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NRHA Professional Trainers
The sport of Reining is attracting riders of all ages and skill levels. Reining has set the equestrian world on fire with its thrilling maneuvers and excellence in horsemanship. Over 30 countries in the world have Reining Associations and hold competitions. The first international competiton was held in June, 2000 in Gladstone, New Jersey with teams from the US, Canada, Japan, Italy and Venezuela. The US team won the Gold, Canada the Silver and Italy the Bronze.
Reining began on the working cattle ranches, where a cowboy or vaquero used their horses to gather, move and hold cattle on the open range. These horses had to be athletic, quick and agile. They had to be extremely responsive to a very light rein. In years gone by, cowboys and vaqueros took pride in their hard working, well-trained horses. Challenges often arose as to who had the best horse. The most talented riders would put their horses through a series of stops and turns, letting the watching crowd determine which rider and horse were the best. These displays are the forerunners of today's reining competitions.
The NRHA offers approved shows in addition to its two premiere events; the NRHA Derby and the NRHA Futurity. The approved shows enable competitors at all levels to participate, learn and improve as they master the intricacies of one of the most exciting equine competition events.
The Affiliate Program assists the development of reining at the grassroots level. With the assistance of NRHA Corporate sponsorship, the NRHA contributes over $40,000 to participating Affiliate Championship programs. Each year every Affiliate may put together a circuit and send seven representatives from each class to the regional Eastern US, Central US, Mountain US, Western US, Eastern Canada, or Western Canada Affiliate Championship shows.
The main breed shows for Reining competitors are the Quarter Horse Shows, Paint Shows, and Appaloosa Shows along with Arabian Shows.
A competition approved by the FEI restricted to horses 6 years of age and older. Each counties National Affiliate to the FEI hosts these competitions in order to select individuals that will represent their country in competition such as, “The Masters Reining” or as a team for “The World Equestrian Games.”
National Reining Horse Association
www.NRHA.com
NRHA Affiliates List
American Quarter Horse Association
www.AQHA.com