NRHA Million Dollar Rider | 2006 WEG Gold Medalist | Top 20 NRHA Professional
Matt Mills grew up in Long Beach, California — not exactly the heartland of reining. His introduction to horses came at age eight through a pony named Dizzy at the Lakewood Equestrian Center, and from that initial lesson he built a youth career that earned him multiple championships throughout California in western pleasure, horsemanship, and trail.
In 1996, Mills shifted his focus to reining — a decision that would define the next three decades of his life. He established his training operation in Scottsdale, Arizona, working the circuit as a futurity and derby specialist while building a clientele of serious Non Pro and youth competitors who valued his coaching as much as his riding.
His first major breakthrough came at the 2000 NRHA Futurity, where he took the Open Level 3 Reserve Championship with Dunnits Delight. Five years later, Easy Otie Whiz — the horse that would become his career-defining partner — carried him to the Open Level 3 Championship at the 2005 NRBC.
In 2006, Mills rode Easy Otie Whiz to the USEF Open Reining Championship in Lexington, Kentucky, with a career-high score of 231.5 — a performance that earned him a spot on Team USA and a gold medal at the World Equestrian Games in Aachen, Germany. The WEG was contested at Aachen's historic Soers venue, and Mills' inclusion in that gold medal team placed him among the most elite reiners his generation produced.
He reached the NRHA Million Dollar Rider milestone in September 2020 — a mark that validated decades of consistent competition at the sport's highest level. He is regularly a finalist at major NRHA events and has earned titles at the NRBC, RMRHA Summer Slide, High Roller Reining Classic, SWRHA Futurity, and NRHA Cowtown Classic.
Beyond the arena, Mills has become one of the sport's most effective communicators. His YouTube channel and coaching programs bring reining horsemanship to a wide audience, and his appearance in Season 2 of Yellowstone — where he taught the character Jimmy sliding stops — introduced his skills to a mainstream television audience of millions.
Mills has since moved his operation from Scottsdale to Weatherford, Texas — the epicenter of the reining world — where he continues to train futurity and derby horses while coaching the next generation of professionals and Non Pros who want to compete at the highest level.
Matt Mills rides Superior Saddles by Andy Mashke. His saddle reflects the precision and versatility that define his horsemanship — a competition-ready build designed for the trainer who demands the same quality from his equipment that he delivers in the show pen.
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