FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

AS I ENTER my new position as executive director of the National Reined Cow Horse Association, I do so with a grateful heart. Throughout my life, I’ve learned that gratitude has a lot to do with success.

I have gratitude for my parents, who weren’t horse people, supporting my passion for horses and getting me horseback by age 5. When the time came to choose sports or horses, they supported my choice to continue riding, despite opportunities being limited in my home state of Michigan. That encouragement continued into my collegiate years, when I joined the Michigan State equestrian team and horsemen’s association.

I’m grateful for opportunities in the horse industry, outside of training horses. I began my career in the horse world managing horse shows. This led me to work in Oklahoma, where I joined the staff at the Oklahoma Quarter Horse Association as executive secretary. I did leave the horse industry for a short bit, but my passion led me back, and eventually I found my way to NRCHA in 2018, where I’ve worked in many departments, which allowed me to learn this business inside and out.

Family is big for me, both by blood and by choice. I’m grateful for the family that raised me and my sisters, and I make time to visit them whenever possible. I’m also thankful for my cow horse family. That aspect of NRCHA makes it unique—we really are one big family, and it shows. It’s what keeps us together when things get tough and allows us to celebrate individual wins and successes as a group together.

Finally, I’m grateful for our sport’s rich history. It’s what makes us a family. It shows our depth. It makes every decision have a reason backed by what we’ve learned as we’ve grown as a sport and as an association. We must continue to honor and share this history so every member, from coast to coast, newcomers to old-timers, know exactly where we came from and why we are who we are. Without our past we have no future.

I look forward to serving NRCHA and helping to guide us into a bright future, bringing along gratitude for my family, the horse industry and my cow-horse family.

—Emily Konkel