2026 NRHA Leadership Gathering Day 1

February1, 2026

Every year NRHA meets to discuss the business of the association, hold informational meetings and committee and board meetings, and have our annual membership meeting. This gathering provides the opportunity for members to access leadership, learn more about the inner workings of our sport, and bring forth any ideas. For anyone in reining in any kind of a leadership position it is a must attend and I highly encourage anyone with an interest in the governance of reining to make the trip at least once. Knowing how things work makes all of us better members. 

At 6 am this morning I was seriously questioning my choices and if getting up and driving my car over my iced over driveway in 18 degree weather was really worth it. But I knew I’d regret not attending and so I pulled myself from my warm bed, got ready, and made the trek to the Embassy Suites in Denton, TX to see what the Leadership Launch was all about. Thankfully I was not disappointed. Lead by Billy Smith, NRHA Commissioner, it was a great informational discussion on the inner workings of NRHA and review of our by-laws. For anyone who has ever been frustrated by something in reining and wanted to make a change, this was the meeting to attend to learn how things work and what a member needs to do. Because while the convenience of “that made me upset, fix it” sounds easy, the reality is that our association has by-laws and procedures and policies for a reason- that main reason being that they would like to avoid litigation and protect the association.
As members it’s important that we understand the importance of this, and the structure and policies of our association that makes things work day in and day out. My key take away point was that we as a membership need to recognize that NRHA is not an investigative body, they do not have the ability (or budget) to investigate claims and hand down a sentence. That is the job of the police and our judicial system. While it can often feel like you don’t want things to be made public when something goes wrong, we need to get our police and judicial system involved to do their job, and NRHA can then impose a ruling based on the outcome of that investigation done by the authorities. It keeps everyone legally the most safe. Let the police and our judicial system do their job and let NRHA do its job which is to govern our sport and keep the records. I think so many times we just want to run to NRHA when in reality for something serious it’s important that we have the confidence to bring it to the authorities. Justice is always a long process, and while anyone can appreciate the frustration that comes with waiting for the wheels of justice to turn, for the safety of our association it’s important that we go through the correct channels. Or in plain terms, calling and complaining to the office staff can do absolutely nothing but make their day miserable. 

Read my notes from this meeting below. What’s your opinion? Would you change anything about NRHA’s current structure, by-laws, and policies?

Overview
- Primary focus on bylaws, separation of powers (Board / Executive Committee / Commissioner) and committee roles.
- Emphasis on protecting assets & minimizing risk (hard assets, IP, data) and the duty of leaders to understand structure.
- Discipline and due process: follow procedures; evidence (video) and stewards critical to enforce rules fairly.
- Committees are advisory vs standing — their job is to inform strategy; Executive Committee can act but Board has final authority (over riding the EC requires two‑thirds votes).
- External constraints: Horse Protection Act, SafeSport, non‑lobbying status, and limits on political activity (no PAC currently).

Bylaws, Board & EC authority
- NRHA bylaws are solid; leaders and members should read them annually.
- Board sets policy and strategy; NRHA staff executes; committees advise and bring in industry perspective.
- Executive Committee exercises board authority when the board is not in session but cannot increase fees, remove directors, sell assets, or merge; board can overrule the EC by two-thirds vote.
- Commissioner serves as chief executive with no voting rights; duties are defined in a contract for flexibility to prevent concentration of power.
- Leaders must preserve and grow organizational assets, including data/IP; focus on minimizing (not eliminating) risk

Membership rules & conflicts
- Board defines who qualifies as a member and sets membership types and authorities, subject to federal and state law.
- Courts have upheld broad board authority over membership rules so long as rules do not violate federal law (e.g., cannot discriminate on sex); restrictions on non‑protected traits are permitted.
- Courts review association’s bylaws, policies, and stated rules when litigating membership disputes.
- Conflict of interest is inherent in associations and varies in degree; an absolute prohibition on conflicted leaders would be impractical.

Discipline, stewards & due process
- Due process provides an internal appeal to the board of directors, which holds final authority on bylaws and interpretation; no administrative appellate step exists beyond the board; lawsuit is the external recourse; membership agreement binds both parties.
- Federal tax law prohibits political endorsements by tax-exempt associations without a political action committee; AQHA uses a PAC to endorse candidates.
- Commercial sales unrelated to the exempt purpose generate unrelated business income tax (UBIT/UBIN); sales tied to industry/common business interests create gray areas requiring careful structuring.
- Consistent rule application, clear bylaws-grounded policies, and confidentiality in disciplinary proceedings protect association assets and members; procedural violations (e.g., locking a rider in a room) produced successful lawsuits and financial exposure for other associations (while some want quick justice, it’s important to follow our rules and processes)
- Launch of the Horse Protection Act expansion was postponed; reopening was delayed until December 31st (announcement made last week).

Data & asset protection
- Data in performance and records has significant value and requires protection.
- Data is an important asset and other organizations have learned its importance after breaches.
- Risk management focuses on preserving assets and minimizing, not eliminating, risk.
- During the EHV-1 outbreak, rapid decisions were made to mitigate risk; financial outcome was favorable and will be presented by John tomorrow during the membership meeting.

Committees: role, nominations, finance
- NRHA has standing and advisory committes
- Nominating/governance committees evaluate candidates' history, contributions, experience, and perform basic background checks (e.g., online searches).
- Compensation committee recommends employee pay and compensation philosophy; does not set pay; post‑COVID inflation increased wage pressure and hiring/retention difficulty.
- Finance committee sets financial standards, adopted an investment policy, and prepares the budget for board approval; it cannot unilaterally approve the budget.
- Advisory committees provide subject‑matter expertise and must vote to make formal recommendations; executive committee generally approves or returns recommendations for revision.
- It is important that advisory committees remember to bring forward motions and vote to send to the Board for action