It has been a long-standing tradition that the Congress awards one set
of points to the exhibitors who place in the top-10. Accordingly, if
you win the Congress with 45 or more entries in the class which is the case for the majority of the classes, you receive nine
points, second receives eight points and so on.
Do you think this is fair and if
you feel it is not, how would you suggest changes be made to the
system? GoHorseShow.com asked some of the top players in the industry the question…Should the Congress award more than one set of points? Of course, we received a wide variety of answers.
Anne Wilson
Amateur All-Around Exhibitor
This is a topic that interests me. I actually sent an email to AQHA about it and they suggested I talk to
the Ohio Quarter Horse Association so I sent them and email and I have
not received a response. The Congress is a great, fun show and I think
it would attract an even greater number of people and a higher level of
competition if they would award more points.
I think especially since so many horse shows in the country have gone to the double judged and even the triple judged format like at the Texas Classic this past year, that it seems unfair to come to a show as large and prestigious as the Quarter Horse Congress and if you’re successful, you only walk away with one set of points. If there are four judges and you drop the low card, I think they should use three sets of points for the winners so the maximum amount of points you can receive would be 27. But I think they should use each individual card, not the overall composite score but each card. If you won under each card you could end up with 27 points, just like you can at the Texas Classic if it’s a large enough class and you win under all three cards. You probably have to beat a lot more people at the Congress so why not get rewarded for it?
Peter Cofrancesco
AQHA Executive Committee Member
Any changes made to how they assign the points at the Congress would be a function of the Ohio Quarter Horse Association. They have the ability to ask AQHA to grant multiple points for their multiple judged classes and if they feel that is warranted, that’s what they should do. But ultimately OQHA has the ability to make that request. I have to say personally that it’s always good to get multiple points but when you leave here there should be an outright champion and if they change the way the points are structured it might muddy those waters a little.
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Robin Frid
All-Around Trainer/AQHA Judge
There’s a lot of mixed thoughts about this subject. Most people feel as though there should be a full set of points for each judge but I look at the Congress like it is a world show. We truly go to show at two shows a year – here and the world show. So I’m fine with them not awarding multiple points. To say you came to the Congress and got 20 points in the class are you going to tell people that you go 20 points or that you won the Congress? I think it’s pretty obvious what you’re going to do. This is a premier event as is the world show and I think it’s all about trying to get in the top-10 here or in lots of cases just trying to make the finals here. To me we don’t come here for points. I think if people really thought long and hard about it, nobody comes here for points. They come here for the experience. It’s the Congress! We are at the third largest convention in the country – you’re not coming here for points, you’re coming here for the experience so I’m cool with the way they do it. How could they change it? Sometimes there’s three judges in the pen, sometimes there are four judges. I love this horse show. I enjoy coming here and I take my hat off to them running this because I’m involved in running a horse show and I know how hard that is!
Kim Reynolds
All-Around Trainer
I’ve been coming here forever and I definitely think more points would be a great idea especially when you can go to Arizona and be warm and get more points. It’s a lot of work to come out here and not get the points under each judge. To spend this kind of money to come out here, if it were more points it would be a no-brainer.
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Larry Little
All-Around Trainer/AQHA Judge
Unless they give points under each judge, they need to stay with the current one set of points format because it’s so big and it’s so prestigious. Points are small on the list compared to the prestige of winning the class. With the numbers in here most classes would give the maximum amount of nine points so I think that one set of points would be sufficient for what they have now. I think it would be overkill. 36 points in one class is almost a superior. The prestige should be enough.
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Sharnai Thompson
Amateur All-Around Exhibitor
I don’t have a strong opinion either way but my first thought is it’s the Congress, that’s just the way it is! It’s hard to have something to compare it to because there’s not another show like this. You think with four judges and an opportunity of nine points under each judge you could get 36 points…that’s crazy! It’s a big accomplishment to win the Congress and that should be the accomplishment in itself. With them lowering the qualifying points needed, I don’t think it’s necessary.
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Tony Burris
Trainer/AQHA Judge
I think it’s something that should be looked at since we do show to so many different judges. It’s a pretty big event to only get one set of points. I don’t know how that would affect the AQHA incentive fund but I think that it would really be nice if there could be more than one set of points here.
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Maggie Bellville
Amateur All-Around Exhibitor
Showing is not always about getting points. I think that this show is so prestigious and has such a legacy. It’s like winning the Oscars, you can say that person is an Academy Award winner and you can say that person or horse is a Congress Champion. It’s not about the points at this show it’s about the prestige and the endurance race of showing here and enduring all the elements and ultimately, hopefully, being successful.
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Breda Kennedy
Amateur Halter Exhibitor
I think it would be more fair if we were able to get points under each judge like a regular horse show. I think that especially for people who bank on going to one or two big horse shows a year. These are mostly people who work for a living and don’t have the luxury of going and taking time off to haul all summer, it think it would be more fair if we could come to a big show like this and do really well and reap the same benefits of everyone else. I think it would help improve the numbers at the world show because I think there are a lot of people in the same boat as me whether you can’t afford it financially or afford to get away due to work constraints, it’s very hard right now to be able to go everywhere.
