HERITAGE & HORSES

The National Reined Cow Horse Association and NRCHA Foundation gathered members, past and present, at the South Point Hotel & Casino during the 2023 Teton Ridge Stallion Stakes to honor three individuals and one stallion that have made a positive impact on the cow horse industry. As fitting for Las Vegas, Nevada, the banquet brought out the glamour, spotlighting the merits of the NRCHA Hall of Fame members.

The Hall of Fame Banquet is produced by the NRCHA Foundation, which supports the reined cow horse community and honors the legacy of the reined cow horse sport through the enactment of charitable and educational programs. The NRCHA Hall of Fame Committee selects the inductees annually.

Congratulations to the four honorees and welcome to the Hall of Fame: Bill Enk, Randy Paul, Kathy Wilson and Smart Chic Olena. Thank you for your contributions to the cow horse industry.

Bill Enk

Bill Enk’s California cow horse roots run deep, so much so that he can trace his beginnings to mentor Ronnie Richards and Enk’s long-term home in Paso Robles, California, has allowed him to stay connected to the industry where he got his start. The native Californian aspired to be a horse trainer when he developed a deep love for horses.

“I’ve always had a love for horses. Genetically, I came with it,” Enk said. “My brother has never liked horses; he’s a car guy. My grandfather was a farmer in Wisconsin, and he used horses on the farm. We’d always go back in the summer. He had the gene, my mom had the gene and I got it, that affection for horses. My whole life has been fashioned around horses.”

At age 7, after school, Enk rode his bike to a local stable in Long Beach, California, and saddled horses the stable rented for rides. His family moved close to Los Alamitos Racetrack in Los Alamitos, California, and Enk soon found himself riding five miles by bike at 4 a.m. before school to hot walk racehorses, clean stalls and occasionally gallop a horse. At the racetrack he met Ronnie Richards, an NRCHA Hall of Fame trainer, who kickstarted Enk down the cow horse trail.

“Ronnie Richards, he was young, he was 20 something at the time, but he was the dude,” recalled Enk. “He was the one that was coming, and I was right there with him. It was a great learning time for me.”

Following his service in the U.S. Army, which Enk is incredibly proud of and says is where he learned about leadership, he and wife, Colleen, settled in Paso Robles. While he worked for Richards, Enk diversified his income and became involved in horse judging. He judged regularly, still riding horses, until 2002, when Benny Guitron visited with him about taking on the NRCHA judge’s program. First, he standardized the score sheet.

“The thing that that I am so proud of is, Number One, the scoresheet helps you with the score. It justifies your score without having all this opinion,” he said. “You know, the opinion has to be based on fact, then you go to eye appeal, which is the judge’s opinion. It’s been a real ride! I’ve learned to enjoy the judge’s room more than I ever thought I would.”

It’s been quite the evolution for Enk from junior judging to his current position. He has judged the Snaffle Bit Futurity®, the American Quarter Horse

Association World Championship Show, Road to the Horse and many other premier events.

“I didn’t start out to be director of judges; I am a horse trainer,” Enk said. “But it is hard to do both a lot. Pretty soon, it took over! I found out I have a passion for it. I have a passion for the teaching, more than I ever thought.”

Enk has helped shape not only the cow horse industry from the judge’s room but encouraged today’s up-and-coming judges to obtain cards. His hard work is only one reason his wife, Colleen, appreciates him.

“I want to say that Bill has always been in my Hall of Fame for many reasons, and it is so nice knowing how hard Bill has worked at this and what he does that his peers have recognized his passion for the horse,” she said.

Enk has had a front row seat to see the reined cow horse industry evolve and is guided by his respect for tradition, and is grateful, for the support he’s received along the way.

“You have to have support in judging, because it isn’t a popularity contest,” he said. “It’s been a good, fun run and I am not done.”