The National Reining Breeders Classic will feature an unprecedented three CRI3*’s in 2018! As excitement builds at the approach of the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games, so does the need for exhibitors hoping to represent their respective countries to attend qualifying events. NRBC offers these CRI3* classes as a courtesy to help athletes from all over the globe meet their eligibility requirements.

 In order to qualify to compete at the World Equestrian Games, each athlete must be qualified as an FEI 3* Athlete and achieve a minimum average score of 70 at two out of three different non-championship CRI3*’s. All must be completed with no elimination, disqualification or withdrawal, during the qualification period of January 1, 2017 to August 13, 2018. One of the qualifying results must be achieved no earlier than on January 1st of the year in which the Championships take place (2018) and no later than the end date of the qualification period.

Each slate of CRI classes will include CRI3*, CRI2*, and CRI1*. The CRI3* events are scheduled for the last three consecutive days of NRBC: with the first taking place on Friday, April 20th. The jogs will take place at 7 am on each morning. Plus, a CRIYR3* and a CRIJr* class will also be held on Friday, April 20th in conjunction with the other youth classes scheduled. The NRBC is a stallion incentive program. After a stallion becomes part of the program, his foals may be enrolled. Those foals, as 4, 5, and 6-year-olds, can then compete at the prestigious week-long event which has paid out $20 million in its past 20 years. For more information including the event schedule and entry forms, visit www.nrbc.com.

Sunday, April 16, began with a church service, an Easter egg hunt, paid warm-ups and opening riding, and concluded with the annual SmartPak Texas Hold’em Tournament. Dan Kind won the pot and took home top honors when he became the poker champion.    

The National Reining Breeders Classic kicked off its 20th-anniversary show April 16, 2017, enjoying $20 million in payout over the course of 20 years. The NRBC began in 1997 when a group of distinguished reiners – Tom McCutcheon, Tim McQuay, Colleen McQuay, Pete Kyle, Dick Pieper, Carl Rose, Gary Putman and Robert Chown – came together and created the National Reining Breeders Cup.

In its early success, the show set precedents of excellence when it joined forces with the Lazy E Ride of Life Classic and became the largest added money reining in history. In 1998 the organization’s name was changed to National Reining Breeders Classic to reflect the growing prominence and importance of the event. The first NRBC in April of 1998 in Guthrie, Oklahoma, paid over $210,000 – the largest National Reining Horse Association-approved Open Reining at that time.

In 2001 the event moved to Katy, Texas, where it still is today, and paid out a lucrative $646,000. The event has continued to grow in leaps and bounds – last year paying out $1.1 million – while still holding tight to its roots and mantra to provide excellence in the show pen.

Sunday, April 16, began with a church service, an Easter egg hunt paid warm-ups and opening riding, and concluded with the annual SmartPak Texas Hold’em Tournament. Dan Kind won the pot and took home top honors when he became the poker champion.

“Beginner’s luck,” Kind said with a laugh of his strategy during the poker tournament. “I didn’t have much of a strategy, I don’t play much poker.”

The tournament has grown to be a favorite event during the NRBC and this year attracted 27 participants. Although the tournament is a fun pastime event for the reiners, it also offers a charitable aspect. Part of the proceeds from the poker tournament went to Rein In Cancer, a charitable organization which, to date, has raised over a million dollars for cancer patients in the reining industry.