Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – November 7, 2008 – Oklahoma City made history by welcoming its brand new NBA basketball team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, with their first season home game last week. The international sport of Reining plans to bring its own brand of thunder with the world’s premier event for reiners – the 2008 National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Futurity & Adequan® North American Affiliate Championship Show. The 10-day show starts November 27 and runs through December 6 at Oklahoma State Fair Park in Oklahoma City.
The $1.5 Million show features the NRHA Futurity - the premier event for three-year-old reining horses. At the end of the Open Finals on Saturday, December 6, one rider is guaranteed a check for $125,000 as well as a whole host of incredible prizes from our NRHA Corporate Partners and other award sponsors.
The Adequan® North American Affiliate Championships (NAAC) is the culmination of a year of grueling competition for NRHA North American reiners across the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The riders must first qualify at their affiliate circuit shows. The top ten riders in each division advance to one of nine Regional Affiliate Finals events. The top four riders plus ties in each division at the Regional Affiliate Finals are invited to compete in the NAAC to see who the best reiners on the continent are.
Besides phenomenal reining, there are several other “must-see” events at the NRHA Futurity & Adequan® North American Affiliate Championship Show. The 4R Performance Horses Celebrity Slide brings superstars from the Professional Bull Riders plus many other celebrities to help some of their smallest fans – the children from the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Oklahoma. The Celebrity Slide, organized by the Reining Horse Sports Foundation, combines the high-energy adrenaline-pumping sports of bull riding and reining to be one of the crowd’s favorite evenings. They’re buckin’ tradition and as they hop on some of the NRHA’s best and smoothest slidin’ reiners! The bull riders will receive personal training from an all-star line up of NRHA Million Dollar Riders and their young friends from Make-A-Wish. Proceeds from the 4R Performance Horses Celebrity Slide will benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Oklahoma. Mark your calendar for the 4R Performance Horses Celebrity Reining at 7 p.m. on Saturday, November 29. There’ll be opportunities for autographs and photographs, as well as a ticketed VIP Reception.
On Thursday, December 4 at 7:30 p.m., NRHA will welcome the prestigious $100,000 added Federation Equestre Internationale World Reining Masters. Competitors from countries including the USA, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands, Poland, South Africa and Switzerland have been named the best in their countries and will now make the journey to Oklahoma City to compete for international bragging rights.
Freestyle reining is another crowd favorite where riders are free to express their “style” by performing their own reining pattern to music while both horse and rider are dressed to play the part. Some ride without a saddle and others perform without a bridle for steering the horse through the required maneuvers! This year’s Invitational Freestyle competition is set for Friday, December 5 at 7 p.m.
Other must see events at the 2008 NRHA Futurity Show include a special clinic with Stacy Westfall and three exceptional horse sales featuring futurity prospects, show horses, yearlings and other prospects and producers including the NRHA/Markel Insurance Breeders Select Showcase, NRHA/Markel Insurance Marketplace, and NRHA/Markel Insurance Futurity Prospect sales.
Make plans to join us in Oklahoma City for the 2008 NRHA Futurity & Adequan® North American Affiliate Championship Show. Go to www.nrha.com for more information.
