National Shooting Horse Association

The Mission

Elevate the sport. Honor the horse.

NaSHA was built on a simple business principle: focus on a couple things, and do them well.
In a world where everyone’s trying to do everything, excellence often gets lost in the noise. The shooting horse discipline doesn’t need more overlap or competition — it needs clarity, consistency, and collaboration. Our goal isn’t to be everything to everyone; it’s to focus on the two areas that make the biggest difference for the sport and the horse. NaSHA’s mission is to support the growth of the shooting horse discipline by providing education, clear rider progression, instructor support, and accurate tracking and recognition of horse, rider, and breeder earnings and achievements across associations—always with the horse at the center of every decision.
Education: supporting riders and instructors with tools, structure, and clear standards that make learning accessible, consistent, and horse-first.
Earnings Tracking: ensuring the shooting horse discipline is accurately represented alongside reining, cutting, barrel racing, and other established equine sports so it can gain the recognition and credibility it deserves.
By focusing the efforts of our talented board on these two things — and doing them well — NaSHA helps connect the work already being done in the sport, strengthening the foundation for everyone involved. 
 We are not a sanctioning body and do not host or govern public competitions. We don’t compete with associations—we support them.

Elevate

Earnings tracking is a critical piece of recognition and growth for any equine sport — and it’s one of the biggest gaps holding mounted shooting back from broader visibility. NaSHA’s goal is to help close that gap through collaboration, not competition.

Our aim is not to create a new or competing earnings system — organizations like EquiStat already do that successfully. Instead, NaSHA is focused on supporting and aligning with existing event reporting, offering to organize and format results so earnings in the shooting horse discipline can be accurately represented alongside reining, cutting, barrel racing, and other established equine sports. With the strong data and reporting already maintained by our national associations, this effort should be both achievable and mutually beneficial for the entire sport.

This work benefits everyone involved — associations, producers, and competitors alike — by giving the sport the credibility and visibility it deserves within the larger performance horse community.

NaSHA values privacy and integrity — we do not sell, share, or misuse competitor or event data. Our purpose is to celebrate accomplishment, not collect information.
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Educate

NaSHA was created, in part, to strengthen the sport by supporting the people willing to teach it. We believe that when riders with experience are given the right tools, structure, and visibility, they become confident instructors—and when instructors are supported, riders and horses thrive.

Our goal isn’t to dictate how anyone should teach, but to make it easier for more people to teach well. Through clear frameworks, accessible materials, and a platform that offers credibility and reach, NaSHA helps turn capable riders into effective instructors who can confidently support others.

Because when more good teachers step forward, the entire discipline rises and grows stronger.

👉Join the NaSHA network, share your expertise, and help us make it easier than ever for riders and horses to start off right — together.

Connect

For riders, getting started in the shooting horse discipline can feel unclear — limited access to instruction, uncertainty about where to begin, and a lack of consistent guidance. NaSHA’s rider tools and progression framework were built to change that.

We provide riders with a central place to find quality, credible learning opportunities — from clinics and workshops to educational resources that make entry into the sport simpler and safer. We also provide riders with clear structure and practical resources to help them understand where they are, what to work on next, and how to move forward with confidence. From progression frameworks to educational materials that support safe, horse-first development, NaSHA makes entry into the sport more approachable and sustainable.

Whether you’re brand new or refining your skills, NaSHA helps riders navigate their training with clarity and purpose — because better guidance leads to more and better competitors and a healthier sport. 
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