When Gina Schumacher and CS O Bingo marked a 220 to win The Invitational Non Pro Championship at the Kimes Ranch Tulsa Reining Classic, it was more than just a win. Not only did Schumacher collect the largest check of her career, she also unofficially became the National Reining Horse Association’s 38th Million Dollar Rider.

“It’s nice to have this kind of achievement, but it doesn’t change anything because I still have to learn, and I still have to work the same amount every day to keep up,” Schumacher said humbly.

Reaching the million-dollar mark was special, but doing so on CS O Bingo, a 3-year-old colt by Snip O Lution and out of Bingo Juicy, made it even more so. “We bred, raised, and trained him. He’s sired by our stud, Snip O Lution, and I know a lot of people don’t really recognize or remember him because he was over in Europe. He’s the sweetest thing ever, but every time he walked into the show pen, he was a machine. CS O Bingo’s dam was my first futurity horse, and my dad had bought her for me,” Schumacher shared. “It was really cool that I’ve shown and won on both the mom and dad and now the baby.”

Schumacher’s love of horses was likely passed down from her mother, NRHA Million Dollar Owner Corinna Schumacher. “Mom always had horses, so I just kind of followed along. I had a dressage pony and some Shetlands, but I always had little Western saddles to ride,” Gina recalled.

Corinna Schumacher established CS Ranch in Givrins, Switzerland, and it became the base of operations, home to about 25 reining horses and host to multiple prestigious reining events. Corinna’s recognition of the scope of the discipline in the United States led to the purchase of 460 acres in Gordonville, Texas, upon which she built a state-of-the-art facility. Completed in 2012, it is home to an impressive show string and 130 broodmares with NRHA $2 Million Rider Duane Latimer as the resident trainer.

“My mom and Duane are both a big part of my success. My mom because she has gotten the right horses for me, and Duane because he’s trained them,” she said. “There are too many people to thank individually for helping me get here, and I’m afraid to leave anyone out. I thank my family for sure and the whole crew – the people who are always there.”

Schumacher’s Top 10 Wins:

• 2021 The Invitational Level 4 Non Pro Champion – $65,000 – CS O Bingo
• 2021 NRHA Futurity Level 4 Non Pro Reserve Champion – $40,215 – Gunin Addy Tude
• 2020 NRHA Futurity Level 4 Non Pro 4^th Place – $23,329 – CS Tosmarttoberuff
• 2020 NRHA Futurity Level 4 Non Pro 5^th Place – $20,962 – Alpha Attraction
• 2022 NRBC Level 4 Non Pro Reserve Championship – $20,000 – Gunnastepya
• 2020 NRHA Futurity Level 4 Non Pro 6^th Place – $18,595 – Step N Past Ya
• 2018 IRHA Futurity 3 Year Old Level 4 Non Pro 3^rd Place – $15,080 – Colonels Danger Zone
• 2022 6666 Ranch NRHA Derby presented by Markel Level 4 Non Pro Reserve Championship – $13,616 – Gunnastepya
• 2019 High Roller Reining Classic Level 4 Non Pro Derby Championship – $13,536 – Alittlewhitetrash
• 2019 Elementa Masters Premiere Level 4 Non Pro Championship – $11,052 – Shine N Whiz

For more information about Gina Schumacher and CS Ranch, visit cs-ranch.com

The reining world said goodbye to one of its most successful broodmares on September 27, 2022, when Miss Tinseltown (Great Red Pine X Ms Holywood Showtime) passed.

Foaled in 1994, NRHA Hall of Fame mare Miss Tinseltown wasn’t just a superstar in the show pen. After earning more than $114,000 in her own career, she went on to produce 13 foals that contributed more than $793,600 to her produce record.

The sorrel mare’s offspring include NRHA $3 Million Sire Hollywoodstinseltown (by NRHA $5 Million Sire Hollywood Dun It) and Gunners Tinseltown (by NRHA All-Time Leading Sire Gunner), earner of more than $305,000 and producer of more than $457,800, both owned by NRHA Million Dollar Owners Dave and Bonnie Silva.

NRHA $3 Million Rider Tim McQuay rode Miss Tinseltown to most of her show pen success, which included a 1997 NRHA Futurity Top Five finish and a Reserve Championship at the 1998 National Reining Breeders Classic. The pair upped their game in 1999, winning the NRBC Level 4 Open Championship with an incredible score of 233.5, and that score would stand for years as the NRHA’s highest all-time marking. Next was a reserve finish in the 1999 NRHA Derby.

McQuay first laid eyes on Miss Tinseltown when she was shown by Benjamin Miller, assistant trainer for Larry Rose, at a horseshow in Lexington, Virginia. “He marked 75s across the board on her and never touched her face. She just went around and showed great for him,” McQuay recalled. “We bought her for Mandy [McCutcheon]. She rode her once, and [Miss Tinseltown] pulled her right out of the saddle, so I decided that I had better ride her for a little bit. That was the only time Mandy got to ride her!”

While the mare and her offspring were integral to the reining industry, she meant the world to McQuay. “That mare was great to me,” he said. “I loved her. She was a great mare. She was kind of tricky to put through a schooling pattern and take her around there and try to be easy with her, but when you put the hammer down and said, ‘Let’s go win some money,’ she always said, ‘Okay, let’s go!”

For Dave and Bonnie Silva, Miss Tinseltown, or “Tina,” as she was affectionately known, was a part of the family for 25 years. Dave said, “I give a special thank you to Tim and Colleen [McQuay] for selling her to us.”

Shawn Flarida, an icon in the National Reining Horse Association, recently passed a major career milestone. The charismatic trainer, who hails from Springfield, Ohio, became only the second NRHA member in history to pass more than $7,000,000 in lifetime earnings.

“Reaching this milestone, it means everything to me. It is an honor to be here,” Flarida shared. “When I was coming up, we never knew we would be running at this much money. It’s a great time to be a reining horse trainer.”

Known as much for his personable demeanor as his signature green show shirts, he took the time to acknowledge those who have helped him reach this latest milestone. “I thank my wife, Michelle. She’s been with me through thick and thin and was there when I hadn’t won anything. She helped me get to the top. I also thank my mom and dad and my kids,” he said. “The main parts, of course, are the horses and the owners. I don’t know which one comes first – probably the great owners who believed in me. Without them and their horses, none of this would be possible.”

Flarida’s father, Bill, was quite the horseman and passed a love of horses to his sons. Shawn’s older brother, Mike, was the first to see major event success in the show pen. Mike won two NRHA Open Futurity Championships; the first in 1993 on Custom Crome and the second with Whizard Jac in 1996. Mike was inducted into NRHA’s Hall of Fame in 2010.

Although he showed as a non pro throughout his school years, Shawn traded in his non pro card in the late 1980s and began his storied career.

He won his first All American Quarter Horse Congress Reining Futurity in 1994, and then, in 2002, won his first NRHA Futurity Championship on future Hall of Famer and $12 Million Dollar Sire Wimpys Little Step. Also in 2002, Flarida competed at the World Equestrian Games in Jerez, Spain, and won both Team and Individual Gold Medals on San Jo Freckles.

Flarida continued to rack up major event wins and then, with Hall of Fame mare and Million Dollar Dam Wimpys Little Chic, made history. Wimpys Little Chic, by Wimpys Little Step, became the first horse to follow up an NRHA Futurity Championship (2007) with an NRBC Championship and the NRHA Derby Championship (both in 2008).

Flarida became an NRHA Million Dollar Rider in 2003 and at the time was only the third person to reach that goal, just behind fellow Hall of Famers Tim McQuay and Bill Horn. Three years later, he became the second NRHA Two Million Dollar Rider (behind McQuay).

In 2008, Flarida became the Association’s first Three Million Dollar Rider, and in 2010, the first to reach Four Million. Five Million came around in 2013, and Six Million in 2017.

For 14 years, Flarida was NRHA’s all-time leading rider. While fellow Seven Million Dollar Rider Andrea Fappani took that position in 2020, Flarida still boasts a lead of more than $2 million in earnings over the next rider on the all-time earning list.

When he was inducted into NRHA’s Hall of Fame in 2011, Flarida said, “I’m honored. But I think it means more to me because of the people who are already in there. They are the reason that I am able to do what I love to do and earn a living doing it.”

Flarida’s Top 10 Highest Paying Wins:

• 2004 NRHA Futurity Level 4 Open Championship – Smart Spook – $175,000
• 2002 NRHA Futurity Level 4 Open Championship – Wimpys Little Step – $150,000
• 2013 NRHA Futurity Level 4 Open Reserve Championship – Tinseltown Fly Guy – $135,596
• 2014 NRHA Futurity Level 4 Open Championship – Shine N Spook – $132,635
• 2009 NRHA Futurity Level 4 Open Championship – Gunnatrashya – $125,000
• 2007 NRHA Futurity Level 4 Open Championship – Wimpys Little Chic – $125,000
• 2005 NRHA Futurity Level 4 Open Championship – KR Lil Conquistador – $125,000
• 2019 NRHA Futurity Level 4 Open Reserve Championship – Shine Colt Shine – $105,215
• 2016 NRHA Futurity Level 4 Open Reserve Championship – Whiz Gata Prize – $104,362
• 2021 The Run For A Million Invitational Reserve Championship – Spooks Gotta Spark – $90,000

The Count

Six Futurity Championships – 2002/Wimpys Little Step, 2004/Smart Spook, 2005/KR Lil Conquistador, 2007/Wimpys Little Chic, 2009/Gunnatrashya, 2014/Shine N Spook

Three Futurity Reserve Championships – 2013/Tinseltown Fly Guy, 2016/Whiz Gata Prize, 2019/Shine Colt Shine

Six Derby Championships – 2005/Smart Spook, 2007/Walla Walla Whiz, 2008/Wimpys Little Chic, 2009/RC Fancy Step, 2010/Gunnatrashya, 2012/Spooks Gotta Whiz

Four Derby Reserve Championships – 2000/Tivitos Sugar Bar, 2006/KR Lil Conquistador, 2011/Whizkey N Diamonds, 2011/Shine Chic Shine

Four NRBC Championships – 2006/Einsteins Revolution, 2008/Wimpys Little Chic, 2011/Shine Chic Shine, 2012/Spooks Gotta Whiz

Ten Congress Futurity Championships – 1994/Dun Its Easter Bunny, 2001/Sheza Great Bingo, 2002/Wimpys Little Step, 2005/KR Lil Conquistador, 2006/Senor Tejano Whiz, 2007/RC Fancy Step, 2008/Whizs Chic A Dee, 2009/Gunnatrashya, 2010/SDP Justice Is Comin, 2012/Yankee Gun

Note: Five of the top 10 all-time leading reining horses have been shown by Shawn Flarida.

3 – Wimpys Little Chic ($516,555)

5 – KR Lil Conquistador ($422,957)

6 – Smart Spook ($403,149)

7 – RC Fancy Step ($364,454)

9 – Einsteins Revolution ($352,720)

For more information about Shawn, visit his website at TheGreenShirt.com, or follow him on Facebook.