APHA Announces Expanded Paint Horse Championship Shows for 2015

In response to two successful trial events in 2014, APHA is excited to roll out its popular Paint Horse Championships at events around the country in 2015. The first event—the Southeast Paint Horse Championship, presented in conjunction with the Zone 9 Southern Classic—takes place February 14-16, 2015, in Jacksonville, Florida.

Two pilot events in 2014—the Northeast Paint Horse Championship, presented by the Northeast Connection Zone 7 show in Logan Township, New Jersey, and the Northwest Paint Horse Championship, presented by Zone 1 show in Albany, Oregon—were met with great success. A task force made up of members of the General Show & Contest Committee, Regional Club Committee and APHA staff studied the eligibility criteria and results of the pilot shows to develop a recommended structure for these exciting new events, which they then recommended to the Executive Committee for final approval.

The goal of these Paint Horse Championships is to increase local show participation and provide recognition to another group of exhibitors beyond the current show format. These classes are offered in conjunction with APHA-approved zone shows and sponsored by APHA. This is an optional program, and show management determines the classes they wish to offer at their events.

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APHA will sponsor awards for up to 15 classes per Paint Horse Championship, consisting of a championship buckle and second- through tenth-place medallions for each class. If a Zone chooses to offer additional championship classes, the Zone may purchase the additional awards for these classes.

“The 2014 pilot Paint Horse Championship events generated lots of positive feedback and helped recognize and reward Paint Horse exhibitors from around the country,” Senior Director of Show & Contest Holly Slaughter said. “We are excited about the possibilities that this program can create for APHA regional clubs and APHA show participation.”

Eligibility criteria for Paint Horse Championship classes is outlined below, and APHA encourages all Zone shows to take advantage of this exciting program. For more information, contact the APHA Performance Department at (817) 222-8455.

General Eligibility

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Both the exhibitor and the horse must meet the eligibility criteria set forth to be eligible to compete in the Paint Horse Championship classes.

• Amateur and Youth exhibitors must be enrolled in the APHA Amateur or Youth Program and meet the ownership requirements per Rules AM-020 and YP-015, respectively.

Both the exhibitor and the horse owner or lessee must be current APHA members to be eligible to compete.

Horses must be registered with the APHA and shown in their respective breed registry class: Regular Registry or Solid Paint-Bred.

Exhibitor Eligibility

Exhibitors must reside in the Zone per APHA records and be a current member of APHA. Additional exhibitor eligibility requirements include:

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• Halter classes: An exhibitor who has placed in the Top 5 in a halter class at an APHA World Championship Show in the past three years (2012-2014) is NOT eligible to compete in any Paint Horse Championship halter class in any division with a horse of the same sex.

• Example: Susie placed 5th at the 2014 APHA World Championship Show in Youth Geldings. Susie is NOT eligible to compete in the Paint Horse Championship Open, Amateur or Youth Geldings classes.

• Performance classes: An exhibitor who has placed in the Top 10 in a performance class at an APHA World Championship Show in the past three years (2012-2014) is NOT eligible to compete in any Paint Horse Championship performance class in any division involving the same class.

• Example: John was the reserve world champion at the 2012 APHA World Championship Show in Amateur Horsemanship. John is NOT eligible to compete in any Paint Horse Championship horsemanship class.

Exceptions

• Amateur/Youth Walk-Trot, Novice Amateur/Youth and Intermediate Exhibitor World Show placings and placings in non-pointed World Show classes such as Sweepstakes, Challenge and Futurities do not impact eligibility in regular division championship classes.

• Amateur/Youth Walk-Trot World Show placings do count towards exhibitor eligibility criteria in Amateur/Youth Walk-Trot Paint Horse Championship classes.

• Novice Amateur/Youth World Show placings do count towards exhibitor eligibility criteria in Novice Amateur/Youth Paint Horse Championship classes.

Horse Eligibility

Horses must be owned or leased by a resident of the Zone per APHA records. Owner(s) must be current APHA members. Additional criteria for horse eligibility for Championship classes include:

• Halter classes: A horse that has placed in the Top 5 in a halter class at an APHA World Championship Show in the past three years (2012-2014) is NOT eligible to compete in any Paint Horse Championship halter class regardless of division.

• Example: Zip placed third in Open Geldings at the 2013 APHA World Championship Show. Zip is NOT eligible to compete in any Paint Horse Championship gelding halter classes with any exhibitor.

• Performance classes: A horse that has placed in the Top 10 in a performance class at an APHA World Championship Show in the past three years (2012-2014) is NOT eligible to compete in any division of the same class at the Paint Horse Championship Show.

• Example: Trigger placed 6th in Green Western Pleasure at the 2013 APHA World Championship Show. Trigger is NOT eligible to compete in any Paint Horse Championship Western pleasure classes with any exhibitor.

EXCEPTIONS:

• Solid Paint-Bred classes: A Solid Paint-Bred horse that has placed in the Top 5 in a performance class at an APHA World Championship Show in the past three years (2012-2014) is NOT eligible to compete in any division of the same class at the Paint Horse Championship Show.

• Amateur/Youth Walk-Trot, Novice Amateur/Youth and Intermediate Exhibitor World Show placings and placings in non-pointed World Show classes such as Sweepstakes, Challenge and Futurities do not impact eligibility.

• Amateur/Youth Walk-Trot and Novice Amateur/Youth championship classes are exempt from horse eligibility requirements, except that they must be owned by a resident of the Zone per APHA records.

Additional Show Management Guidelines

• Classes: It is up to Zone show management’s discretion to determine the specific classes to offer.

• Scheduling: It is recommended that classes be offered independently from other APHA-approved classes, prior to the respective APHA class. However, to help alleviate time constraints for shows, classes may be held as a class within a class with APHA-approved classes. If held as a class within a class, awards presentations should be held independently of the regular class awards.

• Judges: It is up to the Zone show management to determine how many judges to use per class; however, it is recommended that more than one judge be used to judge Paint Horse Championship classes.

• Entry Fees: It is up to the Zone show management to determine the entry fee for Championship classes to help offset costs; however, it is recommended that lower entry fees be offered.