The National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) has officially put in its bid to host the 2007 FEI World Reining Masters during its 2007 NRHA Futurity and Adequan North American Affiliate Championship Show. The NRHA Futurity will be held November 22 – December 1, 2007, at the Oklahoma State Fair Park in Oklahoma City, OK.
The NRHA and Oklahoma City hosted the inaugural FEI World Reining Masters in 2004. Elite reiners from 16 different countries competed for a purse of $100,000 and Gold medals in two divisions; Open and Restricted.
The $100,000 FEI World Reining Masters is an annual competition to find the best individual Reiner in the world. The competition is based on qualifying the best Reiner from each National Federation for a final event which will alternate between the USA and Europe. The 2007 FEI World Reining Masters was scheduled to be held in Europe; however, since there were no applications, the NRHA has asked to host the Masters in the USA.
NRHA Executive Director Dan Wall looks forward to the opportunity of hosting the Masters again. Wall says, “To ensure that the momentum of Reining continues we have applied to host the 2007 World Reining Masters. We hope to hold that event during our 2007 NRHA Futurity this November. Besides the Reining competition at the FEI World Equestrian Games, this is a perfect way to showcase the sport of Reining before a worldwide audience.” The FEI is expected to make a final decision about the location of the 2007 Masters Finals sometime in May.
The 2006 FEI World Reining Masters Finals held in Denver, CO, saw some tough competition. Team USA Reiner Shawn Flarida of Springfield, OH, took home the Gold medal in the Open Division. Flarida rode Tinsel Nic owned by Rosanne Sternberg of Aubrey, TX. Fellow American, Tom McCutcheon of Aubrey, TX, took home the Silver medal in the Open Division. McCutcheon rode Smartest Chic Olena owned by Terry S. Owens of Weimar, TX. The Bronze medal went to Canada’s Shawna Sapergia who rode BL Whiz Kid owned by Gilbert D. & Rhonda M. Thompson of Ardrossan, AB, Canada.
Reining is the only western discipline to be recognized by the Federation Equestre Internationale (FEI). The FEI is the international governing body for equestrian sports recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The FEI has 135 affiliated National Federations around the world, including France, Germany and the United States.
