Nothing quite embodies the sport of reining like that sliding stop, and the photo that accompanies it, showcasing the sand cascading in waves under the horse’s feet. It’s Randy Snodgrass’ job to get those waves just right, and at his first 6666 NRHA Derby presented by Markel, he did just that.
Snodgrass was the first person to drag the sand he filled the new OG&E Coliseum with before this year’s Derby. It’s a memory he won’t forget, and one that he reflects on after the hustle of the short setup is over.
“It was a lot of work so I didn’t have a lot of time to think about us being the first, but now, it’s pretty cool,” said Snodgrass, of Joshua, Texas. “To be the first person to drag this arena, I’ll always get to say that.”
Arena Werks, the arena drag and management company Snodgrass owns with his son, William, and son-in-law, Ty Ferguson, got started 38 years ago, when Snodgrass was seeking a drag for his own use. A the time, he was training Western pleasure and halter horses.
“I grew up in Iowa, went to college in Colorado, and I wanted to be a horse trainer, so I moved to Texas,” he recalled. “I tried to work out a deal with a couple of people that had drags they couldn’t sell, but no one wanted to work with me. I was telling my dad about one dealer in Fort Worth, and he said to go back, buy all the parts [of the drags] from him, finish them and make some money. So, I did that. Back then, there was no competition, and they were easy to sell.”
Soon, he was spending more time welding in the shop, creating drags, than he spent horseback. It was a turning point in his life.
“I had to make a choice, and I figured if I wanted to send my kids to college, I needed a ‘real’ job. It rocked along for a long time,” he said. “We started out with a round drag, and we still have a lot of customers that only need that drag. It evolved from there to five different three-point drags, one ATV [pulling] drag, and then we have the big, pull-type that we call the Elite that we do the horse shows with, and the professional trainers have, and we also have water trailers.”
Nearly a decade ago, Snodgrass started slowing down manufacturing and sales, but that is when his son and son-in-law stepped in. Now, Arena Werks is ramping back up. In 2025, they added multiple premier events to an already impressive list of shows. Among the shows that Arena Werks manages dirt for are the NRHA Derby and Futurity, the National Reined Cow Horse Association’s Texas and Oklahoma based events, The Run For A Million, the National Snaffle Bit Association World Championship Show, the American Paint Horse Association World Championship Show, the Pinto World Championship Show, and the Stock Horse of Texas World Show.
“We have nine drivers here; five daytime drivers and four nighttime drivers here at the Derby,” Snodgrass said. “We have a really good crew here, and it takes a bunch. In August alone, we have the NSBA, The Run For A Million and a cow horse show in Louisiana all going at the same time. In October, the Snaffle Bit Futurity overlaps with the Stock Horse of Texas World Show; this [NRHA Derby] overlaps with the Paint World Show. When it overlaps like that, it takes lots of drags and lots of manpower.”
To set up the OG&E as a top-tier reining arena, Snodgrass and the OKC Fairgrounds’ dirt crew got started building the base. From the first load that drove in Saturday morning through 2 p.m. on Sunday, they hauled in base. Then, on Monday morning, the crew began adding sand. Snodgrass appreciated the longtime Fair crew’s knowledge when starting the arena from scratch.
“One thing that helped a lot here is that the State Fairgrounds has a contractor that moves the dirt in and out all year long,” he said. “This dirt is NRHA’s dirt, only, that is used for these events. However, we didn’t know if we had enough NRHA dirt for this new arena. Starting out, I had two guys come that have worked this show before. We just started hauling in dirt and put in 10 inches of NRHA’s dirt, then two inches of new sand on top of that. We started playing with it to see how much water to use or not use, how quickly we could build the base up or take it down.”
The occupancy permit limited the crews time to set up, but the arena was ready by paid practices. And those practices helped Snodgrass set up for showtime.
“NRHA’s dirt was undercover, but the sand we hauled in was outside, so it was very, very wet when it came in. The base came in moist because of all the rain they had, which worked out because all the dump trucks hauling in dirt and sand packed it. Then the sand came in wet, so we tried to dry, dry, dry,” he explained.
“The first day of paid practices, it got pretty dry, which let us know it was dry to the base, so then we added water,” continued Snodgrass. “We watch how the horses are stopping, how heavy it seems to be for them, then back off or add more. Really, what it is, is a very educated guess. If you ask 10 different people, they will have 10 different opinions on the dirt. I guess it takes a crazy person to come here and try and make 900 reiners happy!”
If the high scores and the dirt-slinging shots captured in camera weren’t proof enough, the dirt stood up to the test. For Snodgrass, creating arenas that enable fellow horsemen and -women to compete in a safe environment is a bonus to creating a company that will last for generations.
“The side of my drags all say Proverbs 16:3, ‘commit your works to the Lord, and your plans will succeed.’ I wanted to be a horse trainer, I hated welding. But He said that He would sell as many drags as I could build, so first and foremost, we try to operate the business in a manner pleasing to Him,” Snodgrass said. “We do something we enjoy, and William, Ty and I enjoy doing it together. It’s something I can not only pass to my kids, but it can go further for the grandkids. When God give you an opportunity to provide for two more generations, it’s just what you do.”
