PRESS RELEASE
Ten-Year-Old Thai Cowgirl Saddles up for World Cup Reining
Bangkok, 19 May 2023 – Thailand will field its first competitor at the World Youth Reining Cup in Cremona, Italy, this month, when 10-year-old Natkamon Sonamai takes part in her first international competition.
Natkamon, better known by her nickname Baibua, will represent the newly formed National Reining Horse Association Thailand, set up to expand and build awareness of the internationally popular discipline.
Reining is a western riding style where participants guide their horses through precise patterns of circles, spins and stops, mimicking the maneuvers a horse would need on a cattle ranch in the US, where competition purses top $1 million.
While Thailand is well-established in equestrian sports from racing to showjumping and eventing, reining is relatively new to the country. Getting horses with the right training that can be used safely and successfully has limited its access, along with a lack of infrastructure and expertise.
“I’m excited about the experience that I’ll get by entering this competition,’’ Baibua said. “I’m new in the sport but I’ll try my best with this opportunity.’’
Baibua, who started riding when she was three, stood out at NRHA Thailand’s first event in February, when she took first place in the Youth 13 and Under division after learning the discipline during a two-day workshop before the competition.
The Grade 4 student’s aptitude for riding drew the attention of Toru McCoy, a professional rider who spent more than 35-years competing and training reining horses in the US and is now helping to build the sport in Thailand.
McCoy, based at Chomview Horse Riding Club Rayong, has taken Baibua into the Toru McCoy Reining Horses program to train for her international debut.
Along with her latest foray into reining, Baibua has won local prizes for show jumping and barrel racing, and competed in dressage tests with her riding stable, the Little Bit Horse Club.
A team of six, including Baibua, will leave on May 21 for Italy, where she’ll be assigned a local horse for the competition on May 27.
–ENDS—
Media contact for English and Thai: NHRA Thailand spokesperson Buddharaksa Jadphon at 062-791-4445 or nrhathailand@gmail.com
Photographer: Nikkasit Motographer
