It’s About to Get Western

From NSBA:

The National Snaffle Bit Association’s board of directors approved the creation of a Ranch Horse division to its popular Breeders Championship Futurity (BCF) program earlier this year, and the program is slated to begin classes with Three Year Old events in 2026.

 

Responding to Popularity

“The National Snaffle Bit Association is excited to offer a Ranch division to the Breeders Championship Futurity program to our members,” noted Stephanie Lynn, NSBA executive director. “The Ranch division of competition has proven to be one of the most popular divisions in our industry. We are pleased to be able to create this opportunity for our Ranch exhibitors to earn money in a futurity setting on par with our other divisions.

“A great deal of thought and planning went into developing this division to help it become a program that will benefit our members. A Ranch Horse Task Force consisting of several NSBA Ranch exhibitors developed recommendations that were presented to the NSBA board of directors regarding the creation of the Ranch BCF program.”

Trainer Clayton Jerrell, of Newburgh, Indiana, serves on the Ranch BCF Task Force. “The NSBA’s new Ranch BCF division gives Ranch exhibitors a place to show against other horses of the same age and skill level, rather than against older horses, and it gives us a place to earn futurity money for our three, four, five and six year old horses,” he said.

“It’s a great place to showcase our young horses, and it also gives horse breeders another option to participate a program where they can have an opportunity to earn futurity money.

“Especially for Reining breeders and stallion owners, at the end of the day, not every horse can be a great Reiner. Ranch classes allow these horses a different option to be competitive. I expect to see growth in the Ranch division at the NSBA World Show as a result of the new Ranch BCF division, and I think it’s going to increase in the next few years.”

 

What Exhibitors Are Saying

Exhibitors at the 2024 NSBA World Championship Show are excited to have the Ranch Breeders Championship Futurity division.

Shannon Quinlin Hill, who operates Hill Performance Horses with her husband, Brad, in Sharpsville, Pennsylvania, looks forward to the new division. “We are all excited about it,” she said. “We have a lot of stallions in the barn that we plan on nominating to it. I think it will be a great thing. People are starting to breed for the Ranch Riding, which is a bit of a new concept but it is starting to catch on. I think the Ranch BCF will give them another incentive to do so.

“As a trainer, it’s fantastic. We tend to specialize in the younger horses, and it’s very exciting to have a place to go and show and earn money and earn a title, promote the stallions, promote the owners. I think it’s going to be a great way to showcase the industry.

“We have Jannee and Dominic Pugliani’s stallion, Everybodystalkinatme, that we’re definitely going to be nominating, and his first foals will be hitting the ground soon. We’re also very excited about joining in the NSBA yearling sale too. I think it will be a lot of fun to bring the yearlings and be able to fit them and show them and get them in programs. I believe it will give owners and buyers a reason to be excited to go buy a yearling and promote it, and aim for a horse show like this. It’s going to add value to the Ranch horses. I think it’s really going to elevate people’s thoughts about the division and add value to the horses.”

“I think the Ranch BCF is great, and I’m really glad it’s happening. The regular BCF divisions have really built the NSBA World Show into what it is today in the other events,” noted Ryan Kail, who operates Kail Quarter Horses in Scottsdale, Arizona, with his family.

“I think it will do nothing but attract more people to the Ranch division. There are a lot more opportunities to win money in the Ranch division here than there were even five years ago, and I think the Ranch BCF will make the NSBA World Show one of the leading shows that people look forward to, to win some money and earn world and futurity titles. I can see the purses becoming equally as impressive as some of the pleasure purses in the show.”

“It’s really exciting,” noted Jimmy Daurio, who trains at Daurio Performance Horses in Loveland, Colorado. “Ranch Riding is a huge event at all the major shows now, and this will give us an opportunity to show new horses by some great stallions. I think great things are going to happen with it.”

Cody Crow, who operates No Where But Up Performance Horses LLC in Johnstown, Colorado, agrees. “There’s so much interest in the Ranch horse, and the Ranch BCF program is a good incentive for the breeders who want to breed specifically for Ranch horses now. It’s also going to be a great place to get our three year olds ready to exhibit, whether its representing someone’s breeding program and even just getting these horses out and about. It’s a really positive movement. Everything is growing and evolving, and it’s really cool to see this is just carrying momentum.”

 

Class Rollout Over Four Years

This program is designed to appeal to all horse breeders, owners, trainers, and exhibitors, by offering a full slate of ranch classes and paybacks for horses showing from three years old through six years old.

The Ranch BCF will be held each year in conjunction with the NSBA World Championship Show. The Ranch BCF division will host its first classes at the 2026 NSBA World Championship Show and Breeders Championship Futurity. The program will start with a Three Year Old Open Ranch Riding class. The initial year of the program will have a projected $10,400 purse. In 2027, Four Year Old Open Ranch Riding, Four Year Old Open Ranch Rail, Four Year Old Non-Pro Ranch Riding and Four Year Old Non-Pro Ranch Rail will be added. During the 2028 NSBA World Championship Show, Five Year Old Open Ranch Riding, Ranch Rail and Ranch Trail as well as Five Year Old Non-Pro Ranch Riding, Non-Pro Ranch Rail and Non-Pro Ranch Trail will be added, and

in 2029, the Five Year Old classes will become Five and Six Year Old events to complete the division. When the division is complete, a projected purse of nearly $50,000 would be available to the Ranch BCF division.

A total of 17 classes will be offered during the Ranch Breeders Championship Futurity once fully established in 2029.

2026
• 3 Year Old – Open Ranch Riding

CLASSES TO BE ADDED IN 2027
• 4 Year Old – Open Ranch Riding
• 4 Year Old – Open Ranch Rail
• 4 Year Old – Non Pro Ranch Riding
• 4 Year Old – Non Pro Ranch Rail

 CLASSES TO BE ADDED IN 2028 & 2029
• 5-6 Year Old – Open Ranch Riding
• 5-6 Year Old – Open Ranch Rail
• 5-6 Year Old – Open Ranch Trail
• 5-6 Year Old – Non Pro Ranch Riding
• 5-6 Year Old – Non Pro Ranch Rail
• 5-6 Year Old – Non Pro Ranch Trail

 

How to Enroll

To participate in the Ranch Breeders Championship Futurity program, a horse must be sired by a stallion nominated to the Ranch BCF program for the offspring’s yearling year. Stallion owners will have the opportunity to nominate their stallions into the new division in 2025 for an introductory nomination fee of $500, which will make their 2023 and 2024 foal crops eligible for the new Ranch Breeders Championship Futurity division.

Breeders and foal owners can begin enrolling their 2023 foals in 2025 for an introductory enrollment fee of $350, if paid by May 15, 2025, while 2024 foals can be enrolled for an enrollment fee of $200 if paid by May 15, 2025. Following the introductory year, stallion
nomination and foal enrollment will follow an annual schedule. Nominated BCF Ranch stallions will be listed on the NSBA website and will specify each year of participation.

 

About NSBA’s Breeders Championship Futurity