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Affiliate of the Year
This NRCHA affiliate goes above and beyond for its members and the reined cow horse industry.
By Allison Rehnborg Photography by Performance Horse Photography, Laura Cowen
The Colorado Reined Cowhorse Association has earned the National Reined Cow Horse Association’s Affiliate of the Year honor. Nominees are evaluated on innovation, membership growth, increases in show entries and payouts, enticing year-end awards, quality sponsors and diverse host activities for members.
A testament to its standout qualities and enthusiastic membership, CRCA has received this honor three times (2016, 2021 and 2022) and placed second in 2020. For each first place victory, the affiliate has received $1,500, customized banners and bragging rights. For the people who invest their time and energy in this affiliate each day, the best part of earning the award is having the opportunity to show good horses on good ground with good people—the “golden trifecta” of reined cow horse.
“We’re like one big family,” said M.J. Anderson, CRCA executive director. “We all have a good time when we go show, and everybody wants to do well on their horses. We’re living our dreams here.”
Although the bulk of CRCA’s membership resides in Colorado, its events draw NRCHA members from a wide swath of states, including Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Texas and Wyoming. Canadian competitors also travel across the border to CRCA events. According to Tawny Fye, CRCA president, the appeal of the association’s events is that the affiliate prides itself on making all its events feel like members are “going riding at your best buddy’s house.”
“We want it to be fun,” Fye said. “You’re riding with your buddies, but you’re showing. It’s laid-back, but it’s great competition, too. Regardless of whether it’s a [Non Pro] showing in boxing or an Open level competitor riding, we want the best of the best at our shows—the best money we can gather and the freshest cattle and the best facilities. We want you to go and enjoy yourself so that the only pressure is to get your horse shown the best you can. That’s the goal.”
ROOM FOREVERYBODY
Founded on May 30, 1996, CRCHA’s original mission was to promote “the training of and interest in reined working cow horses among the amateur horsemen and the younger horsemen of this nation and the world.” Nearly 30 years later, it’s a mission the group continues to take to heart, especially as new people move into Colorado and express interest in learning about reined cow horse.
For Anderson, who’s been a member for 10 years and its executive director for approximately half that time, watching the group grow has been deeply rewarding.
“We’re on track this year to probably having the biggest membership year that
Top: CRCA President Tawny Fye (in the hat) says the appeal of CRCA’s events is that they feel like you’re “going riding at your best buddy’s house.” Above: Family oriented fun, like the Short Stirrup class, allow all ages to get in the saddle. Here, young Collins Kurtz particpates with his father, trainer Andy Kurtz. Opposite page: There is no shortage of helpers to pitch in and make CRCHA shows a success.
we’ve ever had in this club,” Anderson said. “The highest we’ve had since I was executive director has been 430, but we’re going to hit 500 members this year. We had so many new people show up for our little warm-up show that we held back in January of 2022, and they just keep coming.”
Anderson attributes much of that growth to the CRCA members’ willingness to help each other out.
“In Colorado, everybody lifts everybody up,” she said. “When we get new people, we want them to do well and enjoy it. We try to run a really friendly atmosphere and provide a good vibe. We’re a family and we’re a community, and we take care of each other.”
While many CRCA members are retired and therefore able to spend more time and money training and showing horses, some of the membership’s growth is also due to an influx of new and younger trainers whose clientele are discovering reined cow horse for the first time.
“These younger trainers are getting more clients and building their businesses, which is great,” Anderson said. “We’re also getting people from other disciplines, where folks maybe aren’t friendly as they are in the cow horse world. If you’ve been around a group of reined cow horse people long enough, you know that everybody helps everybody. If I was over in Fort Worth and having trouble in the arena, someone would stop and help me, even if they weren’t my trainer. It’s not always like that in other disciplines.”
CRCA also has a strong youth contingent, especially in boxing classes.
“This year, we’ve had a lot more youth participating because many of our trainers’ kids are getting to the age where they can go into the show pen,” Anderson said. “We also get a lot of youth from Montana and Wyoming, and that’s great.” HAVING A GOOD TIME CRCA holds multiple events per year at locations in a few different states, including Douglas, Wyoming; McCook, Nebraska; and Montrose, Colorado. Nearly every event is a multiday show featuring plenty of added money, including the aptly-named Firecracker, held June 28-July 3, with $50,900 in added money, and the Mid-America, planned for Sept 14-18, with $52,600 in added money. Both events are held at the Wyoming State Fairgrounds. The affiliate also focuses on providing great year-end awards, including saddles and buckles, and hosting fun activities throughout its events.
Many of the perks are possible by the affiliate’s generous sponsors, which include Discount Tire, Koch & Co, Inc., Discovery Voyages, D Lazy K Ranch, Cross Performance Horses, Mead Veterinary Medical Center, Iconoclast, Horsefly Creek Veterinary Services and Aaron Ralston.
“Sponsors make the world go around,” said Fye, who has been part of the club since 2012 and a member of the CRCA board of directors for three years. “We have a phenomenal group of sponsors, and if it wasn’t for them stepping up to sponsor a barbecue or sponsor a buckle, we couldn’t do this without them. We also couldn’t do it without M.J. [Anderson] going out and working hard for us. She’s
our executive director and she’s in charge of gathering sponsorships.” Fye asserts that having one person for sponsors to connect with and go to with questions has been a game-changer. “We have a great board, and they decided a few years ago that we needed to create a position that was in charge of sponsorships. It used to be Jerry Peters, who’s our current treasurer, and now it’s M.J.,” Fye said. “I can’t say enough good things about M.J. because she works her tail off for us.” Thanks to great sponsorships, CRCA has been able to provide limited and intermediate boxing circuit buckles at every horse “Everybody comes for the flash and fun of the fence show, as well as a plethora runs, but those salt of the earth people who are just there of awards for other diviand having a good time? The ones who know they might sions. not have the best horses, but they’re just there to be with “Our boxers are welltheir friends. They get it.”—TAWNY FYE represented, and we want to look after them,” Fye said. “That’s a big deal to me because they work really hard, and they’re busting their butts all year long and then at one weekend show, that might be the pinnacle of their year. And that might be the steppingstone for them to go after more.” More than anything else, Fye says, taking care of the members and making sure everyone has fun are the keys to a happy, thriving affiliate. “Horse showing is supposed to be fun,” Fye affirmed. “So, my attitude is that we’re going to have a good time no matter what. Everybody comes for the flash and fun of the fence runs, but those salt of the earth people who are just there and having a good time? The ones who know they might not have the best horses, but they’re just there to be with their friends. They get it. They put in the time and the effort and the hard work. They’re having fun. You can’t beat that. We’ve got them, plus we’ve got a bunch of neat new trainers who are building
Left to right, top to bottom CRCA board members, like Matt Koch, pitch in where needed, even dragging the arena. The association honors longtime supporters, like Dave Dillman, through its CRCA Hall of Fame. Growing the affiliate from the cradle to the saddle helps ensure reined cow horses stay front and center for the next generation. their businesses, plus we’ve got some older trainers who are in semi-retirement now. Our affiliate’s a place where there’s room for everybody.”
LOOKING AHEAD
Fye was elected CRCA president in January, and while she’s dedicated to keeping the spirit of fun alive in the club, she’s also looking forward.
“I don’t want to let down the ones who have come before me, so I feel that pressure, but I also want to make our club great and make that greatness sustainable,” Fye said. “At the end of the day, it’s the people who matter most to me. There are so many people in our club and on our board who help make things happen, but the coolest thing about our industry is that I can call anybody at NRCHA to get help, too, or to bounce ideas around. We’re one ginormous family and everybody wants to see everybody else be successful on so many levels. It’s almost like heaven.”
Both Anderson and Fye agree that CRCA succeeds because of its people, but it’s the love of the reined cow horse that knits all of them together.
“We’re definitely here for the right reasons,” Fye said. “It’s all about the horse. We’re just lucky to have such a great community. We might be called the Colorado Reined Cowhorse Association, but there are a whole lot of people who fall under that umbrella with us.”
