Author Archives: nrha

Last July 16-year-old Zuri Bennett experienced a setback that would keep many out of the show pen. She went through Scoliosis surgery that caused her to have total reconstruction of her back muscles and spine, plus a stint of six days in the hospital. Her trainer, NRHA Professional Mike Cross, was there for the surgery […]

The rodeo world has long been home to daring athletes who thrive on adrenaline, but few have traveled as far—literally and figuratively—as one man whose bull riding career took him from São Paulo, Brazil, to a new challenge in the reining arena. For 16 years, Luis Blanco earned a reputation as one of the sport’s […]

Israeli rider Yali Avraham rode her mare Infernos Mistress (Inferno Sixty Six x A Ruf Mistress), owned by 70 Stables and bred and nominated by Larry Weihing, through the gates of the Jim Norick Coliseum on Wednesday to compete for the most prestigious reining titles of the season, the NRHA Open Futurity. Showing three horses […]

While a successful competitor in the Appaloosa world and a reining fan for a long time, this year will mark the first time Ty Wilkerson will compete in the NRHA Non Pro Futurity. His journey to the show started a little over two years ago when he purchased a weanling filly, Electric Lil Peppy (Pretty […]

Lena Mass moved to the U.S. just one year ago, and this year, she looks to enter the Jim Norrick Coliseum for the first time in the Open Futurity. “I will be showing Smoking Deja Vu (Gunner x Dun Its Deja Vu), owned by Luisenrique Gonzalez Limon I and [bred and] nominated by Toyon Ranch […]

Alberto Alegría of the Dominican Republic first came to the U.S. 10 years ago to represent his country at the AQHA Youth World Cup. Since then, he rode reiners but did not focus on showing until two years ago when his path crossed with NRHA Professional Gabriel Borges. “I have been riding with Gabriel and […]

NRHA Media: How was your journey to this year’s NRHA Futurity? Anne Grether: It was really short actually because I didn’t know I was going to be showing! I was planning on coming to help [NRHA Million Dollar Rider] Cira Baeck, and about two weeks ago, she called me and asked if I could show […]

Guillermo Armendariz and his son, Guillermo Armendariz Jr., of Chihuahua, Mexico, can be easily spotted at NRHA events—not only by their similar features but mostly due to their matching clothes. A trend they started years ago and have carried into their reining careers. We sat down with the pair to learn a little more about […]