LAS VEGAS, Nev.—There’s deeply rooted tradition in the discipline of reined cow horse, and the horsemen and horsewomen preparing for fall aged events will surely abide by the time-honored techniques and practices that make this sport so beloved.

But innovation surrounds the events that showcase these horses, and no one has been more leading-edge than the National Stock Horse Association, which is moving its signature event from Paso Robles to Las Vegas this year.

South Point Hotel and Casino, designed and built with equestrians in mind, will host the 2018 NSHA Futurity, Derby and World’s Richest Stock Horse competition Aug. 21-26. It will be the first time this event, which began decades ago as a summer coming out party for trainers to show their 3-year-old prospects before the venerable National Reined Cow Horse Association Snaffle Bit Futurity, takes place outside California—the cradle of reined cow horse. The NRCHA moved its World Championship Snaffle Bit Futurity to Fort Worth, Texas, last year.

TEMECULA—It had been a while since a reined cow horse show filled Green Acres Ranch. But, after hosting the two-day Southern California Reined Cow Horse Association Big Horse July Jubilee July 13-15, it looks like events will be coming back for a long time.

Previous SCRCHA competitions had been held up the road at beautiful Galway Downs, but when facility changes were made for the SCRCHA July show, some members didn’t see the altered arrangement as their best option. Vice President Roy Rich of Green Acres spearheaded an accelerated effort to relocate the club’s summer series to his ranch.

It was a sort of return to history, pointed out SCRCHA Vanessa Norris, who said Green Acres actually is where the SCRCHA originated.

Well, August is here and so is the heat. July showed us some very hot temperatures, but we still have the late summer and early fall heat waves to deal with. We have discussed most of this before, so here are some reminders.

1. The cornerstone to surviving this heat for our horses is water. Access to plenty of clean and cool water is essential.

DEL MAR—The Del Mar Horse Park’s Grand Prix Field was buzzing with FEI CSI2* excitement July 28 when 36 horse-and rider-combinations were put to the test over Ivan Tagle’s $35,500 Gold Tour Grand Prix track. With 12 clean, it was Karl Cook aboard Signe Ostby’s gray Holsteiner gelding, Caillou 24, who took the victory in an impressive time of 35.81.

The second to return in the jump-off was Thursday’s FEI 2* Gold Tour Speed Stake winner, Ashlee Bond with Donatello 141. Galloping around clean in 37.34 seconds, they once again set the time to beat. Shawn Casady and Cicomein VDL, who were second on Thursday, were next and put the pedal to the metal. Not quite fast enough, they crossed the timers in 37.60 seconds, just .26 seconds slower than Bond.

Hawthorne Country Store will host a Purina® Check-R-Board® Day & BIG, FAT, HUGE SALE on Saturday, August 25 from 9 am to 5 pm. EVERYTHING WILL BE ON SALE from small discounts to serious yard-sale-pricing blow-out discounts! There will be back-to-school specials on kid’s clothing including boots and jeans. Come check out the sale in our extensive department for harvest prep, canning and food dehydration! Now is the time to get ready for your next FFA and 4-H project with great deals on equipment and supplies. PREPAY FOR FEED & COMMODITY PRODUCTS on sale this day and collect your discounted product for months to come! You’ll find manufacturer reps to talk about your favorite products, giveaways, samples and multiple fantastic raffle prizes! The sale is happening at both Hawthorne Country Store locations in Escondido and Fallbrook. Hawthorne Country Store is a Purina® Expert Dealer.

DEL MAR—“I usually wouldn’t push a 7-year-old into these types of classes,” admitted Ashlee Bond after winning the FEI CSI2* $35,000 1.45m Gold Tour Speed Stake July 25 on Donatello 141. “But he just feels so confident and ready. Every time I’ve asked him to step up, he’s done it with ease and today was no different.”

The energetic Bond and Donatello, a Westphalian gelding owned by Little Valley Farms, were one of 48 horse-and-rider combinations to take on the grass grand prix field at Showpark in one of the signature events of Blenheim EquiSports’s Showpark Racing Festival. Going 17th in the order, Bond edged out the leading time held by Eduardo Menezes, and could not be caught by the following 41 entries.

“I definitely wasn’t planning on going fast and taking the win,” said Bond. “I really can’t believe I just won that class.”

Have you ever felt you are at the limit of your knowledge when trying to resolve a behavioral issue or perhaps achieving a goal or target? You may not even know what you don’t know—you just feel stuck.

This is your starting point. Listen to your intuition. This is the time for honesty. As much as we take credit for our success, just as important is acknowledging and taking responsibility for our failures. You can’t blame the horse, the person who sold you your horse, your job, the limited amount of time or finances you have to spend on your hobby, etc. We are where we are based on decisions we have made or have allowed to be made for us.

When you see the best equine athletes performing, you’ll notice that although they exhibit tremendous power, every movement is fluid and relaxed. There is no tension or stiffness anywhere. If this type of performance is your ultimate goal, the first thing you need to check on is your own riding. When you ride, are you fluid and relaxed, with no tension or stiffness anywhere? Many novice riders get so focused on what they want their horses to do that they forget about themselves. Soon they end up carrying a lot of tension in different parts of their body, shoulders in particular and your horse will respond to your tension. Stiffness in the rider results in movements and cues that are laborious and abrupt instead of smooth and flowing, and the end result will be resistance and stiffness in the horse. This is why many of the exercises in this part of the program we’re looking at in July and August issues are designed to help you develop your cues until they almost happen on their own so you can stay relaxed and responsive in the saddle.

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla.—William Shatner, an avid Los Angeles-based reiner who cultivated a career spanning over 50 years as an Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor, director, producer, screenwriter, recording artist, author and horseman, will receive the National Reining Horse Association Dale Wilkinson Lifetime Achievement Award.

In 2007, the NRHA Hall of Fame Committee initiated the NRHA Dale Wilkinson Lifetime Achievement Award, supported by the Reining Horse Foundation (RHF), and each year, the NRHA Board of Directors and past Hall of Fame inductees vote to approve a worthy candidate for recognition.

Shatner, one of pop culture’s most recognizable figures, received the award for his contributions as a horseman, horse industry promoter and philanthropist,.

As of press time, firefighters were still battling more than a dozen wildfires across California on Monday morning, including the Carr Fire in Shasta County, in which at least six people have died, and the Ferguson Fire in Mariposa County, which has killed two. In Southern California, the Cranston Fire in the San Jacinto Mountains in Riverside County has burned 13,139 acres and had reached 57 percent containment by Monday, July 30, according to the U.S. Forest Service. The fire had begun Wednesday, and evacuation orders have been lifted for Idyllwild and Pine Cove. The fire was caused by arson, officials said.