Free Seminars and Clinics at 2016 Wild Card Challenge in Las Vegas

by: Christy Egan

The 2016 Wild Card Reining Challenge debuts this spring in Las Vegas, bringing with it the Four-Year-Old Futurity … an idea whose time has finally come! This brand new show, which runs over the Memorial Day weekend, May 25^th through 29^th at the South Point Event Center, Hotel and Casino, is the most recent of the four major reining competitions presented annually by the Scottsdale, Arizona-based Brumley Management Group, LLC.

“The four-year-old futurity horse concept has been discussed by good horsemen and breeders for years,” says Amanda Brumley, whose company will produce the show. “This idea challenges horsemen to provide a venue for young horses that need extra time to mature, train and prepare for competitive reining, both physically and mentally. This concept will benefit all levels of the reining horse industry, starting with the horse owners who want to give their equine athletes more time to bring their best game to the show pen, the breeders who know that the continued soundness a later start can provide contributes enormously to a long, productive career for their animals, and the trainers who understand that early, high pressure training can lead to difficult choices and shortened futures for some horses. Everybody wins with this concept … especially the horses!”

Some of the most anticipated events at this innovative show are the scheduled, free seminars slated to focus on topics like judging, training, breeding, sports medicine, shoeing and nutrition, conducted by experts like NRHA Professional and 4-Million Dollar rider, Andrea Fappani; NRHA Judges’ Committee Chairman, Jody Brainard, and top veterinarian and equine athlete expert, Dr. Khris Crowe.

Andrea Fappani will be going over some of his most innovative training techniques, including circling and speed control, basic exercises for young horses and tips for fine tuning the world’s finest finished performers. Born and raised in Italy, Fappani has become one of the all-time leading trainers in Reining worldwide and is an outstanding teacher, clinician and advocate of exceptional horsemanship. “I enjoy hosting clinics,” says Fappani. “It’s rewarding helping riders utilize exercises to improve their riding and better their horse’s performance level.”

Highly respected NRHA judge, Jody Brainard comes very recommended by both his reputation and his world famous “Secrets of Judging” Seminar which he teaches four times annually, twice in America and twice in Europe. A seasoned professional and third generation horseman, Brainard has judged every major NRHA competition and will host “A Judge’s Perspective” at the Wild Card this year. “The Wild Card 4-Year-Old Futurity idea is awesome,” Brainard notes candidly. “Some 3-year-olds are late to develop and 4-year-olds shouldn’t be competing with 5 and 6-year-olds.”

A recipient of numerous prestigious awards during her 33-year practice, Dr. Khris Crowe, DVM, with her husband NRHA Judge and competitor, Carlton Crowe, owns and operates the Red River Reproduction Center and Red River Equine Veterinary Services in North Texas. Her Wild Card seminar topic is the dynamically informative, “Giving Your Horse the Edge for Top Reining Competition.” “I will present a specific and concise checklist that every Reining horse owner or trainer should consider before attending a Reining competition,” says Crowe. “Despite the thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours spent preparing for competition, I treat horses every year for competition induced problems that are completely preventable.” Dr. Crowe’s presentation includes detailed handouts as well as door prizes for attendees.

The $65,000 Wild Card Four-Year-Old Futurity is an event that does not require nominations or enrollments for participation. The horses must have an NRHA Competition License to compete. Horses that are entered in the Wild Card Reining Challenge cannot have competed in any reining futurities (NRHA Category 2 Aged Event) as a three-year-old.

The Four-Year-Old Futurity is the spotlighted event of a show that will also offer a wide variety of ancillary reining classes, including the $47,000 Added 4 and 5-Year-Old Futurity for Arabian and Half-Arabian reining horses, sponsored by Cedar Ridge Arabians, and the popular World Para Reining Challenge for riders with physical handicaps and for discharged military with post-traumatic stress disorder.

“Whether you bring horses to show or just come to watch, this is going to be a not-to-be-missed exciting long weekend filled with great new ideas, innovative approaches and super show horses,” says Amanda Brumley, whose Brumley Management, LLC produces three other shows, the Cactus Reining Classic in Scottsdale in March, the Reining By The Bay Show in Woodside, California in July and the Las Vegas High Roller Classic in September.

For additional information, contact Amanda Brumley at 602-677-3774 or e-mail brumleymanagementgroup@gmail.com.