals who led the recertification course. “Ed (Hoot) Bricker, Van Luse, and Ann Salmon-Anderman did an outstanding job teaching the content while engaging the online participants,” she said. “Well done!”
NRHA Show Steward Walt Larson, who went through the program, agreed. “I thought it was excellent. It was a three-hour meeting, and the instructors really went through and highlighted things in the [rule] book that they’re looking for. I thought the time we spent in the meeting was very valuable. We were able to bounce ideas off each other and learn from everyone’s experiences,” he said.
Stewards who participated in the online recertification process were Ed Cridge, Alberto Ferara, Margaret Fuchs, Walter Larson, Marilyn Randall, Maura Moraglione, Mauro Fungo, Enrico Giaretta, Mark Guynn, Marlin Holroyd, Lyle Jackson, Careena Laney, Manuela Maiocchi, Shawn McClurg, Susan Moore, Christian Rammerstorfer, Christina Serra, Andrea Stillo, Alberto Villani, Larry Gleeson, Travis Chapman, Alessandro Fossa, Jamie Solberg, Eleonora Malerba, Giovanni Fano Pagani, Mauro Vittorelli, Sandy Jirkovsky, and Drake Johnson.
“I enjoyed the seminar and now have the tools to better perform in the field. The seminar was a truckload of information, guidance, and tools. I feel all of you have elevated the Stewards program to the next level of excellence,” noted NRHA Show Steward Larry Gleeson. “It certainly is my goal to meet these expectations as a representative of the Stewards program.”
Although recertification can be done online, anyone who is interested in becoming an NRHA Steward is still required to attend an in-person Steward Applicant school.
More information about the Stewards program can be found at NRHA.com/stewards or by contacting Carter at pcarter@nrha.com
