Hit Television Series The Last Cowboy Attracts New Reining Fans
The Last Cowboy series debuted on the Paramount Network to a worldwide audience in July of 2019 carrying the reining discipline to new heights. Viewers far and wide were introduced to reining for the first time, and some, who were just peripherally aware of the sport, came to see it in a new light.
Two such people are Ricardo and Kim Rivero of Glendale, Ariz. Ricardo, originally from Uruguay, has amassed countless victories on the elite Arabian show scene. He has won a host of National titles, including US Nationals, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, the Egyptian Event, the Las Vegas World Cup, Dubai, Saudi, Scottsdale, Poland, and the United Arab Emeritus. It was actually at an event in Dubai that the couple met. Kim has done well on the Amateur circuits showing to the Top Ten at the Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show in the ½ Arabian Western Pleasure class. More recently, she has had multiple top ten Halter placings as well as earning bronze and silver medals. They opened Rivero International in Scottsdale, Ariz., where they raise, train, and sell high-caliber Arabians and half-Arabians.
They were already hooked on the hit series, Yellowstone, created by Taylor Sheridan when his reining-focused reality series, The Last Cowboy, began. The unscripted show made such an impression on the Riveros, that they attended The Run For A Million in 2019.
Kim commented, “I give Taylor Sheridan a lot of credit because he got us excited. Then we went to the show where the people and the energy were amazing. I think the most interesting thing for me was the horses; they are such raw athletes. After seeing the horses and the support of everyone, we said, ‘Let’s do this. It looks like a lot of fun!’ I had no idea there were so many reining trainers in Scottsdale.”
The Riveros soon began their search for a reiner, initially looking at half-Arabs, but with an eye on entering the Quarter Horse production scene, they decided to reach out to close friend Andy Maschke of Superior Saddles.
“Andy pointed us in the right direction by connecting us with Steve and Boo Ross. They helped us decide what we wanted to do. We have a farm, so it was important to us to find a mare that we could breed at some point. They found us a really nice one named Not Another Spook by [NRHA $6 Million Sire] Smart Spook out of a daughter of [NRHA Leading Sire] Gunner. She needed a splint surgery, so we bred her to Platinum Vintage right away knowing that it would take some time for her to recover,” Kim explained. “She is just now coming back, and we are getting her back in training. We hope the foal is high-quality enough to put in training with Steve when it’s old enough.”
Both Ricardo and Kim plan to show reiners, and they also look forward to the future production of their mare. They won the bid for the Spooks Gotta Spark breeding in the Raise A Million Auction to benefit the Reining Horse Foundation at The Run For A Million this year. The $2,000 bid tied the Travis Stillson headstall as the highest-selling lots in the silent auction.
Co-Creator of Yellowstone and sole creator of The Last Cowboy, Taylor Sheridan is, himself, an avid reiner. In fact, after the successful impact The Last Cowboy had on the industry in 2019, he was named NRHA Reiner of the Year. Now with the Yellowstone prequel, 1883, and the spinoff, 6666, in the works, Sheridan continues to support many facets in the reining industry as well as the performance horse industry in general.
The long-awaited fourth season of Yellowstone will premiere Sunday, November 7, 2021 on the Paramount Network. While no release date has yet been set for 6666, 1883 will begin streaming on Paramount+ Sunday, December 19, 2021.
