Once again, the American Quarter Horse Association will implement an amateur invitational program for amateur exhibitors. Through the AQHA Amateur Invitational Program, more AQHA amateur exhibitors are eligible for the 2012 Adequan Select and Bank of America Amateur world championship shows.
The following are the guidelines that will be used in determining who will receive an invitation:
1. An invitation will be offered to the highest point-earning exhibitor in each class from each state or province who just missed earning the prescribed number of national qualifying points to the Bank of America Amateur World or Adequan Select World to be invited to compete in that class at the world show.
2. The points must be earned during the qualifying period for each of the world shows. Points DO NOT have to be earned in the state or province that the exhibitor resides in. The points may be earned at any AQHA-approved show excluding introductory shows.
3. State invitees will not be eligible for the Farnam Select All-Around Amateur or Farnam All-Around Amateur awards at the world shows. For classes to count toward all-around eligibility, the exhibitor/horse must have earned a national qualification in those classes.
4. If there is a tie in points to determine the state invitee from a state and class, AQHA will use the following to break the tie: The invitation will be awarded to the exhibitor/horse combination earning the final point the earliest in the qualifying period.
5. There will only be one invitation per state or province per class sent from AQHA, even if the recipient chooses not to enter a world show in which they were invited.
6. Those exhibitors earning a state invitation will not be called a world show qualifier and the horse’s record will not state that it is a world show qualifier.
The goal of this program is to increase the number of entries at the Adequan Select and Bank of America Amateur World shows, which in turn increases the amount of prize money to be awarded by AQHA at each of these world championship shows.
The Adequan Select World runs August 26-September 1, 2012 in Amarillo and the Bank of America Amateur World Show is held in conjunction with the FedEx Open World Championship Show, November 3-17 in Oklahoma City. The Bank of America Amateur World Show offers $150,000 in added money, and 100 percent of the exhibitors’ entry fees are paid back in purses.
If you have any questions, about the Amateur Invitational Program, contact Kim George, AQHA world show specialist, at (806) 378-4338 or [email protected].
