Bill Horn was the first to make a cool $1,000,000 competing in NRHA events. Horn reached that milestone in 1995. Tim McQuay followed suit in 1997, followed by Duane Latimer and Shawn Flarida in 2003, then Todd Bergen in 2004. The National Reining Horse Association is proud to add one more name to this prestigious Million Dollar Rider list: Dell Hendricks.
Dell began his illustrious NRHA career in 991 when he earned his first NRHA paycheck ($14.66) in Draper, Utah, on Gambling Pine in a Novice Horse Open class. His earnings jumped dramatically in 1994, when he placed Pat Warren’s Taris Little Vintage third in the NRHA Futurity Open Division. Dell was the NRHA Futurity Reserve Champion in 1998 on Bob and Linda Hamilton’s BH Hollywood Lady and never took his eye off the prize. At the 1999 NRHA Futurity, Dell won NRHA’s premier event for three-year-old reining horses riding Alan and Kay Needles’ Hollywood Vintage. Ironically, this Futurity Champion is out of Taris Little Vintage and by Hollywood Dun It.
Dell went to the 2004 NRHA Futurity approximately $25,000 shy of the million dollar mark. He took two to the Finals, Sweet N Ruff owned by Adair Reiners, LLC, and Bob Stinner’s Memorable Affair. Their combined earnings of $16,600 left Hendricks almost $9,000 short at the start of the 2005 NRHA show season. He picked up over $3,000 at Gordyville U.S.A. last March in Gifford, Illinois, and then headed to the National Reining Breeders Classic (NRBC) just a bit over $5,000 short of his goal.
Hendrick’s track record at the NRBC event played to his advantage. While admitting that the run for a million was at times stressful and all consuming, Dell went to Katy, Texas, with built-in confidence. He had already won five NRBC Derby Open titles in the event’s eight-year history! After his first go round placing on Hit The Lights, owned by Adair Reiners, LLC, Dell Hendricks had reached his career milestone. When he went on to win the event, earning an additional $60,000, Dell’s NRHA Million Dollar Rider status was set in stone.
Dell and his wife Terri are from Tioga, Texas, where they run a first-class breeding/training facility. Taking time from his busy show schedule, Dell has actively served the NRHA membership as a Board member since 1998 and has been an Elected Board member since 2003. Hendricks will serve as NRHA President in 2006. The National Reining Horse Association is proud of the contributions this reiner has made to the industry and thrilled at his success in the NRHA show pen. NRHA congratulates Dell Hendricks – NRHA’s latest Million Dollar Rider!
