It’s now 2022 and sometime in the future, you’ll be attending your first National Reining Horse Association show of the year. Are you sure you have done everything to get ready? A little preparation can make the first trip to the horse show office super easy – but likewise showing up unprepared can define reining frustration!
According to Kathy Gould, who heads up the secretarial team at the NRHA Futurity and Derby, as well as the NRBC to name a few, show secretaries typically dread the first shows of the year. “It’s not that we don’t like to see all the smiling faces and find out what new horses may have moved into your barn but when your membership is expired or about to be and that new pony hasn’t been transferred into your name it becomes difficult. Plus, you will likely want to enter one of the breed classes as well and have no idea about your breed membership or those papers and transfer.
She laughs, “I understand that members like the NRHA’s 12-month membership and the reasoning for it, but I promise that’s not the mindset of ANY show secretaries.”
Shawn Martin agrees. Martin spearheads the show offices at the Brumley Management Events, as well as other major shows. She says, “People forget that their memberships might have expired when there is not a set date for them to be due. So many folks are surprised after it is pointed out to them when they show up to enter.”
Both agree that a good first piece of advice would be that IF YOU ARE 2 WEEKS OR LESS FROM GOING TO A SHOW- DO NOT MAIL ANYTHING INTO NRHA OR YOUR BREED ASSOCIATION. The average turnaround time is 2 weeks so don’t take the chance you might not have received your confirmations and documentation.
Kathy adds, “Unfortunately, we cannot believe everything everyone tells us. If you say you have a current membership and we let you show, not only do you get fined, but we do too!”
The best advice for NRHA compliance is to use ReinerSuite! It is the most state-of-the-art online system in the performance horse world. If you are not familiar with ReinerSuite, get your information together and sit down with it. Learning is easier than you think. There is a simple user guide, with good, old-fashioned step-by-step instructions and video tutorials as well, so whatever your preference of learning is, you can do it!
Other great advice: When you have finished your business, email the documentation and certificates to yourself. Then take a screenshot of each and make a folder on your phone with ALL your membership cards and horses papers and comp licenses. It will be right there easy to find, and the office representative does not have to wait while you look for them.
If you are confused about what you need for the breed associations, call and have someone walk you through whatever is required for showing. You can go online as well, especially for memberships or for transfers.
Some events will let you complete your memberships and NRHA transfers at the show, but you will be paying an additional $10 processing fee for anything NOT done digitally (as with ReinerSuite). Other shows do not accept the paperwork and you will need to use ReinerSuite at the show anyway.
If you do not have everything set up it can be frustrating. So preparation (and knowing what you will need) will help you avoid annoyance.
It is important for new people who come into the industry to understand that many shows use the same show program, but they all keep separate databases. It’s not unusual for someone to come into a show office and state, “You have my information because I showed last month.” But that actually was at someone else’s show and the present show staff does not have any of your information.
ELIGIBILITY is often confusing for new and even more seasoned reiners. Most rider eligibility is on a year-to-year basis and ReinerSuite’s eligibility tool is the best place to see if you or your horse is eligible for a class. For horse eligibility, you can check the horse class by class, or simply go to the reports/ member tab and run a summary report on that horse. If you use the horse finder it does not give you a total amount and no one wants to get their calculator out!
One important thing that is often forgotten is that professionals who are Lifetime Members MUST renew their professional upgrade every year.
Another point that is sometimes overlooked is that geldings must be noted. It doesn’t sound important unless a youth is going to show, but if you purchased a new horse and he is now gelded CHECK THE BOX on the transfer. If you gelded one you still own, there is a gelding statement that can be filled out and turned in, free of charge.
Lastly, everyone wants to avoid fines. Gould says, “If there is an error, you will get them, and I will get them and mine cost more than yours. If owners are not listed correctly, if a membership is out of date or if a horse or rider is ineligible, it is a cost of $10 for you but it’s $25 for me! Plus, beware that fines for memberships that are not current are going up to $100 for everyone this year!”
Marti adds, “Another thing to consider is that when all of these errors must be corrected, it makes for a longer turnaround on results getting processed and applied to standings at the NRHA Office. Some people bash NRHA for not doing things in a timely manner, but usually what is slowing down the progress is incorrect information coming in from the shows, often because they have gotten incorrect info from owners and riders.” With a little pre-planning, everyone can save frustration at all levels and have a more enjoyable show.