Clark Bradley
Clark Bradley, of Findlay, Ohio, who passed away January 18, had a lasting impact on the performance horse industry as an instructor, team coach, competitor and judge.
He grew up on his family farm in Hilliard, Ohio. His father, Stretch Bradley, was a top Quarter Horse and reining professional and an NRHA Hall of Fame inductee. Bradley attended Texas Christian University then served in the United States Marine Corps.
Upon his return from the service, he joined his father in the family business training horses and his successful career took off quickly. Later, he worked for Dale Wilkinson, who founded the University of Findlay equestrian program. Bradley joined the University of Findlay Western program from 1978-85, then left to pursue riding and training interests for the next decade. He returned to the program in 1996 until his retirement in 2021.
Clark served the NRHA as President, member of multiple committees, was on the board of Directors for over 25 years and a NRHA Futurity Live Webcast commentator. He won the NRHA Reining Futurity twice.
He served the OQHA with 2 terms as President, Director for over 40 years and became an Honorary Director in 1988. AQHA was a large part of Clark’s professional life. He served on the Show and Contest Committees for 31 years and was past Chairman for the Show Committee and the Show Council. He was a member of the Professional Horsemen Council and Chairman for the Animal Welfare Committee.
Over the course of Clark’s career, he and his clients showed horses to wins in NRHA, the All American Quarter Horse Congress and AQHA from reining to cutting to ranch riding and many other disciplines. Clark was highlighted in several publications through the years such as the AQHA Journal, NRHA Reiner, Western Horsemen, OQHA News, Quarter Horse News, Performance Horse and University of Findlay Publications.
Clark is survived by his wife, Bonnie, son CR Bradley of Collinsville, Texas (wife Rose), stepdaughter Brianna Stone of Newark, Ohio (husband David), grandsons Cooper, Tanner and Austin.
Charlie Rome
Charles Vincent Rome was born on August 30, 1953, the fourth and youngest child of Vincent and Antoinette Rome in Whitestone, New York All his spare time was spent at a hack stable called Chic’s Bar Ranch in the heart of Queens where he met his future wife Stephanie when she was 12 and he was 14.
They married in 1976 and their son Eddie was born in 1977. They bought their first home in 1978 in Medford, Long Island with property to have horses always keeping that passion alive. When he tried reining for the first time in 1978 it sparked an instant attraction that would lead to a successful career.
In 1987 Charlie and two good friends purchased a building and together Charlie and Stephanie turned it into a successful restaurant called the Landmark Cafe. It was a popular destination for reiners from all over the country when they came to Long Island to show horses.
In the early 90’s Charlie retired from his job and began horse training professionally. But the reining industry on Long Island was fading.
It was booming in Florida, though. He started coming to Ocala in the early 1980s for the winters at Bill Horns Ocala facility. The the decision was made to relocate CR Reining horses there in 1996.
The next 22 years brought a lifetime of memories culminating in 2004 where Charlie earned a spot on the United States Equestrian Team future class. Throughout, his focus was always on the horse.
He was quoted as saying, “I like it because it’s just you and your horse. There’s no barrel, there’s no calf that the horse reacts to. They do it because you ask them to do it and they want to do it for you. “That’s the rewarding part. You build that bond where the horse is ready and willing and trusts you completely.”
In 2018 it was finally time to retire and the man who wanted to be a cowboy from the time he could walk finally hung up his spurs. Shortly after his retirement, a devastating cancer diagnosis shook the Rome family. Several years of treatment followed but cancer turned out to be the one horse Charlie just couldn’t break. He passed away on January 4th, 2022.
Parts of this were provided by Brad Pagh, who delivered a tribute to the life and times of Charlie Rome at a memorial celebration held January 23 in the chapel of Ocala’s World Equestrian Center.
Filippo Masi
Reining professional Filippo Masi passed away January 14. Masi was a past board member of the National Reining Horse Association, a longtime member of the Judges Committee and NRHA Professional.
He also coached the Italian national reining team and served as advisor to the Italian Quarter Horse Association.
It was a loss that was felt worldwide in the reining community and a comment on the NRHA Facebook page showed the gravity of the loss of the popular Italian. “It is hard to quickly sum up the impact Filippo made on our industry, worldwide, plus he was heavily involved in various capacities throughout Europe as he was so passionate about reining. The association and the reining world has suffered a significant loss. He was a good friend, judge, and advocate for the sport. The entire reining community sends its deepest condolences to his family.”