Owners of AQHA Incentive Fund-enrolled horses, foal and stallion nominators should start seeing their checks arrive for points earned during the 2015 show season. In all, more than $1.7 million was paid to enrolled and licensed horses, and foal and stallion nominators.
The per-point value for 2015 was $15.65 for owners of licensed horses and $11.29 for stallion and foal nominators.
Changes in Place for 2016
Owner, exhibitor and breeder feedback drove changes to the Incentive Fund for 2016. To make the program more beneficial to all competitors, effective January 1, Incentive Fund competition licenses are no longer required, and the point cap now stands at one plus the average number of points earned by Incentive Fund horses during the year.
Although competition licenses are not required in 2016, license fees were collected for the last time in 2015, totaling $198,100. That amount bolstered the $1,703,853 total fund balance paid out for 2015.
Without competition licenses, other factors will now play into the success of the Incentive Fund. First, there’s the amount of money paid into the fund: Owners who nominate their stallions and owners who enroll their foals will increase and continue to increase the funds for the program. The other factor affecting the Incentive Fund is the total number of points earned each year by enrolled horses.
“If stallion owners and nominators continue to support the program, and demand from exhibitors increases to own enrolled horses, it’s easy to see how the fund and, subsequently, the rewards paid to all supporters could yield larger dividends than are seen today,” said Trent Taylor, AQHA chief operating officer and treasurer.
“Back in the 1980s, the Incentive Fund was created for all people showing. The Incentive Fund has been helpful with breeders’ and exhibitors’ expenses to get them rolling into the next show and breeding season,” Taylor added.
When the Incentive Fund was instituted nearly 30 years ago, it was considered the most innovative show rewards program of its time to hit the American Quarter Horse industry. Since then, the Incentive Fund has paid more than $75 million to program supporters. The AQHA Incentive Fund also pays more than twice the amount per point than any other equine breed organization’s incentive program.
To view the list of Incentive Fund-nominated stallions, nominate a stallion or foal, or just to learn more about the program, visit www.aqha.com/incentivefund.
