ARTICLE AND IMAGES BY JO O’BRIEN
It was inevitable that the day was going to come when Wilba Thornberry would step down as the National Reined Cow Horse Association Australia (NRCHAA) President, a position he held from 2020 to the end of 2025.
A passionate and driven ambassador for the sport of Reined Cow Horse, Wilba along with wife Kaz, invested time, money and energy into rebuilding and reforming the sport of Reined Cow Horse in Australia that has now seen an explosion in its growth and popularity over the last 8 years essentially due to their vision.
Wilba has always had interest in the sport of Reined Cow Horse. During a trip to the USA in the early 2000s to study equine dentistry and chiropractic’s, he met and stayed with the NRCHA USA Hall of Famer and first Million Dollar female rider, Annie Reynolds. This meeting formed a lifelong friendship between Wilba and Annie. Each year on his return to the USA he would stay with Annie, having an opportunity to watch her train and show her horses, gathering as much information on how to make Reined Cow horse a success back home in Australia.
Initially, Wilba could see the biggest issue holding Australian riders back from embracing the Reined Cow horse sport was that, as a riding nation, we ride two-handed as opposed to the USA which is primarily one handed and ‘western’. Wilba accepted the challenge and, with a lot of thought and vision, he believed that the sport could be adopted to suit and encourage Australian riders to give Reined Cow Horse a go.
The NRCHAA had been reformed in 2014, with Rafe Ritchie as President, running clinics and mini shows in and around the Tamworth area. Wilba saw an opportunity to act on his vision and passion for Reined Cow Horse in Australia, and after many discussions with Rafe, it was agreed that Wilba could run Cow Horse shows under the NRCHAA.
Wilba set a goal to run 3 shows per year over 3 years and Central West Cow Horse was formed. Whilst maintaining the foundation and concept of Reined Cow Horse, Wilba developed classes that suited the Australian horse and rider, giving competitors the opportunity to compete in the tack they already owned and to ride two- handed in a ‘legal’ bit. He believed that riders would embrace Reined Cow horse and the sport would develop and evolve over time and history now shows us that it has indeed gone from strength to strength with most competitors now choosing to ride in ‘traditional western’ saddles and gear.
In order to run shows, Wilba purchased a time clock, arena banners and worked out a self-perpetuating cost structure to ensure growth and continuity within the club. The first show was held at Bribbaree, followed by Geurie and Orange, all attracting great interest and support with a waiting list for entries for the second show.
It was early days and all the work was done solely by Wilba, Kaz and their daughter Liddy; from setting up the arena, the catering, dragging the arena, the paper work, organising cattle, judging and scribing, announcing and the supply of all the equipment required to run a show; a massive undertaking by a handful of people.
As the reined Cow Horse shows began to gain interest and momentum, individuals and businesses wanted to be involved, approaching Wilba with offers of sponsorship and assistance. The Tack House in Young owned by Tish and Rod Healey have been there from the beginning, generously providing the sport with beautiful prizes, helping promote the sport of reined cow horse in Australia. Baileys of Greta have also been there from the beginning, providing generous sponsorship for all shows, including new affiliates of the NRCHAA. Many more sponsors came on board all keen to see the growth of reined cow horse.
From humble beginnings and a lot of hard work done by Wilba and Kaz at Central West Cow horse, Wilba’s passion for Reined Cow horse in Australia began to build. Interest in the sport of Reined cow horse was growing rapidly just as Wilba had hoped and competitors attending his shows were keen to run shows themselves; Wilba’s enthusiasm for the sport was infectious. After a few short years, Wilba’s vision came to fruition with 7 affiliates joining the NRCHAA under his Presidency. Kat McLeod ran Northern Victorian Livestock (NVL) Cow Horse for a number of years with the help of Wilba prior to affiliating to the NRCHAA.
Micheal Rapley from Binnaway went on to form a cow horse club at the Binnaway Multi-Purpose Arena (BMA) and affiliate with the NRCHAA. With the growth of the sport, BMA now run 2 shows a year.
After attending the BMA shows, Scott and Lindee McNaughton formed North West Cow Horse (NWCH) based at Quirindi. A NRCHAA affiliate and now run 2 shows a year.
Mid West Working Cow Horse Club (MWWCHC) based at Mudgee and ran by Kylie McDonnell also affiliated with the NRCHAA running an annual show.
The Southern Working Cow Horse Club (SWCHC) based at Tumbarumba was formed in 2019 after Tim & Jo O’Brien attended the Wattamondara show and affiliated with the NRCHAA running an annual show.
Greg and Ziz Williams formed the Border Zone Cow Horse (BZCH) based at Delungra and affiliated with the NRCHAA running an annual show.
Riverina Cow Horse (RCH) was formed after Troy Kylstra and Emma Finemore attended several cow horse shows. Now affiliated with the NRCHAA they run 2 shows a year.
The NRCHAA now runs a Futurity, Derby and National Finals, hosted annually by an affiliate club.
Wilba’s generosity and dedication to grow the sport of reined cow horse in Australia was evident with the assistance and support he gave to affiliate clubs. Wilba drove hours out of his way to check arenas suitability, lend equipment to new clubs, offer advice and impart his knowledge on how best to run a successful show. Wilba and Kaz spent hours sitting in the Judge and scribe seats, without charge to the affiliate clubs, ensuring their shows could run, setting up and packing up was all part of the support given.
Reined Cow horse in Australia would not be what it is today if it wasn’t for Wilba’s hunger to educate himself, share his knowledge and believe that this sport could be embraced in Australia. He was instrumental in producing the NRCHAA rulebook, affiliating the NRCHAA with the NRCHA USA, and evolving the NRCHAA from just 1 club to include 7 affiliates. Wilba has had an opportunity to judge in the USA and is an accredited AA judge with the NRCHA USA. Passionate about getting more accredited judges in Australia, Wilba has worked tirelessly with the NRCHA USA to now pave the way for this to be achieved.
Stepping away from his role as the NRCHAA President was never going to be easy but the time had come for a new chapter in the life of Wilba and Kaz Thornberry. Wilba’s dedication to the NRCHAA has been unwavering and all-consuming to the sport of reined cow horse and its growth in Australia. We thank them for their tireless commitment to the sport that is now enjoyed by hundreds of competitors that would never have known about reined cow horse. We hope to see you down the road with your gooseneck filled with horses to compete on instead of filled with banners, timeclocks, zip ties and other show paraphernalia.
The reins have been handed over and are now in the capable hands of new NRCHAA President Michael Rapley. The future looks bright for the NRCHAA and reined cow horse in Australia, thanks to Wilba Thornberry.