The National Reined Cow Horse Association (NRCHA) is proud to welcome NRCHA Professional Matt Koch of Elizabeth, Colorado, as NRCHA’s newest Million Dollar Rider.
Koch crossed the million-dollar mark following his run aboard XIT Ranch’s Smart Ladies Sparkle at The Run For A Million in Las Vegas. The pair secured a check for $3,500, well surpassing the amount needed for Koch to pass the milestone.
When Casey Deary and Americasnexttopgun won the Level 4 Open Championship at the 6666 National Reining Horse Association Derby presented by Markel, an incredible $75,000 was added to the lifetime earnings of both the horse and rider.
It was nearly three decades ago that Nathan Piper showed for the first time in a National Reining Horse Association-sanctioned event. He and Faith Dry Doc topped the Youth 14–18 class at a Texas Reining Horse Association show, and the scene was set for a career that would take him to the highest levels of reining competition.
The National Reined Cow Horse Association (NRCHA) welcomes NRCHA professional, Sarah Dawson of Perrin, Texas, into the prestigious NRCHA Million Dollar Rider Club.
Dawson crossed the million-dollar mark following her win at the 2022 Tres Osos Cow Horse Derby in Fort Worth, Texas, aboard Selvarey. She is one of the youngest to achieve this milestone. Her Million Dollar Rider banner was revealed during the 2022 Kalpowar Quarter Horses Celebration of Champions when she was named the Tres Osos Cow Horse Derby Open Champion.
The National Reining Horse Association continues to thrive, and a major contributor to the association’s success is the support from Corporate Partners. Most recently, Teton Ridge, a wholly American-owned multi-platform brand dedicated to the American Western way of life, pledged its support to reining when it joined the NRHA Corporate Partner line up.
With the airing of the December 17, 2021 episode of The Last Cowboy on the Paramount Network, reining fans around the globe were able to watch history be made at The Run For A Million presented by Teton Ridge. Although the event was held August 21, a media embargo meant fans had to wait to learn who the winner was until the final episode of The Last Cowboy aired.
With earnings of $23,014 at this year’s National Reining Horse Association Futurity, Mandy McCutcheon became only the fifth rider in reining history to earn more than $3 million in the show pen.
McCutcheon, of Aubrey, Texas, joins a very small group of riders, including Seven Million Dollar Rider Andrea Fappani, Six Million Dollar Rider and Hall of Fame inductee Shawn Flarida, Four Million Dollar Rider Craig Schmersal, and her father, NRHA Three Million Dollar Rider and Hall of Fame inductee Tim McQuay.
“I didn’t realize there were only four others to win that much. That’s pretty cool,” she said. “It’s so special to be there with my dad. I can say, 100 percent, that’s the most important part to me.”
Gennaro Lendi recorded his first earnings in the National Reining Horse Association in May 2004, when he won the Non Pro class at the Italian Reining Horse Association Derby on OT Taris High. Less than two decades later, Lendi joined the elite list of riders who have won more than one million dollars in competition.
Recent wins at the 2020 European Futurity, the Austrian Futurity, the German Breeders Futurity, the IRHA Maturity, and ARTA Futurity propelled him past that milestone.
“As I got closer to the million, it became all the more stressful as I wanted to surpass that mark as fast as I could. I put pressure on myself – especially after the pandemic stopped our shows – and it affected my performance in the show pen,” Lendi admitted.
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