NRHA Board of Directors Concludes Another Successful Meeting This Year

The National Reining Horse Association’s (NRHA) Executive Committee and Board of Directors converged together in Oklahoma City for two days to review committee recommendations and show conditions, as well as a variety of other items. This marked the third in person meeting held by both groups in 2017.“I continue to be tremendously proud of the Board of Directors, Executive Committee, and staff,” said NRHA President Mike Deer after the conclusion of the meeting. “The amount of hours, dedication and passion that each one of them pour into the association, day in and day out, to make the sport of reining the pinnacle of the western world is just astounding.”

NRHA Strategic Plan

In the Spring of 2017, more than 1,000 NRHA members participated in an electronic survey, and another group of members gave input via phone interviews. The results were shared with the board and an appointed planning group. After several months of work, their recommendations for a strategic, long-rang plan were presented to the board for their consideration. The NRHA Board of Directors approved the following Core Strategies to guide the association’s endeavors for the next several years. More background and details on these strategies will be shared in an upcoming issue of the NRHA Reiner magazine:

  • Respect the horse, respect the sport
  • Strengthen our affiliates
  • Improve member communications, education and satisfaction
  • Re-evaluate eligibility and purse structures
  • Explore alternative business models, partnerships and alliances 

2017 NRHA Derby:

Board members also were supplied with statistical information and an update from the 2017 NRHA Derby. Upon conclusion of the event, the following was reported:

  • The total payout of the 2017 NRHA Derby reached nearly $1 million ($996,911)
  • $94,434 to ancillary classes
  • $317,174 to the Non Pro Derby
  • $585,303 to the Open Derby
  • The Open Derby was the second largest since the inception of the Nomination Program
  • The Youth Derby and Non Pro Derby were the largest in the history of the event
  • Ancillary entries were up 17% from the previous year
    Preliminary results from the NRHA Derby exhibitor survey were also shared to the Board to assist with future planning.

NRHA Elections:

The group also received an update on the 2017 NRHA Elections. NRHA Board members voted unanimously to accept Brett Walters (East Central), Larry Handley (North Central), Jeanine Kern (Northwest), and Ann Salmon Anderman (South Central) by acclamation as North American Directors. They will serve a two-year term that starts January 1, 2018. Online elections for two Director-At-Large positions and for the Northeast Regional Director position are scheduled to open on October 1. Candidates are provided online at nrha.com/elections.

2018 Event Conditions:

2018 Futurity Conditions were approved with changes brought forward from the Aged Events Committee. Those changes included moving the first payment for 2018 Futurity to January 15, 2018. Conditions for the 2018 North American Affiliate Championships were also approved with no changes from the previous year.

2018 Fee Changes:

As NRHA continues to invest in its judges and judging program, a fee increase of $50 for renewing judges was approved. Starting in 2018, renewing judges will now pay $200 to attend the judges school. No changes were made to fees for recertifying judges. The last price increase for NRHA Judges Schools was seen in 2008.

In order to meet customers’ needs for speedy service, the 2018 Fees Policy was approved with the following additions:

  • Nomination 3-day rush (per horse) – $50
  • Same-day phone rush – Membership renewals (confirmation not included) – $25
  • Faxed or emailed confirmations for Nominations – $25 

2018 Eligibility Policy:

An updated eligibility policy from the Eligibility Committee was presented to the Board of Directors for approval. Changes for the 2018 show season were made to Category 1, 2, 6, and 10. The updated policy will be available online in the upcoming weeks.

2018 Rule Changes:

During the meeting, the Board of Directors approved refined and final language for 2018 rule change proposal 126-01-18 that was previously approved in May 2018. This rule states that “the act of a horse dropping to its knees or hocks” will result in a 5-point penalty.

Affiliate Regional Championships:

Two Affiliate Regional Championship (ARC) locations were up for bid at this meeting. After reviewing the recommendations by the Affiliate Committee, the Board of Directors unanimously approved Eastern Plains Reining Horse Association as the 2018/2019 host for the Mountain Region ARC and Great Western Reining Horse Association as the 2018-2022 host for the Northwest Region ARC.

NRHA Reiner Advertiser Guidelines:

The NRHA Executive Committee approved advertising guidelines for the NRHA Reiner magazine. These guidelines will be used when advertisements are submitted to the magazine and to determine if they are appropriate for the publication and its audience. These are the first set of written guidelines for the NRHA Reiner and come in response to member input regarding their expectations.

Other highlights from the meeting include:

  • 2017/2018 Budget Approval
  • Update from the Nomination/Payout Task Force
  • Update on the Animal Welfare and Medications Program
  • 2018 NRHA Winter Meeting tentative dates announced (February 7-11 in Oklahoma City)
  • Candidates for induction into the NRHA Hall of Fame and the Dale Wilkinson Lifetime Achievement Award
  • Discussion of European Nomination Program conditions and European Derby competition ages
  • Update from the Corporate Relations Department, Member & Show Services, and Reining Horse Foundation 

Minutes from all NRHA Board of Directors meetings can be found in the Members Only section of nrha.com. Minutes are posted online shortly after being approved by the body at their next meeting. In addition, the NRHA Corporate Record Book, Annual Audit Reports, and Financial Overview can be found in Members Only.