Oklahoma City, OK – November 10, 2009 – He’s known for voyaging deep into unknown galaxies aboard the Starship Enterprise, but William Shatner will climb aboard another high-powered machine – a reining horse – at the 4R Performance Horses Celebrity Slide benefitting Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Oklahoma. He’ll try his skills at commanding the lightning quick moves of the horse while guiding it through a reining pattern and its precise maneuvers on December 4 at the Oklahoma State Fair Arena beginning at 6 pm! The Reining Horse Sports Foundation (RHSF) proudly brings this event to the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) Futurity & Adequan® North American Affiliate Championship Show for the third year.
Shatner will join the likes of Grammy award winning singer/songwriter Lyle Lovett, founder of one of America’s leading fine jewelry companies David Yurman, TLC’s Trading Spaces star Christi Proctor and Tulsa Morning Anchor Kristin Dickerson who also have thrown their hats into the ring as celebrity Reiners.
WILD BULL RIDERS AND NRHA PROS
On December 4, Shatner will be competing with some of the world’s greatest bull riding celebrities including Cody Ford, JW Hart, Cody Lambert, Adriano Moraes and Mike Lee. Moving out-of-their-comfort-zone, the celebrity competitors will get a crash course in the sport from some of the best reiners in the world. This year’s coaches include NRHA Two Million Dollar Rider Tim McQuay; NRHA Professionals Brian Bell, Mike Flarida, Casey Hinton, Pete Kyle, Jared Leclair, Marco Ricotta, John Rosi, Sam Smith and Terry Thompson. Assisting will be their young friends from the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Oklahoma, serving as honorary coaches.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS AND GET TICKETS
Tickets for the Celebrity Slide are $8 and can be purchased in advance at nrhafuturity.com. Avid fans who want a chance to meet their favorite celebrities “up close and personal” can attend a VIP Reception at the conclusion of the competition. Tickets to the VIP event may be purchased from the Foundation through RHSF Coordinator Krissy Colbath for $100 each (limited tickets available).
So, get ready for a nail-biting, edge-of-your-seat event and join us for an evening of excitement and help make some worthy youngsters’ “wishes come true”. Mark your calendar for Friday, December 4 at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds beginning at 6 pm! There’ll be opportunities for autographs and photographs, so come prepared.
SHATNER – THE HORSEMAN
William Shatner has cultivated a career that has spanned over 50 years as an Emmy and Golden Globe-winning actor, director, producer, screenwriter, recording artist, author, and horseman. He is one of pop culture’s most recognizable figures and has also established himself as a major Hollywood philanthropist.
Shatner has also become a success in another career—horse breeding. A longtime dedicated breeder of American Quarter horses, he has had smashing success with the beautiful American Saddlebred, developing and riding world champions “Sultan’s Great Day” and “Revival.” He has won numerous world championships in several equine events.
His passions for horses and philanthropy were united through his involvement with AHEAD With Horses, a charity organization that gives physically and mentally challenged children the thrill of riding a horse—and boosts their confidence and self-esteem, often with life-changing results. For the past 19 years, he has hosted the Hollywood Charity Horse Show at the Los Angeles Equestrian Center. The event, held every spring, benefits AHEAD With Horses and other Los Angeles-based charities. He has also worked with the American Tinnitus Association, raising awareness of this debilitating illness through numerous television appearances and interviews. In June 2007, he helped raise awareness of the sub-par treatment that many U.S. troops were receiving at Walter Reed Army Hospital.
On an international level, he and his wife have started the William & Elizabeth Shatner Therapeutic Riding Consortium Endowment for Israel. This very special venture is designed to benefit Bedouin, Palestinian, Jordanian, and Israeli children so that in addition to healing, there will be an effort to bring the war-torn children together and start the first steps towards a lasting peace.
Most of all, Shatner is proud of the award he won in October 2009: Pacific Coast Year End Horse of the Year All-Around Amateur.
Shatner continues to act, write, produce and direct while still managing to find time to work with charities and further his passion in the equestrian sports. He and his wife and three married children live in Los Angeles.
RHSF
The Reining Horse Sports Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to developing and enhancing the sport of Reining worldwide. The RHSF accomplishes this through their five core programs: NRHA Hall of Fame, Crisis Fund, Research, Development & Education, Youth Programs and International Development. For further information about the Foundation, contact rhsf@nrha.com or 405-946-7400, ext. 137, or visit the RHSF website at reininghorsesportsfoundation.com.
MAKE-A-WISH FOUNDATION®
The Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Oklahoma serves children ages 2 ½ to 18 living throughout Oklahoma and has granted more than 1,600 wishes since its inception in 1987. For more information about the Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Oklahoma please visit oklahoma.wish.org or contact Whitney Moss at 405-286-4000 to find out how you can share the power of a wish®.
4R PERFORMANCE HORSES
The RHSF is grateful to event sponsor 4R Performance Horses and the many volunteers who’ve given so generously of their time and resources to make this “wish” come true. 4R Performance Horses is owned and operated by Dwaine & Judith Rivers, together with their two daughters. They are located just minutes north of San Antonio in Boerne, Texas and specialize in raising, showing & selling reining horses. They have paid special attention to selecting top quality broodmares, with each of them performing in the show pen, and stallions that are proven performers, with some of the best bloodlines the industry has to offer. 4R Performance Horses can be found on the web at 4rperformancehorses.com.
