2026 Horse Awards

Champion Overall Best Condition Horse (Sponsored by Horse Heaven Trail Gear)
The horse with the highest accumulated Best Condition (BC) points ridden by any number of PNER members of any age is honored. BC points are accumulated when there are at least two starters and a BC horse is recognized at the event. The recognized BC horse receives one BC point per mile, prorated by the number of starters when there are fewer than 10. (Includes endurance and/or limited distance events.)

ADDITIONAL ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION:The minimum completion requirement does not apply.
Note: the calculation for BC points = # of riders/10 * distance, so is prorated if # of riders is less than 10.

Standings:

Champion Junior Best Condition Horse (Sponsored by Max & Darlene Merlich)
The horse with the highest accumulated Best Condition (BC) points ridden by any number of Junior PNER members is honored. Junior BC points are accumulated when there are at least two Junior starters, and a Junior BC horse is recognized at the event, and the horse receives the highest veterinarian score in the Junior BC judging. All Juniors completing the event are eligible to show their horse for Junior BC judging when offered by the ride manager. The recognized BC horse receives one Junior BC point per mile, prorated by the number of Junior starters when there are fewer than 3. (Includes endurance and/or limited distance events.) 

ADDITIONAL ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION: The minimum completion requirement does not apply. Please note that ride managers are not required to recognize or conduct Junior BC horse judging at their events. Therefore, the ride manager must have conducted Junior BC horse judging at his/her ride event and the name of the Junior horse with the highest BC veterinarian score must be provided to the PNER Points Secretary by the ride manager.

Standings:

100-Mile Horse Lifetime Achievement
Horses consistently competing in one-day 100-mile events are remarkable. This is a milestone award and is based on the quantity of one-day 100-mile completions in the PNER region over the lifetime of the horse. Recognition of milestones to be determined by owner nomination prior to December 1 of each ride year. Milestones are acknowledged at 300, 500, 1000, 1500, and 2000 miles. Beyond 2000 miles, recognition is conveyed in 1000-mile increments. The Awards Coordinator to verify annual completions.

ADDITIONAL ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION: The minimum completion requirement does not apply. Owner Nomination required by December 1

Drinkers of the Wind (Sponsored by Deer Creek Stables) 
This award honors horses that embody the meaning of endurance. The award celebrates equines with long endurance careers who continue, mile-after-mile, to consistently complete endurance distance events.

ADDITIONAL ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION: A minimum 5000 accumulated lifetime endurance miles must be recorded for the horse to be eligible. The horse must successfully complete at least one endurance event during the current ride season and endurance events outside the PNER region are included in determining eligibility. The horse must by owned by a PNER member.
An enrollment submittal must be sent to the Awards Coordinator at awards@pner.net by December 1 to verify eligibility requirements have been met. A list of nominees and any submitted materials will be forwarded to the award sponsor. The minimum completion requirement does not apply.

Veteran Horse (sponsored by Stevie Delahunt)
For the horse with outstanding performance in endurance over the years with any number of riders of any age. To be considered, the horse must have a minimum of 2500 career endurance miles and have competed in 50+ mile rides for at least three years. Historical miles may have been accumulated outside the Pacific Northwest Region. Emphasis will be placed on high mileage and consisent performance. The horse must be owned by a PNER member. 

ADDITIONAL ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION: The minimum completion requirement does not apply. Nomination required by December 1.

Top 3 High Mileage Horses
Horses with the highest total accumulated miles (endurance and/or limited distance) are recognized. The horse may be ridden by any number of PNER members of any age.

ADDITIONAL ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION: The minimum completion requirement applies

Standings:

Gaited Horse (sponsored by Kathy Bray and Sheri Cook) 
The gaited horse with the highest accumulated miles (endurance and/or limited distance) is recognized.  The horse may be ridden by any number of PNER members of any age.

ADDITIONAL ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION:  Horses must be registered with a recognized gaited horse breed association.  Common gaited horse breeds include Icelandic, Mangalarga Marchador, Missouri Fox Trotter, North American Single-Footing, Paso Fino, Peruvian Paso, Racking, Rocky Mountain, Kentucky Mountain, McCurdy Plantation, Spotted Saddle, Tennessee Walker, Walkaloosa.  Questions regarding recognized gaited horse breeds and associations should be directed to the award sponsor.  (See membership directory for contact information.)  An enrollment form with a copy of the horse’s registration papers must be submitted to the Awards Coordinator at awards@pner.net no later than August 1 to verify eligibility requirements have been met. 

ADDITIONAL ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION: The minimum completion requirement applies. Enrollment required by August 1

Enrolled for current year:

Horse of the Future

Sponsored by Bianca Chevalier
In the late 1990s, Jim & Kathy Montgomery and then Sue McLain sponsored this award for many years. It was a popular award for riders who wanted to develop a new horse beginning with 50 mile distances. It eventually was discontinued because some horses were overridden in an effort to win the award. We believe that this award can be revived safely with increased awareness. This award is presented annually to the one horse who has successfully met the criteria described below.

• For the first year horse that has never started any endurance or limited distance ride
  
• Award goes to the horse with the most consecutive completions on PNER rides 50+ miles
• Any number of PNER riders allowed, junior or senior
• If at any time the horse fails to complete a ride of any distance, the count returns to zero. Only completions of endurance distances will count
• The minimum 3 completions applies
• Mileage breaks any tie. In event of a tie (equal number of ride completions and equal mileage), the qualifying horses will receive equal awards
• Horses must be owned or leased (and ridden) by a PNER member
• The horse must be at least five years old
• Eligibility must be declared prior to the horse’s first ride to the Awards Coordinator using the nomination form on the PNER website

Since this is a horse's first year participating in endurance riding, the welfare and stewardship of any Horse of the Future nominee is of utmost importance. A nomination form is available in the Forms link under Awards & Standings.

Nominations for 2026:
Kara Henry - Autumnwind Attlas (BayB)