16/ APRIL 2023 THE RIDER VISIT OUR WEBSITE


www.orha.on.ca


Ontario Reining Horse Association


President, Banquet Dan Fletcher president@orha.on.ca


1st Vice-President Rules & Disciplinary John Purdie


2nd Vice-President/ Treasurer Terri Purdie, finance@orha.on.ca


Past President Gary Yaghdjian


Elected Director - Secretary


Joanne Milton


Elected Director - Futurity Programs Leona McAtee orhafuturity@orha.on.ca / ob- bofuturity1991@gmail.com


Appointed Director - ORHA Futurity Programs Tracy Nelson nelsontracy@gmail.com


Appointed Directors - Professional Committee/ Sponsorships Loris Epis


Appointed Director - Memberships


Samantha Speed - memberships@orha.on.ca


Appointed Director - Youth Advisor


Rebecca Nelles - oryha@orha.on.ca


Meet Your ORHA Board of Directors


By Ashley Janzen The Ontario Reining Horse Asso-


ciation was thrilled to host their first in- person Awards Banquet since 2020. On February 4th, 2023, members and guests gathered at the Best Western Brantford Hotel & Conference Centre to celebrate 2022 award winners, Green Reiner Graduates, sponsors, and our newest ORHA Hall of Fame inductee, Dan Fletcher! Attendees enjoyed a great din- ner, drinks, music, and dancing – plus a lot of fun at the photo booth! It was nice to see everyone looking their best, and to catch up with horse show friends in the off season. The AGM also took place earlier that day, at which our 2023 Board of Directors were named. Allow me to introduce…


held positions of President, Vice Presi- dent and Director. He has been actively involved in the sport of reining as a competitor and breeder, and his enthusi- asm for the sport and his ongoing com- mitment to support the industry in Ontario is undeniable. John lives in Shelburne, and looks forward to contin- uing to support our Ontario riders as they continue to achieve recognition on the world stage.


has been involved in the ORHA as a breeder, exhibitor, and horse show dad – and is now the guy to see if you want to host an affiliated reining show. He lives in Orangeville, and loves spending time with his grandson, filling him full of sugar before handing him back to his parents!


gress Champion, and has been an NRHA Futurity and Derby Reserve Champion and finalist at all major events. He works as a trainer, coach, and competitor in the sport of reining, and has been involved with the ORHA for 16 years. Residing in Campbellville, Loris aims to connect trainers and pro- fessionals with ORHA, and to seek and collect sponsorship. He is a big promo- tor of reining as a sport, and is excited to see it continue to grow in every pos- sible way.


Terri Purdie, Second Vice President, Treasurer Terri has been an ORHA board


Dan Fletcher, President Dan has served as President since


2018, and sat on the Board of Directors for 10 years. He is involved with all op- erations in the ORHA, from show plan- ning and approvals, to vendor support and facility support, as well as operation of the Board. Residing in Waterford, Dan has been an active competitor and member of the ORHA for 23 years, and continues to raise and train his horses with the goal of producing the very best top-level reining horses. A 2-time NRHA World Champion, Reserve World Champion, and many-time earner of NRHA Top Ten World standings, Dan’s proudest accomplishment may be supporting both of his grandchildren showing in ORHA! Dan shares, “I am very excited that over the years the ORHA has become known as a family and friends organization, with members who support one another, regardless of competition levels. People are the back- bone of any successful organization, and we are so very lucky to have the support and friendship of our members as we move into another brand new season.”


member since 2014 - initially as the Youth Advisor, and has since held posi- tions of Director and Vice-President. Al- though born into a performance horse family, you will not find Terri in the show pen - but you will find her cheer- ing for all of our ORHA family, and es- pecially for her son, NRHA Professional Gavin Pellerin. From Shelburne, Terri can often be found in the show office of our ORHA events. Terri will always have a special love of the development and encouragement of our Youth pro- gram.


Tracy Nelson, Appointed Director, Fu- turity, Media Tracy has been involved with the


ORHA for over 10 years, and on the Board for 3. She and Leona collaborate on everything to do with the ORHA Fu- turity program, including but definitely not limited to: keeping track of nomina- tions and entries, promoting and keeping news up to date on Facebook and our website (https://ontarioreining.com), or- ganizing prizes, and keeping track of show results. From Oakville, Tracy is a non-pro and private breeder. She is also mother to a toddler, and enjoys watching her son learn and grow!


Appointed Director - Media/Marketing


Alyssa VanKleek - socialmedia@orha.on.ca


Appointed Director - Print Media/Show Support


Ashley Janzen - ashleyjjanzen@gmail.com


Elected Director – Shows Mike Munroe, shows@orha.on.ca


Leona McAtee, Elected Director, Futu- rity


An ORHA member since 2000,


Leona has served on the Board for 8 years. She manages the ORHA Futurity Program, inputting information for nom- inated foals and owners, and planning for the program classes at the show. In Burford, Leona has bred and shown her own Futurity-nominated babies over the years, and her own children also showed in their youth. She is excited to get back in the saddle and ride in 2023!


Rebecca Nelles, Appointed Director, Youth


A member of the ORHA since


2015, Rebecca is an exhibitor, horse lover, and occasional photographer. She has been involved with the Board of Di- rectors for approximately 3 years, and describes her role as “organizer of the tiny humans”! Specifically, she supports the Youth Varsity Team by helping them organize and run fundraising and social events. A resident of Acton, Rebecca is excited for the arrival of her next reining partner this year


Joanne Milton, Elected Director, Sec- retary Joanne has served on the ORHA


Board of Directors for long enough for her memory to grow foggy – approxi- mately 30 years! Her memory seems perfectly accurate for taking and distrib- uting minutes of meetings, though! Joanne was a member of the ORHA for one year before joining the Board, and has spent time as an exhibitor, breeder, and coach. She considers herself semi- retired to light coaching duties currently, but actively tries to recruit more ex- hibitors because she just loves the sport of Reining! Joanne lives in Hillsburgh, and is excited that her legs are getting strong enough that she may be able to return to riding again this year!


John Purdie, First Vice President, Dis- cipline Committee John has been a member of the


ORHA board since its inception, was the first member voted into the ORHA Hall of Fame, and over the last 30 years, has


Mike Munroe, Elected Director, Shows


Mike has served on the Board for


almost as long as Joanne and John! In fact, it was John who introduced Mike to the sport of reining, and converted him from the Paint Horse world! Mike


Samantha Speed, Elected Director, Memberships Samantha is the newest ORHA


Elected Director, although she has been an ORHA member for 29 years! Fun fact: ORHA used to offer a family mem- bership, so her Dad Mike Munroe in- cluded her on it the year she was born! Sam lives in West Lorne, and is a long- time exhibitor, who has recently moved into training and coaching. Her ORHA role involves processing memberships and assisting with social media. She is very excited to be launching her new custom saddle pad business this year!


Loris Epis, Appointed Director, Profes- sionals’ Committee, Sponsorships Loris is an NRHA Professional


with lifetime earnings of $436, 182.88 and counting! He is a 2x NRHA Novice Open World Champion, multiple Con-


Ashley Janzen, Appointed Director, Print Media, Show Support Ashley is another ORHA member


who caught the reining addiction after participating in an Intro to Reining class on a borrowed horse in 2019! A few months later, she traded her 17-hand hunt seater for a cute little reiner, and the rest is history! Ashley joined the Board in 2022, and helps with print media and show organization. She and her horses live in Cayuga with her husband and 2 boys, where they hope to make more 4- legged reiners in the near future.


All of our ORHA Board of Direc-


tors can’t wait to see you at upcoming shows, where we welcome getting to know new members and reconnecting with old friends.


Tentative Show Dates:


Alyssa VanKleek, Appointed Director, Media, Marketing


An ORHA member for 8 years,


Alyssa has served on the Board of Di- rectors for 4. She is responsible for web- site maintenance and updates, and helping to come up with new ways to promote the organization. Alyssa partic- ipated in an Intro to Reining class in 2015, and got hooked! She also enjoys scribing at shows. Alyssa is from Burlington, and is excited that the ORHA is adding a second Board-run event to the 2023 schedule.


June 2-4 - Steel City Spin Ancaster


July 1-2 - Ynot Farms Meaford July 28-30 - Canadian Reining Classic


Fletchers Horseworld


August 18-20 - Steel City Spin Ancaster


Sept 15-17 - ORHA Grande Finale, Fletchers Horseworld


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