Faces of the NRCHA

from Reined Cow Horse News, Volume 27, No 1, January/February 2022

by Cowboy Publishing Group

Empty Stalls

Working with numbers and horses drew Kasydi Valentine to the NRCHA.

Interview and photograph by Kate Bradley Byars

RCHN: Tell readers a bit about your horse background.

How did you get started riding?

Valentine: My grandpa, Ray Valentine, had a horse while I was growing up and I started riding with him. He lived in Denver, too, and his horse was boarded right next to where we lived. He had a Quarter Horse. He grew up roping and his dad actually started a roping club in Syracuse, Kansas. He had horses all his life, and I was interested in horses so me and him rode together. When I went to college, I bought my first horse. We started trying new things and figuring out what I liked, trying reining then finding cow horse.

RCHN: What do you do day to day at the NRCHA? Valentine: I do the accounting, processing invoices and paying bills, as well as paying out purses at events. I work with our Executive Director and Board of Directors members to get payments processed and keep the association up to date.

To produce the shows, we have contract personnel that make our shows a success, and during shows it is important to pay them promptly. My first premier event was the 2021 Snaffle Bit Futurity®. It was good to see how finance supports the show.

RCHN: What drives you to work for an association? Valentine: I love my job and getting to work in an industry that is very important to me. It’s a priority to keep memberships and payments up to date. Our focus is to move our processes forward so we stay current with the easiest and most secure way for members to conduct business with us. I love getting to work in a job where we focus on the horse. Membership payments, checks for a winning run and many more dollars pass through Kasydi Valentine’s desk at the National Reined Cow Horse Association. As accounting manager, Valentine oversees the dollars flowing through the association, with oversight from the Executive Director and the NRCHA Board of Directors. It’s a dream combination for the 26-year-old from Denver, Colorado. “I got my first degree in equine science in 2018 from Colorado State University, then also got a degree in agricultural business. During my business major, the courses I liked the most were in accounting, which pushed me to get my master’s degree in accounting in 2020,” said Valentine. “I wanted to do something new, move to a new place and work in the horse industry. This position gave me the perfect opportunity.” With a background in reined cow horse competition at an affiliate level, Valentine understood the sport. Her job as an accountant allowed her to financially afford to have a horse right out of college. She purchased Cat Travels In Style during an internship with Warren Performance Horses, a reining training facility in Franktown, Colorado. The mare was geared to read cows, so Valentine moved her to train with Lavert Avent. “I started going to some [Colorado Reined Cow Horse Association] shows; everyone was nice, you could make friends super easily, and it was fun,” she said. “My mare was bred for cutting, but we gave reined cow horse a shot. I just loved it!”

When the chance to have a career that combined her love of horses and numbers arose, Valentine didn’t hesitate to make the move to Texas.