Cowboy Office Show Brian Dygert

The top scores were three points lower than the 2023 qualifying scores. The numbers are in and the analysis is complete. What do the results from this years’ qualifier say? This episode compares 2024 to last year’s qualifying event. 

Heads Up

This episode is best consumed by video due to the graphic and visual nature of it. Watch directly via the website, or on Youtube or Spotify for the best experience.

The depth of Open competition continues to drive forward and find new peaks and valleys as 10 riders get qualified for the Finals in August in Vegas. An in depth analysis of the scores, what they say, how to interrupt them and what do they mean?   This episode slices and dices the numbers and scores including penalties applied and not applied along with the maneuver evaluation decisions made. We focus on the top riders  that get qualified for the Run For The Million.  We look at and review runs that were at the cut line for making the top 10 .  We share and explain the  stats of the officials performance and error rate on the entire open aged event.

The Show Rundown


Top 10 Qualify for 2024 RFM in Vegas: What the scores say.  


Maneuver scoring: Can officials identify and report levels of excellence?


Maneuver spreads:  How can the maneuver scores be good and poor at the same time ?


Does penalty application non-unanimous affect the final scores? 


Officiating for Reining: Are we ready to step up our judging system?


Performance Rate for officiating. What does the Error Rate say?



This episode looks at examples of excellent rollbacks with clips from Nathan Piper rider Doctor VooDoo, Duane Latimer, riding CS Especially Moody and Martin Muehlstaetter riding Good Time To Tashya. This episode illustrates why  rollbacks are the hardest maneuver to mark consistently in the sport of reining.

This episode displays graphs on statistics and data from the Top 10 qualified runs along with graphs of officiating performance and officiating error rate including penalties applied and penalties applied that are not-unanimous across all official score cards. 

Runs used in video review and analysis are:

Trevor Dare riding Spat Toy Boy Gun 

Cira Baeck riding Out Of The Furnace 

Tom McCutcheon riding Super Marioo

Matt Mills riding Guns and Dynamite



Keep Your Questions Coming

The Cowboy Office continues to address all of the amazing questions we’ve received since the show started … don’t worry, we keep a list. In honor of you and your viewership, stay tuned and check the website for blog articles now being published.

ONE MORE THING

The American Horse Council  2023 Economic Impact Study is out.. You can purchase your copy at ahc.org.  

RESOURCES:Brumley Management Group: https://brumleyevents.com/pdf/cactusreiningclassic/2024/60scoresheets.pdf

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Learning from the past, listening to the present, looking to the future. Bart Corrington taps into his Reining History 101 Facebook group and industry experience to give us insights into the reining industry.


Our Guest:

Bart Corrington

- Owner/Operator of BC Reining Horses, Tallahassee, FL

- Two-time NRHA World Champion

- Horse trainer for 29 years

- FB Group: Reining History 101 with over 15,000 members

In This Episode:

Consider this: The NRHA reported its 2022 membership at 14,384. Reining History 101 boasts over 15,000 members. 



How does IHSA fit into the puzzle?

Bart’s mother coaches the Florida State IHSA team which operates out of BC Reining Horses. A large percentage of IHSA competitors don’t come from a horse background. This gives Bart a glimpse into the draw of the equine industry on the rest of the world.

- IHSA vs NCEA

- Structure of competition



Reining History 101

NRHA was founded in 1966 on three pillars: Good Ground, Good Judges, Good Purses

- Ground is good

- Judging is satisfactory

- Purses are growing

Is our growth sustainable?

- Nomination Programs

- Shows competing for the same exhibitor pool (this pool is not growing!)

- Newcomers ability to succeed is questionable

Bart’s take on shows in the Southeast and the influence of the Cuban culture

We are an industry that claims to be businesslike and professional but we manage with a club or hobby mindset. 

Keep Your Questions Coming

Email questions to exec@cowboyoffice.com. We’ll continue to catalog your questions for our blog or next question and answer segment.


RESOURCES:

Production and marketing by ConsultMent.Agency

Reining History 101 Facebook -  Click Here



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In today’s episode, we take a look at the 2023 NRHA Futurity. We talk about the tie for Open Level 4 Champion, scores, spreads, and use of the judging scale. We don’t forget about the Non Pro Futurity and address the industry buzz around Lane Colston and Adam Donahue’s finals runs.

Congratulations to the Winners!

-- Level 4 Futurity Champions Brian Bell, Crystalized Whizkey owned by Wallace Wood

-- Level 4 Reserve Champions Andrea Fappani and Inferno Thirty Five owned by Stephen Archer

-- Level 4 Non Pro Champions Lane Colston and Gunna Be Painted



In This Episode:

Let’s Talk Ties

225.5 tie between Brian Bell on Crystalized Whizkey  and Andrea Fappani on Inferno Thirty Five. The stakes: 350K to the Champion, 150K to Reserve and the Title of 2023 NRHA Futurity Champion.

Andrea Fappani and Inferno Thirty Five were last in the draw. The judges’ held this score for a review which acted as a catalyst creating a perfect storm of confusion in a run off situation. Would there be a run off? No, go with awards. Wait, yes, clear the arena! Um, let’s wait an hour. 

Is it time to change the Futurity Conditions to eliminate the run off option? This is the pinnacle event of the reining industry. Why not require a run off to crown a definitive Champion? No one wants a tie in the Super Bowl, and it shouldn’t be an option at the NRHA Futurity.



We Don’t Judge Style

Style varied greatly between champion & co-champion. Neither are great movers, did that impact scores in circles and rundowns? It was refreshing to see multiple styles perform well and get paid at the highest level. This is what judging has been teaching for years and we saw it played out on the main stage this year. 



Set Up for Success with Pattern Selection

Pattern selection for Go 1 and Go 2 was phenomenal. Pattern 12 allowed separation and provided an excellent filtering process, then pattern 15 thinned out the semi-finalists with some challenging maneuvers. 



New Schedule Helped Everyone

The extra days opened the schedule and allowed for shorter days. The show had good length of working days for judges/staff/exhibitors/horses. Everyone performs better when well rested.



Scoring Analytics

Average cut Scores were 1 to 1 ½ points higher in 2022 compared to this year. Was competition different or was judging more conservative? 

Judging was consistent throughout the entire Futurity, where they were in the draw made no difference, judges did a great job sorting the competition. 

With three-year-olds being this dynamic, what can we expect from them in the next two years? Genetics, training, and development practices have allowed them to mature at this level. But they still need to be brought along and developed to keep them performing well for longer. 



Non Pro Futurity Buzz

NP Champions: Lane Colston and Gunna Be Painted

Adam Donahue’s Circles - did they get marked appropriately?



Keep Your Questions Coming

Email questions to exec@cowboyoffice.com. We’ll continue to catalog your questions for our blog or next question and answer segment.



RESOURCES:

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Maneuver scoring was implemented for the first time and reining and the working western industry was changed.

Is it time for a new revolution?



Some years become pivotal points in history. The equine industry, the working western world, and the reining industry can look at 1985 as the year everything changed.

What was this industry altering catalyst? 

The introduction of the new reining scoring system. Until this point, judging was subjective with seemingly arbitrary scores assigned based on one judge’s opinion at the end of the run. With the introduction of this new officiating system, a standard would be set, education would become required, and scores would be derived from a maneuver by maneuver objective evaluation.

Soon the entire horse industry would embrace the revolutionary system and virtually all pattern classes would develop a maneuver scoring system. Judges in all disciplines would become trained observers rather than individuals offering their arbitrary opinions.

Today’s Guest:

John Snobelen:  The mind, teacher and mentor to the reining officiating system 


NRHA Hall of Fame (1994)


Non Pro & owner


Mentor, judge, innovator


Past Minister of Education for the province of Ontario



“If we were wine - we would be good by now  -  fine &  priceless.” John Snobelen - 2023 

The Show Rundown

In this episode, Brian Dygert and Jody Brainard reflect with John Snobelen about the innovative mindset the leaders of the reining industry used to create the NRHA judging system. They look at 1985 as a focal point to find lessons we can use today.

Reining Judging System

The judging system has worked for 38 years. Or has it? The industry is three times bigger than it was in 1985. Competition has evolved but the judging system has not. What was once innovative is now outdated. Is it time for a system update?

The judging system needs to be able to handle the highly evolved levels of competition. The industry continues to get better, horses are more dynamic, fine distinctions separate the winning runs, and technical skills continue to elevate competition. 

Brian and Jody ask these questions to special guest John Snobelen and he provides unorthodox and unexpected answers.  John, who spent a career studying leadership, change, and courage, offers perspective not just on the tools needed for reining judges, but on human behavior, judging performance, and that improvement itself may not be enough.

Challenges the Officiating System Needs to Handle


Multiple Levels



Running all levels (1-4 in Aged events) concurrently creates inconsistent results


Consider the difference between a Rookie 70 and an Open 70


Re-evaluate the standard from the bottom up



Depth of Competition



It takes a 220 or better to make the finals in major events, like the 100x Reining in Tulsa


Winning runs average 226-230



Volume of entries creates classes lasting multiple days



Focus fatigue, consistency spread over multiple days



Need more tools to make fine distinctions (½ points are not enough)



Challenges the Industry Needs to Consider


Economics of earnings


Purse distribution


Industry growth and development


Continued Education


Officiating Management


Politics & Economic pressures


Change Management



Keep Your Questions Coming

Email questions to exec@cowboyoffice.com. We’ll continue to catalog your questions for our blog or next question and answer segment.



RESOURCES:



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A Horse Sporting Event Like We’ve Never Seen! Life After the Futurity is Here

The 100X Reining Classic made a lot of claims before the event. They stepped up and delivered, even exceeding expectations. The 100X producers and staff proved that different is better.



This wasn’t a horse show, it was an event. With 1,700 horses competing for $3 million in purse money spread over 9 days and distributed deeper across the competition, they are showing the reining world what the future of this industry looks like.



We can’t cover this event in one episode, we’ll have two more coming this month. Today’s episode is an overview of the 100X Reining. We look at the impact of this type of event on the industry and watch a couple of the winning runs.



The Show Rundown



The Numbers are In

- 172 in the 100X open Futurity - took 2 days

- 138 in 100x Stakes [4 yr olds only] - 2 days for qualifying go round and

- 92 in 100X Invitational Futurity

- 130 in the NARS Derby - 4-7 yr olds to close the event out!!



Winning Runs

- 007 & Gabriel Borges

- Xtra Wimp It Good & Fernando Salgado

- Pale Face Blazin & Edouard Winne



Change is Coming

- Is it time for an independent judges system?

- Can A non-profit organization, run by and for political influence, train and manage officials at this level?

- Where do weekend horse shows fit in? Should they be separate from Aged Events?

- 100X isn’t waiting for an organization to lead, they are moving the industry forward



Big Impact of this Event

- Changing the way we view Futurity horses, 4yr Old horses, and Aged horses.

- Creating room to let horse develop over time

- No more of the Futurity being the end of major event careers

- Outside the box thinking was incredible and created excitement at all levels

- Elevated production teams are leading the way

- Breeders programs seem to be creating a “self-handicap” that opens the trail for more riders to compete and succeed.

- The “unspoken 80:20 purse money rule” is on it’s way out

(100X Stakes L1 winner was paid double what the L1 Derby winner was paid)



Coming Soon

Two more shows on 100X. We’ll go into the analysis of competition on the 100X Stakes and the NARS Open Derby.

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- If you have questions, email us at exec@cowboyoffice.com.



Keep Your Questions Coming

Email questions to exec@cowboyoffice.com. We’ll continue to catalog your questions for our next question and answer segment.



ONE MORE THING

Take the American Horse Council Economic Impact Survey. Your voice matters so use it!



RESOURCES:

100X Reining Classic: https://100xreiningclassic.com/

Production and marketing by ConsultMent.Agency



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David McGee and Travis Pufpaff, owners and operators of NARS, may have the keys to making breeding programs sustainable while supporting multiple sectors of the industry.

Breeders programs in the reining industry are growing in number and size. The days of building a great breeding program and selling your foal as a stand-alone, no incentives included, deal are quickly fading into memory. Today, buyers of competition-quality reining horses require them to be enrolled in, or at least eligible for, multiple breeders programs. The number of aged events that won’t let you through the gate without a paid enrollment are growing. And because the purses that result from these programs are skyrocketing, breeders programs continue to thrive. But can it last?

In this episode, the Cowboys talk with the owners and operators of the North American Reining Stakes (NARS). They’ll get honest answers about the sustainability of these programs along with a peek into the future of the NARS breeders program. 

The Show Rundown


Breeder Program Evolution



How NARS evolved from a local breeding program to a nationwide program 



Gearing up for the NARS Derby at the 100X Reining in Tulsa, OK, this week



Inaugural event showcasing the North American Mare Power program


NARS Futurity will be held November 2-5 in Columbiana, OH



Big Picture Goals for NARS



Foster mutually beneficial relationships between owners, breeders, and exhibitors


Serve more exhibitors by offering affordable breeding program with incentives for competition growth


Keep value to owner high in the Mare Power program


Increase purses for competition



The Future of Breeders Programs



How to make it sustainable


Creating programs that benefit breeders, owners, and exhibitors


Supporting purses without breaking the bank of breeders




Keep Your Questions Coming

Email questions to exec@cowboyoffice.com. We’ll continue to catalog your questions for our next question and answer segment.

ONE MORE THING

Take the American Horse Council Economic Impact Survey. Your voice matters so use it!

RESOURCES:



North American Reining Stakes: https://northamericanreiningstakes.com/nars-event/ 

Production and marketing by ConsultMent.Agency

COWBOY OFFICE SHOW

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Facebook: www.facebook.com/cowboyofficeshow

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