. Summer Slide News .

Thanks to everyone who attended the 26th annual Summer Slide for making it one of the best shows in Summer Slide history. Without the support from our exhibitors, vendors, sponsors and staff, we couldn’t have such a successful event.

Congratulations to the Open Futurity Co-Champions Cody Stark riding What A Lucky Hit (Hit The Lights x My Lucky Moonstone) for owners Gary & Sandy Vickery and Randy Paul riding West Coast Dot Com (West Coast Whiz x Jessie Dot Tari) for owner Laura Day of Day Creek Ranch.  Both marked an impressive 223 score in the finals. Randy was also the champion in the Stallion Stakes Open division. Cody won both the Intermediate Open division and the Limited Open division with his score. George King swept all three Non Pro futurity divisions (Non Pro, Limited Non Pro and Stallion Stakes Non Pro) riding Nifty Rooster (SR Roosters Kid x Pine Be Nimble). George and his gelding marked a 214 in the finals.

Taking the Open title in the Stallion Stakes derby was Drake Johnson. Drake marked a 145.5 riding Hickory Chic Aholic for owner Jennifer Blount of Dalton, GA. Genevieve Shifrin marked a 141 to claim the championship of the Stallion Stakes Non Pro derby. Genevieve rode Chickee Conquistador which is owned by her dad, George Shifrin.

RMRHA offered a 7Up Maturity division for the first time in 2011. The Open Champion was Shane Brown riding Shepherds Star for owner Michelle Kuck. Shane marked a 150 to win the class. There were Co-Champions in the Non Pro 7Up division with scores of 146.5. Indy Roper rode her gelding, Paid By Corona, to tie with Danielle Whitney on her gelding, Dun Its Chico.

Complete results from the 2011 show can be found here: Futurity Go 1 :: Open Futurity Finals :: Non Pro Futurity Finals :: Derby :: Rookie/Youth :: Nov Horse Open/Ltd NP :: Open, Non Pro, 7Up, Ltd. Open, Rookie Pro :: Nov Horse NP :: Green Reiner

. Upcoming Events .
The next RMRHA Board Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, October 11, 2011 at 6:30 p.m. at LuLu's Inn in Watkins, CO. All members are welcome to attend the board meetings.

The Mountain Affiliate Finals are scheduled for October 4-8, 2011 at the Black Hawk Arena in Salina, UT. Here is a link to the show information. Please have your entry forms into Betty Mayer, the show secretary, no later than September 27 to avoid a late fee.

The WSRHA Rife Summer Classic has been rescheduled to Sept. 23-25 at the Mesa County Fairgrounds in Grand Junction. Please refer to the WSRHA website and the June showbill for the show schedule. The show secretary will be Betty Mayer for this show. They will be offering Freestyle classes at the rescheduled show. If you are interested in participating, please contact KC Belcher at 970.963.9870, 970.379-4314 or via email.

The Activities Committee is looking for ideas. If you have suggestions for RMRHA activities, please contact Linda Hitt who is the Activities Committee Chairperson.

. General Interest News.
AQHA Select World Show: Kudos to Sheryl Mease and Houston Shine for being a finalist at the Select World Show which was held recently in Amarillo, TX.

NRHA Cowtown Classic: Congratulations to Chad Hartmann riding Taka Ticket and Shevin Schwartzenberger riding Who Whiz That Chic for their third and fouth place finishes in the Silver Spurs Equine LLC Non Pro Shootout in Fort Worth. These two RMRHA competitors were stellar in the face of stiff competition. Also, Shane Brown continued his winning ways versus stiff competition. Shane rode Houston Shine to a first place finish in the Novice Horse Open L2 class, while Shepherd Star was third and Hollywood And Fine placed in a tie for fifth.

2010 NRHA Youth Of The Year: Congratulations to Christi Gordon for finishing in first place in Varsity Level Youth 14-18 division. The top point earners are recognized for their achievements and their service. Christi was able to accumulate 3,065 points in seven different activities. Christi is also president of RMRHyA. Congratulations also go out to Amy Stoney who finished in first place in the Junior Varsity Youth 13 & Under. Amy earned an impressive 3,255 points in five categories. Amy is the official photographer for the RMRHyA organization.

NRHA 7 & Up Open Derby Champion: The inagural $15,000 added 7 & Up Open Derby was held June 29 in Oklahoma City. Claiming the championship in both the Open and Intermediate Open divisions was Shane Brown riding Shepherd Star for owner Michelle Kuck. The duo marked a 222 to best a field of 24 horse/rider combination. Their score was also good enough to claim the concurrently run $6,000 added Back On Track Open class. The same duo came back two days later to mark a 152 to win the $2,000 added Open class and secure the high point buckle for the combined placings in both ancillary open competitions. Shane also rode Houston Shine for owner Sheryl Mease in the 7 & Up and open classes. They marked a 219.5 to place T5 in the Open, T4 in the Intermediate Open 7 & UP divisions and T5 in the $6,000 added open class. They also placed T4 in the $2,000 added Open class with a score of 148.5.

Freestlye World Champion: Congratulations to Shane Brown who rode Sheryl Mease's Houston Shine to victory in the $25,000 Tartar Farm & Ranch Equipment World Championship Freestyle in Lexington, KY on April 30. The event was part of the Ariat Kentucky Reining Cup held in conjunction with the Rolex Kentucky Three Day Event. Shane and Houston marked a 226 to beat a field of 12, including former World Champions. For more information on the competition, please visit the event website.

NRHA Green Reiner Handbook Clarification: Please note the following clarification – There is a contradiction in the 2011 NRHA Handbook regarding the use of two hands in NRHA Green Reiner classes. Page 70 L. (12) states, “the rider may use one (1) or two (2) hands at any time during the pattern.” However, page 102 (d) states “In NRHA Green and Ride classes, the rider must not change hands or switch from one to two hands.” Page 102 is the correct rule: riders in the Green class may ride one or two handed but may NOT switch from one to two hands. Riders who switch from one to two hands in this class should received a penalty score zero.

RMRHA Year-End Awards Qualifying Rules: RMRHA has instituted a program whereby members who wish to qualify for year-end awards are required to volunteer a minimum of 4 hours in support of the association. This volunteer program was developed in an effort to get members more involved in RMRHA.

In order to be eligible for a year-end award, each rider will need to:

1. Volunteer at least 4 hours at a RMRHA sanctioned activity or event.
2. Complete a Volunteer Form and submit it to the program administrator.
3. Riders who have not met the volunteer hour’s requirement may become eligible for year-end awards in exchange for a contribution of $100.
4. For youth riders to be eligible for year-end awards in any division, he/she must meet the requirements outlined in the Youth Year-End Awards program.

Please click here for full program details and the Volunteer Form.

RMRHA Sponsorship: The board is always looking for sponsorship ideas and assistance. The sponsorship committee is chaired by Justin Quick and Linda Hitt is the vice chair. If the members have ideas or would like to assist, please contact either Justin or Linda.

RMRHA Committees: The board has established a set of committees to oversee various aspects of the day-to-day operations of RMRHA. Please see the Committee List for a complete listing of these committees. They can always use more help. If you are interested in serving on one of these committees, please contact the committee chairperson.

NRHA Service: RMRHA member Guy Vernon is one of your elected regional directors serving on the Board of Directors for NRHA. He also is Chairman of the Nominating Committee. Shane Brown is Chairman of the NRHA Professionals Commitee. Cathy Irvin is Vice-Chairman of the NRHA Affiliate Committee. Gary Pipkin is Chairman of the Bylaws Committee and Dori Schwartzenberger is Chairman of the Judges Committee. RMRHA members are encouraged to contact Guy, Shane, Cathy, Gary or Dori with any comments or suggestions you have for NRHA.

Congratulations to Rylee Justus who was voted the Youth Sportsmanship Award by her youth peers. Rylee was presented with a pair of Darnall spurs at the awards banquet. Many thanks to Jan and Mark Guynn for donating the spurs as the award.

RMRHA congratulates the 2010 Youth Scholarship recipient Christi Gordon. Christi resides in Evergreen with her parents, two sisters, and younger brother. She graduated from Colorado Heritage High School with a 3.8 GPA, and will be attending Colorado Christian University where she will be majoring in Music Performance or Math. Along with her love for reining horses Christi keeps busy playing baseball, performing on the piano and choir, along with being the owner and founder of Custom Horse Portraits. Christi has been very active in the RMRHyA over the past few years, holding the Vice President position in 2008, and being the President in 2009 and 2010. She has been very instrumental in helping grow the youth organization through her hard work and dedication.

Go e-Newsletter! Each RMRHA member receives a copy of the Rocky Mountain Reins! newsletter as part of their membership. Starting with the September/October 2010 issue, the newsletter will be delivered to all members electronically. This will save RMRHA over $1,000.00 annually. Please make sure that we have your current email so that you don't miss an issue! Contact Kim Nordby at kimnordby@yahoo.com with your current email address.

. Newletters .
Download them here: The newsletters are in PDF format.