This month, one lucky person will take home a piece of Reining History – a handmade quilt featuring autographs of the” Legends of NRHA”, every million dollar rider, most hall of famers, and international celebrities William Shatner and Lyle Lovett. This quilt is the brainchild of Carolyn Ray and Bobbie Parson, two avid reiners and quilters from Birmingham, Ala.

The quilt will be auctioned at the Smoky Mountain Reins Show in Murfreesboro, Tennessee Oct. 15, 2010. Proceeds will go to Camp Horizon, located in middle Tennessee, which offers camp experiences for youngsters with cancer and their siblings, and to sponsor a Prime Time Rookie class for the Tennessee Reining Horse Association (TNRHA). The TNRHA has been sponsoring Camp Horizon since 2006 through fundraising at shows and an annual silent auction.

Once Parsons and Ray had designed “Reining Stars” as they named this quilt, the squares headed West to the 2009 NRHA Futurity. Armed with quilt squares and permanent markers, the TNRHA contingent, including: Janet Rogers of Birmingham, Ala.,, John Wolford (TNRHA President), Julia Cowan (TNRHA Past President), Rick Walker, and Chris Sullivan descended on the Futurity in search of “Legends." Word quickly spread throughout the Futurity crowds and no explanation was needed when a Legend was presented with a quilt square and marker. Thanks to everyone’s tireless effort and a little help from NRHA judge Dave Belson, the quilt contains squares signed by “The Legends” of NRHA, and we would like to say "thank you" to All of the Million Dollar Riders, The Hall of Famers, celebrities, and everyone else who signed our quilt.  Wolford reported the he and Belson even joined Shatner’s entourage as they arrived for the Celebrity Slide and secured his signature on the run.

“I loved helping Bobbie and Carolyn with this project," Wolford said. "Gathering signatures for the quilt gave me an excuse to talk to these great riders that I have always admired. This quilt is a Who’s Who of reining. I wore out a pair of boot gathering all these signatures! And I would do it again.”

“We thought some of the squares might get lost or damaged, so we sent a few extra," Ray said. "Well everyone was so gung-ho that they got every single square signed – including the extras! Bobbie and I had to redesign the quilt to include a larger border, so that there would be room for all of the squares."

Once the signed squares arrived back in Alabama, Ray and Parsons went to work. The result was a true work of art. On display at the show in April, the quilt was always surrounded by a crowd of admirers trying to find all the signatures they could.

“The quilt has been received with great enthusiasm," Parsons said. "Reiners from all over the country were asking us questions about it."

It will be displayed again in August at the show in Harriman and at the October show in Murfreesboro, Tn.

You don’t have to attend the Smoky Mountain Reins Show to bid. You can email Bobbie Parsons at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and you will be assigned a proxy bidder. You can call John Wolford at (423) 502-3830 or email him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information.