Greetings!
There is still time to nominate your stallion and enter the futurities !! Join us for this exciting WCHA event held September 14th -16th in Tennessee. You can win CASH, PRIZES and one of these bronze Trophies!
Nomination options:
Nominate by July 1st for $300 or you can wait until Aug 1st and pay $400 nomination. August 1 is also the due date for your “entry fee”. No nominations or entry fees will be accepted after that date so be sure you mark that date on your calendar. Please take a moment to send a thank you to the stallion owners that have paid their stallions into this program so that you can take your foals to these futurities. Their financial contributions are making it possible for our foals to be worth something again. Yes, we will have early and late divisions in the weanling futurities so we encourage you to enter those late babies……. Last year we had approx. 25 entries in each division with equal purse distribution. The actual split date will be announced shortly after the August 1 payments are recorded so that participants know which split each of their entries will fall within.
Like last year, our WCHA judges will be reminded that the youngest horses in each class will enter the arena first based on birth dates. Those of you that attended our futurities last year saw that the entries were judged based on balance, structural correctness, gender characteristics, quality of muscling rather what color, how tall and how much they weigh so the younger horses have an equal chance of competing.
Murfreesboro has a spectacular new arena (see picture of main arena in left hand column) with first class stalls and RV parking facilities. See Jennifer McGrath’s contact information in the left hand column for stalling information. We are excited to share the weekend with the “Big Money Halter Futurities.” Comparing the list of stallions that are nominated to both futurity programs it appears that most entries can compete in both the WCHA and the Big Money futurities thus making it a very lucrative weekend of competition.
We are going to run most of our classes on Friday, Sept 14th with only the two weanling filly classes and the yearling gelding classes on Sunday morning, Sept 16th so that participants can get an early start for Iowa to compete in the National Championship Show that starts on Wednesday, September 19th.
If you’re a breeder, owner or exhibitor of halter horses I urge you to participate in all three futurity programs, WCHA-Big Money-Breeders, so that these programs can all thrive and continue for years to come. We, as halter horse enthusiasts need these programs to succeed if we want our children and grandchildren to have a productive future of raising halter horses. Yes, it’s easy to make the argument that Iowa is a long distance to travel, or that Tennessee is too far with the price of gas but I urge you all to do your part to support each event that a few people are working so hard to make available to you.
Futurity Q’s & A’s
To answer some questions you may have about the futurities I’ll detail some that have been asked thus far.
1. Can I enter just the Non Pro portion of the futurity, or just the “color” portion of the futurity without entering the Open ?
No, when placing an entry each horse is automatically entered in the Open but for an additional $100.00 you can enter the Non Pro portion of the futurity. Fifty percent (50%) of all stallion nominations are allotted to the Non Pro portion of each weanling futurity with the remaining 50% to the open. A non pro exhibitor can earn money from both purses. Same for the color classes, $100.00 additional entry fee with 100% paid back to participants.
2. Can I have an open exhibitor show in the open portion and then switch exhibitors for the non-pro?
No, same exhibitor.
3. Will the weanlings be split into early and late age groups ?
Yes. After all the August 1 entries are recorded the split will be determined at that time depending on foaling dates of the entries.
4. How many places will be paid out in the futurities?
In the open and non pro weanling futurities we’ll pay at least 10 places, the color portion of each futurity and the yearling classes will depend on the number of entries in each class.
5. Is my yearling eligible this first year ?
Yes, if it’s sired by a stallion that is nominated for the 2012 breeding season.
6. Can youth exhibitors show in the non pro classes? Yes.
7. If I miss the first nomination payment can I still enter the futurities?
Yes. See the official entry form
8. Memberships: Every participant must be a member of WCHA.
The stallion owner that nominates his stallion, the owner of the futurity entry and every exhibitor. For membership form go to www.conformationhorse.com and print off form and send separate check payable to WCHA with your entries.
9. Can I send my stall and RV reservations with my futurity entry ?
NO. These must be paid directly to Tennessee Quarter Horse Association. There are 500 stalls available and numerous RV spaces for rent.
10. What time will the WCHA futurities be held?
8:30 a.m. on Friday, September 14 and Sunday 16th. The weanling colts and all of the yearling classes on Friday. Only the weanling fillies will be left to show on Sunday morning so that participants can get an early start for the Iowa futurities.
11. I want to enter one weanling with a non pro exhibitor and it is a palomino so I want to show in the color class, how much do I send with this nomination?
$200.00 for the nomination and office fee plus an additional $100 for the non pro and $100 for the color, payable to WCHA Breeders Futurity. Also send separate check with membership dues payable to WCHA.
12. My entry is a palomino that has registry in both the Palomino and the Paint breed associations, can I enter it in multiple color classes. No, pick one.
13. Trophies will be awarded to stallion owners and champions of each futurity, these trophies depict the WCHA standard horse and will be of the highest quality.
We’ll need sponsors to fund the cost of these trophies so that all the money collected from stallion nomination can go directly into the purse.
Please contact the WCHA Futurity Secretary, Jennifer Sheriff, if you’d like to sponsor one of the classes, you’ll be recognized in the program and award presentations.
14. When are the Big Money Futurity classes ?
All of these will be held Saturday morning with approved WCHA judges.
Plans are underway for a great weekend in Murfreesboro. The WCHA Championships, the Big Money Futurities and TQHA quarter horse show featuring four sets of points. There will be a full slate of AQHA classes so plan on bringing your older horses.
There will be ample space for a trade show so if you’re interested in a vendor spot contact:
Jennifer Sheriff at conformationhorse@gmail.com
We need people to serve on sponsorship-membership-awards-advertising committees so if you’re interested in helping out please contact Don or Jennifer to volunteer. On behalf of my committee members, Luke Castle, Gene Parker, Jennifer Sheriff, Mike Clites, Wade Ellerbrook, Gene Wilson, Scott Trahan, Gary Gordon we look forward to seeing you all this fall.
Don Falcon-Chairman
Big Money Futurity
A reminder to everyone to take advantage of the $400 one time entry fee for the Big Money Futurity, your entry must be postmarked by June 1. Entry fees go up $200 each month. All classes will be judged on September 15, with the low placing dropped and the remaining three averaged. The judges for this year are: Bob Kail, Casey Devitt, Gretchen Mathes, and Larry Hansch. There are 35 stallions whose get are eligible for the futurity this year. Please check the web site, www.bigmoneyhalterfuturity.com for the stallion list and entry forms.
Send entries to: Big Money Halter Futurity, P.O. Box 2015, Lebanon, Tn. 37088.
Please plan to join us for this great weekend of horse showing fun held in conjunction with the WCHA Futurities in Murfreesboro, TN.
James Kifer
