Oded Fein is a dreamer. He dreams of living jewels and cut gemstones, sometimes at the same time.
Fein owns NRHA Corporate Sponsor MS Diamonds TX by Sleipnir. He designed the stunning ring that goes to the winners of the MS Diamonds TX Level 4 Open Futurity Finals – one each to the winning rider and the winning owner.
That ring, which has become a trophy that reiners dream about themselves, was designed with horses and riders in mind.
“I’ve been involved with horses for many years – all my life,” Fein said. “And I started doing reining the first time I came here in the year 2000. Since then, I’ve been doing reining all the time.”
In 2015, Fein’s business became an NRHA Corporate Sponsor.
“And I had this vision for the reiner to have a championship ring,” Fein said. “I met Frank (Costantini) on an airplane right after the Futurity of 2015. We spoke the whole time, and we closed the deal right there on the airplane.”
It took Fein about six months to design the ring, and each element has significance.
“If you see the whole shape of the ring, you can see it from the side,” Fein said. “It’s like the back of the saddle. The front is like a longhorn.”
The center stone is like the horn of a saddle, while the NRHA letters are shaped like a belt buckle.
“It’s special,” Fein said. “It’s bigger and better and, of course, much more valuable than any other championship ring any other sport has in the United States. At the beginning, people were skeptical, but Frank and Gary (Carpenter) made it happen.”
Fein is proud to see his creations worn on special occasions and cherishes the friendships he has developed through the years.
In an elegant booth in the Super Barn at the Oklahoma City Fairgrounds, Fein welcomes visitors to look at his jewelry and chat about horses.
“This booth is like a lounge for everybody,” Fein said. “Everybody comes here, they sit here, they make a lot of business here.”
It’s a chance for Fein to share his passion.
“It’s like a big family,” Fein said. “Sometimes we do things out of passion, and this has a lot of passion for me. I’m doing the NRHA Futurity, the European Futurity, and the Run for a Million ring. We’re doing rings all over. It has become a big symbol.”
But while surrounded by friends and beautiful jewels, Fein can’t stop thinking in the back of his mind about the troubles back home in Israel.
“We think a lot about home now, but still, it was a good time to come,” Fein said. “Just a big relief. But still, my heart is with all those families that lost people there. It’s not easy. But I can say that during that time, hundreds of people from the industry called me and texted me every day. Every day, people texted, people called, and messaged on Instagram, on Facebook all the time. I really felt like family. This warmed my heart a lot.”
On Oct. 7, attackers unexpectedly fired on Israel and entered to take about 240 hostages.
“Nobody believed that there is so much hate,” Fein said. “And this is really bad, really sad for the whole of humanity that something like this happening in the year 2023.”
Despite the dangers, Fein plans to return to Israel. Ten days after the Futurity ends, Fein, his daughter, and his son will go home.
“I feel here like home,” Fein said. “But my home is also there. And no one will run you out of your home. We are Israeli. We’re survivors. We fight, we stay, we don’t quit even if it’s hard.”
