Following his high school education, apprenticed with Shorty (OK) Russell in Texas, where he trained and showed World Champion halter, cutting, reining and rope horses. This is where the dream of Katona Reining Horses began.
With a lifetime dedication to developing the Katona training program,
he works these prospects on a daily bases, developing their style and fine tuning their ability to achieve the level of excellence that Katona trained and finished horses have already represented in the show pen. Tim believes that a well-trained reining horse should be an athlete that loves his job.
The success of this philosophy is well-represented with Tim's career achievements, which include multiple MRHA Futurity and Derby championships, multiple State and World Championships, competing in NRHA Futurities and Derbies, 2 major Derby wins in 2005 and currently holding the the highest open run score to date at a Michigan Reining Horse event, captured in 2011 on Sonny Zan Olena.
Tim has had the privilege of being an NRHA approved judge and having held the first NRHA Judges Clinic on his farm in Belleville, Michigan. He participated in founding and implementation of the National Reining Horse Association Youth Program. He was also one of the founding members of the Michigan Reining Horse Association in addition to serving on the Board of Directors for both the NRHA and MRHA.
Cindy grew up with a love of anything horses! She started her horse career after graduating from high school, working with Hunter-Jumpers, until she discovered Reining in her late 20's.
Cindy’s focus at the ranch is on training & management. And while the rigors of starting, training, working and managing the Non Pro horses have redirected her from the show pen, her own impressive record reflects her dedication and passion to the sport. Her wins in first Rookie, then Limited Non Pro, NRHA Ladies and Limited Open benchmarked a career that would demand a dedication to excellence. She has taken various State titles during her reining career, including the prestigious Michigan State Fair Ladies Reining Championship and the Buckeye Arab Reining Championship in Columbus, OH.
She has served on the MRHA Board of Directors, ran the successful Delta Classic reinings in Belleville, Michigan and held the position of MRHA Secretary for many years.
Cindy is passionate about what she does and Katona Reining Horses. Knowing that timing is everything.