QUOTES 2007

FRANK COSTANTINI, IN A RECENT QH NEWS ARTICLE, OCTOBER 07

• "without the Futurity and Derby, there would be no need for members, affiliates or professionals who make their livelihood training horse for those who want to enjoy the sport."

TERRY OWENS IN A BROADCAST EMAIL, SEPTEMBER 2007

• "Attached is a questionnaire that was completed by Bill Peel regarding his run for Vice President of the NRHA at the request of Whoazone. They refused to place this on their website, so I am taking the liberty of sending it out to as many people as I can."

  • Whoazone posted Bill Peel's Candidate Interview 9-25.  It was submitted 17 days post-deadline.

BILL PEEL, NOMINEE FOR VICE PRESIDENT, prior to election

• "The greatest challenge we have with the NRHA is staying attuned to our membership. In an over-communicated society, it is challenging to reach the range of people who constitute our members."

ALLEN MITCHELS, VICE PRESIDENT ELECT, prior to election

• “...I see the “controversial issues” not as problems but as opportunities for our association to improve."

ANONYMOUS COMMENT ON INFERIORITY

• "...I keep hearing "I'm just a lowly weekender" and "I am only a this or that" and "I'm just a small time trainer".... What sector or environment of REINING makes people feel inferior and actually apologetic for holding only a minor role in this sport?  It is a very unhealthy thing when people feel low and unimportant because they are a weekend warrior or a less-than-well-known trainer. This is an issue the NRHA should take very seriously. I'm not too into group hugs, but honestly, Reiners of ALL levels need to feel like they actually hold value and belong...."

STEVEN M. HARRIS , NOMINEE FOR ELECTED BOARD MEMBER, prior to election

• " I do think it is time for us all to start seeing NRHA for what it actually is: a basically successful, forty year old organization that is extremely interdependent and that needs some upgrading. We need to ramp down the rhetoric about grass roots vs. elite reiners and east vs. west and start to see ourselves as one whole with a basic agreement about the love of our horses, our sport and the good-willed people within it. "

DALE LOPP, ELECTED BOARD MEMBER, prior to election

• "I believe that we need to get back to growing and helping the base of this association, that being the weekenders, derbies and futurity riders, because it takes all of us to make this association work."

JOHN MILCHICK, NOMINEE FOR ELECTED BOARD MEMBER, prior to election

• "I feel that NRHA is at a very important crossroads. Will we serve the many grassroots members or the few elites? Will the membership step up to address the issues and effect change or let the status quo ride?"

REINING CANADA NEWSLETTER, 8-07, REGARDING PROPOSED BYLAW FOR PER CAPITA REPRESENTATION AMONG THE NRHA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

• Reining Canada President-Elect Terry Griffin writes, "The proposed bylaws will alter the current NRHA Board of Directors and...will allow the NRHA to be governed completely by and for a US-based membership."

• the bylaw proposal to which she refers states...

  "NRHA members from each Affiliate Region shall elect at least one director to the NRHA Board of Directors. An additional director shall be elected from the Affiliate Region when total NRHA membership in the region reaches 1,000 members and another seat shall be elected for each additional 500 members.... Each National Association Affiliate (NAA) with 100 members shall elect one director to the NRHA Board provided that country has at least (4) NRHA approved shows with a full slate of classes. One additional director seat shall be elected when that NAA reaches 1,000 members and another seat shall be elected for each additional 500 members."

• read the complete bylaw language here

• at the unofficial last count, Reining Canada had 1,047 current members; enough to retain their 3 director seats on the NRHA Board for 2008. An official tally will be taken on the last day of the current year.

• *BYLAW J passed by majority vote at the NRHA General Election, October, 07

GREG HILL, ELECTED BOARD MEMBER, prior to election

• "The members are back, alive and well. Believe me, the show will go on and the NRHA will be fine, as long as members realize that they can, should and must speak out, listen, ask questions to better understand, be involved at town talks and vote for better leaders. "

MIKE BOYLE, NRHA PRESIDENT, LETTER TO MEMBERSHIP, 8-07

• "I formed a task force to audit the NRHA office and systems. The Management Committee and the Executive Board have reviewed the recommendations put forth from the Audit Task Force.  Based on the recommendations of the Audit Task Force, I have formed a new task force..."

KIT COSPER, ELECTED BOARD MEMBER, prior to election

• "I'm just a concerned member .... I was asked to serve and agreed, so now it's a matter of doing as much as I can to get things back on track and, hopefully, in a manner that pleases the majority of the membership."

NANETTE TILL, NRHA BOARD OF DIRECTORS

• "I have gotten many letters, e-mails, and phone calls on these subjects and you can be assured my vote will reflect the desires of the majority of the membership. I think this shake-up of the national organization-NRHA-will ultimately be a very positive step toward taking our sport into the future...."

QUESTION DIRECTED TOWARD A CURRENT NRHA BOARD MEMBER

• "In light of the recent uproar from the general membership and the affiliate boards throughout the country on both of the contentious rule proposals, what ownership do you take from an Elected Board member position and as a chairman of one of the proposals you were involved in?  How do you explain your actions to the to the membership?  Why should a member cast their vote for an individual involved in these failed proposals?   The Executive Board is totally out of touch with the NRHA membership..."

THE FLARIDA LETTER, REGARDING THE PROPOSED MEDICATION POLICY

• "We can choose to do nothing or we can choose to do something; but choosing to do something that accomplishes nothing should not be an option..."

NRHA DERBY REVIEW, JUNE 2006: (June 2006 Board of Directors Minutes)

• "....we (NRHA) made a $178,191 investment in the Derby and the Reining community....the Spotlight Sale profit will be above budget....Overall, the Derby was a great success." 

• The actual final loss for the Derby that year was $196,747; $18,500 more than the original loss reported in the minutes.

TOM GROVER LETTER REGARDING FULL DISCLOSURE

• "It is time for this board to stop treating it's members like they do not understand what is going on. This board has lost all credibility with the membership and needs to do some bold things to regain that credibility and respect..."

ROD MILLER, NOMINEE FOR ELECTED BOARD MEMBER, prior to election

• "With the correct changes we can get back to showing our horses, and leave politics to those that enjoy it. But first we need to make sure there are measures put in place to guarantee that the membership's opinion can never again be misunderstood or ignored!"