Flarida will compete for the $1 million today, Saturday, Aug. 17.
Despite his abundant successes and the opportunity to win the largest purse in the history of reining, Flarida remains humble.
Working with horses has been a part of Flarida’s life since his childhood. “We always had horses growing up. My father is a great horseman,” said Flarida. “My dad started taking me to Quarter Horse shows. We didn’t have very good horses, but he bought me whatever we could find, trained them up the best we could and showed them. We worked together and we would try anything known to mankind to get them to turn and stop.”
In the early ’80s the Flaridas started going to the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) shows. “Reining started in Ohio, so I got to be around some guys who were very educated, some of the founding fathers of the sport,” said Flarida.
Flarida grew up in Ohio and chose to stay in Ohio to be close to family. “Family has a lot to do with where you stay,” said Flarida. “I’ve been fortunate that I can stay around family and be successful. Dad (Bill) is with me every day and watches me. He has always been by my side.”
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Flarida said as he grew older, he found himself looking for his father’s eyes and opinion and used it to his advantage. “He is one of the best ground guys I could imagine,” he said. “He’s been awesome for me. Sometimes, as professionals we need that. That person can’t lie to you. My dad, he’s really blunt.”
Flarida’s work ethic includes riding up to 14 horses per day starting in the early morning hours. “To be successful in this, you’ve got to be a horseman first,” said Flarida. “You’ve got to understand how a horse thinks, be sure he’s getting the proper food and getting taken care of. You’ve got to learn the horse first and foremost. Anyone who doesn’t is missing the greatest part.”
In keeping with family tradition, Flarida’s son Sam, will compete for $50,000 in the non-pro competition at the Run for a Million event. In 2013 when Sam was 10, the father-son team performed in a reining exhibition at the All American Quarter Horse Congress in Columbus.
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Taylor Sheridan, co-creator of the Paramount Network hit drama Yellowstone is also producing the reining event Run for a Million. Run for a Million is the sport’s first, arena-based competition with a $1 million purse, marking the largest in its history. It is also the culmination of Sheridan’s latest production The Last Cowboy which features eight of the 12 competitors.
A reining competition exhibits the skills and athletic abilities necessary in the working ranch horse but does so within the confines of a show pen.
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There are 13 approved official reining patterns requiring compulsory movements which include small slow circles, large fast circles, flying lead changes, roll-backs, 360-degree spins, and sliding stops.
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