The Homecoming Reining Series: Does the name have a meaning?
When thinking of reining you may think of Texas first, but did you know that reining has deep roots in Ohio? The National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) was started and first registered in Ohio. Today, reining is one of the fastest growing horse sports, gaining attention from all over the world and earning new investors in the sport. Why? It is entertaining and exciting for even a non-horse enthusiast to watch. There are purses as high as a million dollars and even the popular new television show, Yellowstone, includes reining horses. More than that, though, people love the western lifestyle and family atmosphere of the shows. And once you ride a reining horse, it’s pretty hard not to be hooked!
How It Started
Before there was a club exclusive to reining horses, known today as the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA), reining enthusiasts used to show at open shows, jackpots, and state fairs. The state fairs were a really big deal and most of the reining horses were shown in several disciplines, such as halter, pleasure, cutting, barrels and, of course, reining classes. Every discipline and breed of horse was seen at the state fairs, which were then the lifeblood of showing horses. The quarter and stock horse shows were usually where you found a lot of the reining horses. In Ohio, there were three major shows put on by the Ohio Western Horse Association, including: Spring Horse Show, Midwest Horse Show and the Fall Round Up. The Fall Round Up is what we know today as the AllAmerican Quarter Horse Congress, which was first held in 1967, a year after NRHA formed. The first NRHA Futurity was held in Columbus, Ohio in 1966, continuing there until 1972, when it moved to Sedalia, Missouri. It was moved back to Columbus the following year to be part of the All-American Quarter Horse Congress. In 1994, the NRHA Futurity moved to Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, where it is now held at the end of November and first week of December. (source - NRHA Historical Archives)
It is important to mention a few of the people who influenced and supported the formation of the NRHA: Dale Wilkinson, brothers, Bill and Paul Horn, Dick Pieper, Stretch Bradley and son, Clark, Dr. James Glenn, his wife, Mickie, and Clayton Woosley. They all came from the Columbus area.
Photo courtsey of Rick Weaver: (L-R): Bill Horn, Sr., Dale Wilkinson, brothers Bill and Paul Horn
Dale Wilkinson, known as the “father of modern-day reining”, is among the original innovators in the sport and was the first inductee to NRHA’s Hall of Fame. Dale was born near Tiffin, Ohio, in 1925, the son of a farmer. On October 18, 1947, he married his wife, Lucy, and they had 3 children. Dale was gifted at empowering others, and instinctively knew who would be good at tasks in order to ‘get something going’ for the reiners. James and Mickie Glenn were his clients at the time, and with Dale’s direction, Mickie became a driving force in getting NRHA started. He gave Mickie the information and she did the footwork to help get NRHA up and going. What drove James’ and Mickie’s passion was their horse, Continental King. Mickie wanted him to be a cutting horse, but Dale thought he would make a better reining horse. Continental King was turned over to Dale’s assistant trainer, Bill Horn, to ride and train.
On October 30, 1965 there was an AQHA show, but it wasn’t just the show that caused all the excitement, but rather the reining jackpot class held afterwards! Carroll Brumley, the judge from earlier in the day, was asked to stay and ‘place’ the jackpot class for them. Carroll placed Continental King first, creating a lot of excitement, especially for owners, James and Mickie. They were absolutely thrilled about this jackpot winning! Mickie called Dale and said they needed to create something just for reining horses. Dale didn’t say much or get fired up, but did suggest, “why don’t you come up and we will talk about it?” Dale helped point Mickie in the right direction, suggesting who she should talk to. She contacted the president of the National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA), AQHA public relations, and other reining enthusiasts. The following year, 1966, the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) was born and first registered in Ohio, with Dr. James Glenn as its first president. But the NRHA didn’t stop there… even more momentum picked up for the association and, in 2000, the FEI (International Federation for Equestrian Sports) welcomed reining as its first western discipline. In 2002, reining debuted at the World Equestrian Games in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain.
Photo courtsey of Rick Weaver: (L-R): Bill Horn & Rick Weaver
Learn more about NRHA Milestones: https://nrha.com/milestones
Article written by: Elaina Eppinger, 2022 Ohio Equestrian Magazine
July 28, 2024
I hope you all enjoyed the history lesson of reining! I really enjoyed learning more about it from Rick Weaver, when I originally had the opportunity to write the article in 2022, in a mostly dominate English magazine! I've been involved in reining for about 8 years, which I consider a short time, if you are new to reining, I hope you will learn the history and preserve the heritage of reining. Clint and Tiffany Leonard, own Leonard Truck and Trailer, show reining horses have taken their time and money to put these shows on; a HUGE undertaking. The Homecoming Reining Series paired with the NRHA affiliate Tri-State Reining Horse Association, which is one of the ORIGINAL affiliates! How neat is that?! They are hosting three series in 2024, hoping to host shows in 2025 at Garwood Arena, Columbiana, Ohio. I won't be at the September show since we have our NE Affiliate Reining Show at the Dream Park held in New Jersey, however, I had a lot of fun taking the photos for May and July this year! I hope you all enjoy them!
Garwood Arena is one of the FASTEST growing arenas in the country, still adding onto their facility, boasting over 600 stalls and hosting events every week throughout the year in all disciplines.
Thank you everyone for your orders and support of Elaina Eppinger Photography! Below are a few of the 7,000 photos we took in July! Click on the link below to see more images!
Good luck the rest of the year!
~Elaina
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