///////// INDUSTRY INSIGHTS
HIGH
STAKES
For more than two decades the NRCHA Stallion Stakes has delivered memorable achievements thanks to dynamic horse and rider partnerships. By Bonnie Wheatley
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ince its inception more than two decades ago, the National Reined Cow Horse Association Stallion Stakes and its accompanying NRCHA Subscribed Stallion program have enhanced the business of owning and breeding NRCHA Stallion Stakes-eligible horses. The first NRCHA Stallion Stakes was held in the spring of 2000 in Scottsdale, Arizona, and through venue and date changes, the Stakes program has grown and maintained success. “There were some smaller stallion stakes programs that had been developed through reined cow horse clubs and smaller associations, but when the NRCHA decided to create its own subscribed stallion program the goal was to help provide more incentive for breeders and stallion owners,” said Dan Roeser, an NRCHA Hall of Fame inductee who has served several terms on the NRCHA board of directors through the years. “It’s grown to be very strong and it’s a big part of the reined cow horse industry. The [NRCHA] Stallion Stakes program is a very attractive incentive to owners and breeders.”
112 MAY/JUNE 2021 | REINED COW HORSE NEWS
Subscribed stallion owners pay a fee every year, and their 4- and 5-year-old horses are the only horses eligible to show at the Stakes. Typically held in the spring, the event is one of five NRCHA premier events and has grown to annually award payouts of approximately $300,000. Stakes entries are shown in a snaffle bit or hackamore, competing in herd work, rein work and cow work. Besides paying lucrative checks to the Stakes winners, the NRCHA also presents a monetary award to the nominator of the Stakes champion’s sire in each division. “Once it started gaining popularity, which took a few years, it’s been a really good program for the association,” Roeser said. “I think one big benefit of the Stallion Stakes program is that it’s drawn some stallion owners from other areas. Some of the cutting stallion owners looked at it and got involved, and as a consequence, that has drawn more people to get involved with NRCHA.” Roeser cites the prominent sire One Time Pepto (Peptoboonsmal x One Time Soon x Smart Little Lena) as an example of a stallion that crossed over from cutting to become just as prolific of a sire in
reined cow horse world as he was in the cutting arena. The earliest Stallion Stakes shows were held in Arizona before relocating to Nampa, Idaho, and eventually to the event’s present-day home at the South Point Arena & Equestrian Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. “Nampa had a new facility that was an outstanding place to host a show,” Roeser recalled. “Plus, Nampa had great local support from so many people involved in the reined cow horse industry welcoming a show like the Stallion Stakes, so that was a big reason for the move from Arizona.” Roeser worked to secure sponsors and awards, as well as on other aspects integral to the success of the Stallion Stakes in Nampa. Eventually, however, warmer springtime temperatures drew the Stakes back to Arizona where it was held for one year in Queen Creek before the temperature-controlled, all-inclusive South Point became an option. “The Gaughan family [owners of South Point] are great supporters of the performance horse industry, as well as the entire Western lifestyle,” Roeser said. “It’s been an ideal location.”
