The cost of a number of memberships, licenses and a number of other National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) fees is going to go up next year.
The NRHA announced Wednesday it was increasing a number of fees effective Jan. 1, 2019. The decision to do so was made by the association’s Board of Directors.
Officials with the association said the fee increase, the first in 12 years, will allow the organization to continue to budget about $500 per member for programs and activities. It says that more than 70 percent of the budget goes to member programs, services and affiliate support.
“Although NRHA is built around one sport, we have a very diverse association with diverse needs. As a board, we strive to provide opportunity and recognition to all walks of our membership from youth reiners and para-reiners to nominators and aged event riders,” NRHA President Mike Deer said in a statement. “To meet ever-changing and ever-growing needs of our membership, the board has to carefully analyze our budget each year, and that includes fees updates from time to time.”
The new rates posted Wednesday include memberships, competition licenses, non-pro declaration, transfer, rushes, confirmation and subscription/postage rates for the Reiner.
Examples include general memberships, which will increase from $100 to $115. The NRHA Professionals fee will remain at $50, which is paid in addition to the general membership. A non-pro declaration will be $40 in 2019, up from $25 this year, according to rates posted on NRHA’s website.
A full listing of the new fees is available at NRHA.com. Click here for the full current listing of the current NRHA fees.
In its statement, the NRHA noted it is now supporting a number of programs it did not have when the previous fees were established. They include the North American Affiliate Regional Championships, NRHA European Futurity and Derby, the Nomination Program, the International Affiliate Program, Para-Reining and the Stewards Program.
Those programs were necessary additions to provide more opportunities to members and to improve the sport of reining, and have provided substantial growth to NRHA, it said.
The NRHA is not the only equine organization to raise fees recently.
The American Quarter Horse Association’s increased fees went into effect on Jan. 1, 2018.
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