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NRHA Announces Collegiate Reining Championship Competitors

73244692-fe02-4ca5-a646-d7e3478abf24The riders have been chosen for the NRHA Collegiate Reining Championship.The National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) will host the annual NRHA Collegiate Reining Championship during the 2016 NRHA Derby. 12 of the most notable collegiate riders will represent their association to compete for the slide of their lives: four riders selected by NRHA, four from the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association (IHSA), and four from the National Collegiate Equestrian Association (NCEA).

Holly Phillips took home the title of 2015 NRHA Collegiate Reining Championship aboard Olenas ChocolaChic donated by Maurice Robinson and Buchanan Performance Horses. Phillips from Fremont, Ohio, will defend her championship title this year representing the NRHA again alongside three other members.

Riders chosen to represent NRHA went to go through an application process to in order to compete. The riders chosen are Danielle Cohen from Stillwater, Okla., Blair McFarlin from Franklin, Tenn., and Kyndall Harper from St. Augustine, Fla.

Four riders chosen to represent IHSA from the 2015-2016 show season are: Leah Piper (Middle Tennessee State), Kelsey Wilson (West Texas A&M), Dylan Dombrowski (Cazenovia College), and Sarah Yu (Ohio State University).

The four riders selected to represent the NCEA from the 2015-2016 show season are as follows: Taylor Brown (Fresno State), Chantz Stewart (Texas Christian University), Hannah Jechow (Texas A&M), and Ebba Lange (Oklahoma State).

These 12 collegiate riders will experience the ultimate catch ride as they compete aboard horses donated by generous supports of the program. Riders will participate in a random draw before the event to decided which horse they will ride. A true testimony to the skill set of these competitors, they only have five minutes of warm up time before they walk down the gateway of champions and compete for the title of NRHA Collegiate Catch Ride Champion. Watch the live runs in real time thanks to Equine Promotions, official videographer of the 2016 NRHA Derby.

The ultimate catch ride competition will be on June 30, 2016 in the Jim Norick Coliseum in Oklahoma City, Okla., following the Open Derby first go, section two.  For more information on the competition or to have your horse participate, please contact Sara Jensen at [email protected].