The Southwest Reining Horse Association Futurity, held annually at the historic Hardy Murphy Coliseum in Ardmore, Okla., is known as the final stop for futurity horses heading to the National Reining Horse Association Futurity that caps off the year.
The SWRHA Futurity is the culminating event of its Futurity & Horse Show, which is held in late October. That means that horses entered in the Billingsley Ford Open and the Custom Made Dunit Non Pro Futurities have just four weeks before they hit the big stage in Oklahoma City.
That, along with the increased entries of recent years, prompted the SWRHA Board of Directors to take a hard look at the schedule, and make an unprecedented change. The event will now start four days earlier, on Oct. 20, with the Open and Non Pro Futurities to be held the first Friday and Saturday of the event.
“It should help the 3-year-olds by giving them a whole extra week to prepare between the two events,” said NRHA Professional Jared Leclair, a SWRHA board member who was on the SWRHA Futurity Schedule Task Force. That group brought the new schedule to the SWRHA Board and consequently to the annual SWRHA Riders Meeting.
“It also lets trainers concentrate on their futurity horses early in the show and reduces the crowding in the warmup arenas,” Leclair added.
“Each year, the reining industry has seen incredible growth across the country, which has meant very long show days. That’s not enjoyable for exhibitors and owners, and we believe that this year’s entry numbers could show even more growth,” said Cheryl Cody, SWRHA Show Manager.
She added, “We hope this new schedule will curb the strain of those long days. We also think it will be beneficial to the riders in the NRHA classes, as trainers will have more time to focus on their other horses and clients.”
The SWRHA Board of Directors has also approved the addition of a third slate of NRHA-approved Youth classes and made helmets mandatory for entries in the always-popular leadline class.
SWRHA Vice President Lindsey McCutcheon said, “The Riders Meeting, held February 20, was a great and productive meeting. The changes in the schedule, as far as the youth classes and the leadline, came from discussions held there. As always, we thank our members who participate in our annual meeting and appreciate their input.”
To view the 2023 SWRHA Futurity & Horse Show Schedule, click 