It was a proud night for James Hooper, who was inducted into the NCHA Members Hall of Fame during the 2015 NCHA convention at Grapevine, TX.
James, 70, was given cutting’s highest honor in front of more than 400 people, including many of his family and friends for his contribution to the sport.
Bill Riddle gave him a rousing introduction, before the crowd got to watch a video about James and his achievements in cutting, not just as a competitor but as a past president and ultimately an ambassador for the industry.
James, who is based in Alabama was the NCHA President from 1994-95 as well an executive board member for 6 years.
During his acceptance speech, James talked about the importance of being willing to make difficult and even unpopular decisions for the betterment of the industry as a whole.
He said when he was President, he put the Association first every time. James helped rewrite the NCHA constitution to create equal representation across the 8 regions. He brought about changes to competition classes to help stop people leaving the sport and invited input from grass roots members, which evolved into the annual NCHA convention.
CuttingHorseTrainingOnline.com spoke with James on the last day of the convention. Press play to watch below.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=LHiq16ngdmM%3Frel%3D0
James has been a successful cutting horse competitor who was also been inducted into the NCHA Non-Pro Hall of Fame, with lifetime earnings of more than $850,000.
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