craig schmersal Archives - Quarter Horse News

Blogs

Back to Reality

Hi All! We have had an exciting six months of learning how to be on the reality TV show “The Last Cowboy” while continuing to run our business. It has been challenging, at times, juggling the cameras and trying to get my job done training my horses. I will admit when I was one of […]

Reining Events

Million Dollar Invitational: It’s A Draw

The Run For A Million (TRFAM) Million Dollar Invitational was billed as the biggest event in the history of reining. The Las Vegas event, held Aug. 17, didn’t disappoint. Twelve of the most successful trainers in the sport were invited to compete for a $1 million payout, and they rode a roster of some of […]

Pale Taschka, a Warmblood Quarter Horse cross, jumping

Craig's Spin

Pale Taschka: Reining Stud Meets Warmblood

Hi all! Spring is on its way, finally! We had a cold, wet winter here in Arizona, with snow in Scottsdale! I’m glad we are back to the 70s with no rain. I have had a lot of inquires and comments about our experiment, Pale Taschka, so I’m going to tell you all about him. […]

Blogs

How I Start My 2-Year-Old Horses

Hi All! I hope you had a wonderful holiday. I enjoyed mine with lots of family and friends. For me, it’s a great time of year to reflect on the past and set goals for the future. As many of you are starting 2-year-olds, I thought I would touch on a few things I do […]

Current News

Trainer Craig Schmersal Hits $4 Million Mark

Craig Schmersal recently reached new heights in his reining career when the trainer from Scottsdale, Arizona, became the sport’s newest National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Four Million Dollar Rider.

Craig's Spin

Tips for Hauling Your Horses

With futurity season in full swing, I thought I would talk to you about what I do when hauling horses long distances to shows. First and foremost, all of my trucks and trailers get full inspections before we take road trips. This includes checking all the bearings and tires on everything. We run heavy-duty tires […]

Craig's Spin

Falling out of Lead

I get many questions about what to do if your horse falls out of lead in the circles. The root cause of this is generally that your horse is leaning out. He can be pushing out with his front end, his back end or both. The simple fix for this is teaching them to be […]

Craig's Spin

Time to Start Again

Hi All! It’s the time of year when we are breeding our mares in hopes of raising the next futurity champion. Finally, I can now say I have experienced it from start to finish! It has been a lifelong dream of mine to win the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Futurity Open, but winning it […]

Reining Events

Face The Attitude and Schmersal Crowned NRHA Futurity Level 4 Open Champions

The 2017 National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Futurity & Adequan® North American Affiliate Championship Show saw the highest scores of the week as the biggest stars shined in the Lucas Oil Level 4 Open finals on Saturday night in front of a full house. The Futurity Open also witnessed a new champion crowned: Craig Schmersal. […]

Craig's Spin

The Learning Process

Futurity season is well underway. I took my first set of 3-year-olds to Denver, where I showed them at the Rocky Mountain Reining Horse Association (RMRHA) Summer Slide. We had a great show, placing second and third in the finals. My third horse had an unfortunate costly penalty in the first go when he broke […]