Fittingly, the Reining Horse Sports Foundation (RHSF) Crisis Fund has become the RHSF Dale Wilkinson Memorial Crisis Fund.

Since 2000, the RHSF Crisis Fund has awarded $68,000 and helped numerous NRHA members in their time of need. Whether it is natural disaster or physical illness, RHSF has been able to provide financial support.

Given Wilkinson’s influence, impact, and mentoring of the performance horse industry’s professionals, and in particular NRHA, it is a natural fit and done with the Wilkinson family’s blessings. “They are very pleased,” said Rick Weaver, NRHA President and Dale Wilkinson’s son-in-law.

The current primary fund-raising program has been the RHSF Rookie Days presented by Classic Equine that are held about anywhere reiners or horsemen congregate. This one-day clinic/show format brings a unique aspect to learning about the sport of Reining. Participants spend a half day working with trainers and the second half competing in a mock show where they receive guidance on their runs from approved judges. A teaching style that reflects Wilkinson’s support for up-and-coming reiners while also supporting members in their times of need.

The Hall of Fame’s first inductee and without question one of Reining’s most well-respected iconic legends, Wilkinson was often referred to as the “Father of Modern-Day Reining.” An educator and teacher with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge about his favorite subject – the horse, Wilkinson co-founded the University of Findlay Equestrian Program in 1976 and is the only rider to win the National Reining Horse Association Futurity and the National Cutting Horse Association Futurity.

The Reining Horse Sports Foundation consists of five core programs: http://www.reininghorsesportsfoundation.com/youth.html Youth, http://www.reininghorsesportsfoundation.com/fame.html Hall of Fame, http://www.reininghorsesportsfoundation.com/international.html International Development, http://www.reininghorsesportsfoundation.com/research.html Research & Education, and the Dale Wilkinson Memorial Crisis Fund. For more information or to make a donation please contact Brian Bendele, manager of the RHSF and Youth Programs at [email protected] or 405-946-7400, extension 130. Won’t you help us keep the memory of Dale Wilkinson and our other Hall of Famers alive!