Gene LaCroix, a very successful trainer and exhibitor of English performance horses, has founded the Renai Horse Registry. Having experience in new registries as a founder of the National Show Horse Registry (which lists the Arabian/Saddlebred cross as a separate breed), LaCroix has said of the RHR, “instead of being a typical breed with ‘breed type’, it is a registry of horses with ‘breed function’. Instead of allowing only horses with common ancestors, as in all pure breeds, it encourages the use of crossbreeding for creating superior function.”
The Renai Horse Registry (RHR) lists three different Registration Divisions; Division A--The Renai Horse, Division B--The Renaissance Arabian and Division C--All Breed Show Horses. The purpose of all divisions is to promote breeding, showing and marketing of horses for higher levels of performance and competition.
According to the RHR Handbook, for a horse to qualify for Division A of the RHR it must be born after Dec. 31, 2001, be sired by a Renai Licensed Stallion (Foundation, Nominated, Approved or Approved-Elite), and the Dam must be enrolled as a Renai Foundation Mare or a Renai Stud Book Mare.
In order to qualify for Division B the horse must first be registered with the AHRA or any WAHO member registry, foals born in the year 2006 and later must be sired by a Renaissance Arabian (RA) Licensed Stallion and out of an RA Foundation Mare. The goal of Division C is to bring horses and exhibitors of all English performance breeds together at shows, to exchange new ideas and to introduce them to the Renai Horse. To qualify for Division C the horse must be born prior to Jan. 1, 2002 and horses may be of any breed, crossbreed or grade.
Since the RHR is a registry of function, not type the possibilities are endless. At the moment there are Foundation Sires from seven different breeds including: American Saddlebreds, Morgans, and Hackneys to name a few.
"From inception, the RHR has been inclusive of all breeds. The ultimate horse will undoubtedly be a composition of various breeds." said LaCroix. The Foundation Stallions were selected from each breed because they have proven themselves in their respective breeds and the list of Foundation Sires continues to grow. Each Division has its own system of approval and licensing for stallions. The Licensing Process will not go into effect until the year 2004. The RHR Handbook states that "the approval process (for stallions) is an evaluation conducted through three different rounds of testing, in order to determine those most likely to be successful sires."
Round One evaluates all Renai Foal Book colts at age two. The colts are judged against a strict criteria and only the better colts receive the First Premium and the Star Merit Award. Round Two reevaluates the colts from Round One on their conformation, movement, beauty and elegance. Before any of these colts go on to Round Three they must pass fertility testing, x-ray examinations and hereditary disease diagnostics. Round Three or the Central Test requires each colt to go through approximately 60 days of training at one facility by one trainer who is carefully selected for their expertise in training young horses. Approved Stallions will be selected after Round Three based on their talent and ability, their willingness to train, their overall temperament, stall habits, and their potential to progress the Renai Breed. Only after being licensed as a Renai Approved Stallion can the breeding career begin. The RHR will keep track of all offspring, if a sire produces only mediocre or below average offspring, the RHR has the right to suspend or revoke their license as an Approved Stallion.
Only after an Approved Stallion has demonstrated a positive influence on the breed, will he receive Approved Elite status and have a permanent and irrevocable license to breed. Outside stallions may also be selected by the RHR and licensed as Renai Approved Stallions if outside blood is considered necessary to enhance the progress of the Breed.
The main goal of the RHR is to promote the awareness of the breed. The hopes of the RHR is to have several horse shows throughout the year that will offer performance classes in all three of the RHR divisions. However, the RHR will introduce new class specifications, protocol and judging systems. The RHR Judging System will use three judges who will confer on the entries and come up with the placing as a group instead of individually. These judges will not be announced until the start of each show. After reaching an agreement, one of the judges will give oral reasons to the audience as to why the class was tied the way it was. It will be clear that the winning horses most closely represent the breed standard.
2002 saw the first Annual RHR World Cup Championship Horse Show held in Shelbyville, Ky. "I think the people who came had fun; they understood the concept, they liked the judging system and the fact that there was less showmanship involved in the in-hand classes and more emphasis on the natural, real horse," says LaCroix. "I feel good about it and think that it was an excellent start."