All Roads Lead to Tulsa for the 2023 NRBC
Tulsa’s Built Ford Tough Livestock Complex at Expo Square will be the site of a new era for the National Reining Breeders Classic. Not only is the central location appealing to a larger geographic range of reiners, but the added money will take a giant leap.
For NRHA Professional and longtime NRBC attendee Bobby Avila, the move to Tulsa is a game changer. He said, “I’ll be taking twice as many horses this year as we have taken in the past. It’s closer for us and for our clients, and I think you’ll see people from further up north at the show who have not come in the past because it’s not so far away.”
He added, “The facility at Tulsa is outstanding for what we do in the reining horse world. There’s not a place I’ve been to that has that much space to go ride – rain or shine. There are a half dozen outdoor arenas, plus a lot of indoor arenas to ride, too.”
Besides the location, a dramatic increase in added money makes the already important event even more attractive than ever. Beginning in 2023, the added money for the Classic will be increased by approximately $350,000 over the previous year’s $1.1 million. Those funds will be distributed throughout the different divisions, both in Open and Non Pro.
NRBC President Tom McCutcheon is excited about the changes. He said, “I believe the NRBC has been a leader in the industry for more than 20 years, and we want to continue that momentum and that tradition of providing great opportunities for owners and riders. With the move this year, I think the NRBC will open the door for a lot of people to be able to attend who haven’t been able to in the past.”
For the first time ever, the NRBC Open L4 Champion will receive $100,000 and the Non Pro L4 Champion will earn $50,000. The increase will impact other divisions as well. At the 2022 NRBC, the Open L3 champion earned $24,921 but in 2023 that championship will be guaranteed $40,000. The Reserve L3 title will come with a guaranteed $25,000, compared to $15,169 in 2022.
The Open L2 champion’s check will be for $20,000, over double what was paid in 2022, and the Open L1 champion will earn $7,500, also well over double the previous year.
The increases extend to the Non Pro as well, where the L3 champion will earn $15,000, the L2 $10,000, and the L1 $5,000.
And the added money in the Open Novice Horse division (originally the Open Development division), has been tripled – increasing from $10,000 to $30,000 – while the new Non Pro Novice Horse division will debut with $20,000 added! Both the Open and Non Pro Novice Horse divisions are for horses that have won less than $10,000.
There will also be enhanced focus on NRBC enrolled sires beginning at the 2023 show. Along with continuing to award the traditional blue crystal vases to the sires of the champions in all divisions, new recognition for sires is planned. The foal earnings for each sire will be tracked, and the top 10 list of sires for the show will be tabulated daily. The top 10 list will be updated and announced each day at all three arenas, published in that day’s Slide Street Journal and shown on both the jumbotron and the live internet video feed. At the end of the show, the final Top 10 sires will receive special commemorative awards.
The 2023 NRBC Show is set for April 16-23 at Expo Square in Tulsa, Oklahoma. For information about the NRBC, visit the web site at www.nrbc.com or call 580-759-3939.