A level playing field for all competitors is one of the hallmarks of fair competition. AQHA has been working for nearly a year on making that happen for its shows.“A lot of sports – horse racing, barrel racing, car racing and boxing, just to name a few – offer numerous competition levels based on skill; physical characteristics like weight, age and type (or breed when it comes to animals); or career earnings,” said Tom Persechino, AQHA executive director of competition and breed integrity.
“It’s time that the American Quarter Horse show industry broadened its offerings and followed the suit of many of our alliance partners like the National Cutting Horse, National Reining Horse, National Snaffle Bit and National Reined Cow Horse associations and developed multiple opportunities for new people to enter the arena at a level where they’re comfortable competing.
“It’s all done to create fairness in competition, as well as to attract the widest group of competitors and to grow our sport.”
At press time, the AQHA Executive Committee was scheduled to will review the proposed leveling program at its quarterly meeting, July 18-20, to set show points and fine-tune other guidelines in making AQHA competition as fair as possible for exhibitors at every level.
The proposed leveling system includes more and different divisions, including new Rookie and Intermediate showing levels for exhibitors, as well as Green and Progressive levels for horses; more and different awards; and a proposed Novice championship show. A final announcement is expected around the conclusion of the 2011 Built Ford Tough AQHYA World Championship Show.
“Our goal has been to help American Quarter Horse owners make that step to showing their horses at our shows,” said Patti Carter-Pratt, AQHA executive director of shows. “We know that our horse owners are proud of the work they have done with their horses, and we want to give them a place to show where they won’t feel intimidated. A fair and level playing field is a good way for us to start.”
A Blue-Ribbon Process
Through its 70-year existence, AQHA has continually reviewed and improved its competition to reflect the changing needs of its competitors – from the initial inclusion of amateur competition to developing Novice, Limited, Select and Green divisions. Today, many members and staff felt it was important to take a more in-depth look at decreasing exhibitor and horse numbers competing at AQHA-approved shows. However, it’s important to remember that no major changes to an industry as successful as AQHA shows can occur without in-depth input and review by multiple committees and members.
In 2009, the AQHA Blue-Ribbon Task Force was appointed by the Executive Committee to review all aspects of AQHA competition and make suggestions for improvement. The task force has met multiple times in the past two years to review volumes of statistics on AQHA shows, determine trends and brainstorm ways to improve – all the while seeking input from members on the best ways to improve AQHA competition without harming the success of high-point or world show competition.
The task force then made recommendations to the show council and show committee. The council and committee then made recommendations to the membership and board of directors at this year’s convention. All along the way, the Executive Committee has been monitoring the progress of the various task forces and committees. At its meeting in July, the Executive Committee was scheduled to make the final review of the various programs.
Want to know more about leveling, read the complete article about the AQHA leveling program.
