FROM THE

Through Stories from the Shedrow, the NRCHA Foundation continues to preserve the heritage and traditions of reined cow horse.

PRESENTED BY KALPOWAR QUARTER HORSES

As National Reined Cow Horse Association members prepare their horses for the upcoming Teton Ridge Stallion Stakes, the association is preparing to induct another group of outstanding members into the NRCHA Hall of Fame.

The first members were inducted in 1996. Currently, 51 members have been honored with induction, with three new honorees in 2023. The NRCHA Hall of Fame welcomes Bill Enk, Kathy Ferguson and Randy Paul. In addition, Smart Chic Olena joins the 22 horses in the Hall of Fame, which first inducted a horse in 2003 (Fillinic).

The current director of judges, Bill Enk, of Paso Robles, California, has more than 50 years of experience judging performance horse events. Enk’s first foray into the cow horse culture was working for Ronnie Richards in college. He showed in the American Horse Shows Association events, then he obtained his judging card in the 1980s and began to judge and show in the American Quarter Horse Association. Today, Enk can check the box as a judge at every major Western performance horse event, from the NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity® to the cutting and reining futurities to Road to the Horse to Equitana in Europe. As the director of judges, Enk revolutionized how cow horse classes are judged.

Non Pro Kathy Wilson of Clarksburg, California, is a multiple NRCHA title holder, and competed at many of the industry’s most prominent events, including the Grand National Cow Palace and the Reno Snaffle Bit Futurity. In the course of her career, she’s earned more than $323,000 in association earnings, which kicked off at her first horse show, in 1977, which was the NRCHA Snaffle Bit Futurity. Since NRCHA records have recorded earnings, Wilson has landed landed three Non Pro division Snaffle Bit Futurity Champion titles. Wilson trains with the newest NRCHA Million Dollar Rider, trainer Ken Wold of Wilton, California.

Randy Paul is no stranger to the competitive show arena. With NRCHA earnings topping $500,000 and National Reining Horse Association earnings topping $1 million, he’s been a staple in the Western performance industry. A slew of NRCHA titles accompany Paul’s résumé, including the 2010 World’s Greatest Horseman title aboard Smokeelan. Paul started in cow horse as a youth and worked for NRCHA Hall of Fame trainer Don Dodge and Gary Bellenfant before he began training on his own. Paul lives and trains in Sanger, California.

Smart Chic Olena may need no introduction to cow horse fans. Bred by Emily Woodall, the stallion was shown in cutting under trainers like Dell Bell, Randy Butler, Bill Freeman and Bill Glass then competed in the reining arena with Craig Johnson. The late stallion became an

NRCHA Million Dollar sire in 2004, and his offspring continue to impact NRCHA. Though he passed away in 2012, Smart Chic Olena’s legacy lives on.

The NRCHA Hall of Fame Banquet will be held during the 2023 Teton Ridge Stallion Stakes at the South Point Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit nrcha.com. The Hall of Fame inductees, as well as Hall of Merit honorees, are online at nrcha.com/foundation/hall-offame/.