The American Quarter Horse Journal –Due to the recent outbreak of equine herpesvirus-1, many horse shows have experienced reduced exhibitor numbers and some shows – particularly National Cutting Horse Association events – have been canceled. As a result, the AQHA Executive Committee has extended to June 26 the Adequan Select World Championship Show qualifying period, which was to end May 31. This step is in addition to lowering the Adequan Select World qualifying points, which the Executive Committee announced on May 18.
Additionally, due to the cancellations of all cutting events through June 5, qualifying points for Select cutting have been lowered to one-half point, and AQHA will continue to monitor future cancellations based on NCHA’s recommendations.
“Several major shows held this last weekend experienced drastically reduced exhibitor numbers,” said AQHA President Peter J. Cofrancesco III. “Major shows in California, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Montana, Texas, Washington, Alberta and other states or provinces have had low exhibitor turn out and some in those locations have already cancelled shows scheduled for this weekend.
“A report from the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is expected late Thursday afternoon,” Cofrancesco said. “We are confident that report will provide the industry with better numbers and a truer perspective as we look at the upcoming weekend. Hopefully, fewer incidents will have been reported, which should help ease horse owners’ minds.”
As has been mentioned, even for shows that have not been canceled, many exhibitors are unwilling to risk their horse’s health and travel. While most shows held east of the Mississippi River have not seen any noticeable reduction in exhibitor numbers, asking exhibitors to drive farther-than-expected distances or to risk any possible exposure is not the responsible course of action to take at this time.
Several major circuits are slated for June, including but not limited to the Redbud Classic in Oklahoma, Nebraska’s Cornhusker Classic, the Tar Heel Triple Classic and North Carolina Jamboree.
“Hopefully, this additional move by the AQHA Executive Committee will give Select exhibitors the opportunity to qualify,” Cofrancesco said. “Points earned between June 1 and June 26 will count twice for Select exhibitors – once for the 2011 show and again for the 2012 show.
“Other than supporting NCHA’s decision to cancel its cutting events for a period of time, there have not and, at this time, we do not expect there to be any mandatory cancellations of AQHA shows – all have been voluntary, and we support our show managers’ responsible decision to cancel,” he added. “Because of the numerous show cancellations, this has created a hardship for some exhibitors trying to finish qualifying for the Adequan Select World – even with the lowering of qualifying points. We have listened and want to support our horse owners who choose not to travel. Horse activities should be fun and safe for exhibitors and horses hoping to make it to Amarillo for the Adequan Select World. AQHA hopes to underscore that philosophy by taking these steps.”
On Wednesday, May 25, the AQHA Executive Committee approved the following recommendations for the Adequan Select World only (the Bank of America Amateur and Fedex Open world shows will continue to be monitored for any impact):
• Continue with the lowered qualifying points
• Extend Select qualifying through June 26
• Due to the cancellation of all cutting events through June 5, lower the qualifying points for cutting to one-half point and continue to monitor future cancellations based on NCHA’s recommendations.
• Based on the extension of the Select qualifying period, this means about 375-400 additional shows/sets of points will be taken into consideration during this extension. The Executive Committee has decided to allow these shows to count twice – once for 2011 qualifying and again in 2012, considering the extenuating circumstances.
AQHA’s competition department staff, working with the Executive Committee, will continue to monitor shows and any potential effect on qualifying for November’s Bank of America Amateur and FedEx Open world championship shows. Qualifying for those events continues through July 31.
