From Don Treadway’s Quarter’s Worth blog on AQHA.com…
We’ve had a few questions that have arisen after my recent post on AQHA’s introductory shows. The following is from AQHA’s Senior Director of Shows Charlie Hemphill:
The introductory shows are not intended to qualify people for the World Show but instead, as the name implies, be an introduction to AQHA classes. The AQHA show department has reviewed the entries at the introductory shows and at this time has not found anyone abusing these shows to get qualified for the World Shows. Show Management has the option to restrict the exhibitors at introductory shows. As an explanation, show management could limit the open, amateur and/or youth divisions to those exhibitors who had less than a specific number of points, say 25 points, in a class to be eligible to show. The task force that formed the introductory shows wanted to award points as an incentive for the people who have only been showing in open shows without any connection to AQHA to attend these new types of shows and experience AQHA competition. The Introductory shows have and will continue to be a means to try and draw new people into our shows. The intention of the introductory shows is not to replace existing AQHA shows but to complement these shows by introducing exhibitors who are showing at open shows to AQHA-approved classes. The first time an exhibitor shows in an AQHA show or an introductory show, they are enrolled in the Show Up! program and become eligible for prizes.
After much discussion at the 2009 AQHA Convention, the show committee decided to not award incentive fund payout for points earned at introductory shows or for the green classes beginning in January 2010. This decision was made for the green classes because these classes are classes restricted to eligible horses and not open to all horses. In other words, not all horses are eligible to compete in green classes however the green horse could go into any of the other classes and earn points which in turn would allow them to have the opportunity to earn more points at a show than some of the other horses. This is an unfair advantage and allows the green horses currently to be eligible for more incentive money.
Along those same lines, the introductory classes can be limited by show management so that means that not everyone is eligible to show. As not everyone would be eligible to show this would cause an unfair advantage to those that met a certain criteria. The show committee did not do this to penalize anyone but is actually working to keep the playing field level and pay out the incentive fund money based on shows and classes that all exhibitors and horses are eligible for competition. It also continues to make the incentive fund an incentive for those that show and earn points at AQHA-approved shows.
Click here to read more on AQHA.com.
