The Ranch Horse Association of America was formed by a panel of ranch horse connoisseurs committed to the western lifestyle and devoted to seeing it flourish through the multi-functional abilities of the working ranch horse. The founding visionaries created the RHAA as a non-profit organization in 1998 and it has proudly been promoting the western heritage and rich history of these horses and their riders ever since.

RHAA competitions were created to furnish an atmosphere where riders could exhibit the keen characteristics credited to the horses who make jobs in the ranching industry run smoothly. The original format of the RHAA consisted of a run made up of three segments: reining, cow work and roping. The RHAA has since grown and now offers additional modified versions of this original format to our youth contestants, as well as to a class designed with our novice riders in mind. The RHAA sanctions competitions across an average of five states each year. Each sanctioned show advances the top bracket of competitors for the renowned RHAA National Finals.

The association holds their annual RHAA National Finals in conjunction with the prestigious Western Heritage Classic in Abilene, Texas. The grand finale event encompasses all qualifiers from sanctioned shows over the course of the year, and provides an outlet for these riders and horses to join together and compete for the ultimate title in their divisions. An outstanding array of teamwork, skill and athleticism are show-cased within the arena walls of our National Finals.