AQHA Announces Performance Halter Rule Changes for 2018

Horses entered in performance halter classes at the 2018 Lucas Oil AQHA World Championship Show must also qualify and compete in a performance class at the show. This rule change, which affects amateur and open performance halter at the 2018 Lucas Oil AQHA World Championship, is effective immediately. 

Wording from the 2018 AQHA Official Handbook of Rules and Regulations is provided below. The rules will be available in their entirety in the online 2018 AQHA Handbook, available at www.aqha.com/handbook. The rules will also be published in the 2018 Lucas Oil World Qualifiers Handbook

The following rules apply to the Lucas Oil World.

1. To be eligible to enter an Open Performance Halter class at the AQHA World Show, the horse must meet the requirements in a., b. and c. below:

a.  Earn the required number of points to qualify for Open Performance Halter at the AQHA World Show OR show at twenty (20) shows in a halter class (shows will be counted by show numbers);

b.  Earn an Open Performance ROM during the qualifying year, or if ROM is earned prior to the qualifying period, earn at least ten (10) riding points in the open division during the qualifying period; and

c.  Qualify for, enter and compete in a Level 3 or Level 2 Open Performance class at the AQHA World Show. 

If for any reason the horse does not compete in an open performance class at the Lucas Oil World, the horse will be disqualified from the open performance halter class at the Lucas Oil World and will NOT be counted as an entry in that class. Any awards won in the open performance halter class must be relinquished. Entry fees are non-refundable.

2. For national qualifiers to be eligible to enter an Amateur Performance Halter class at the AQHA World Show, an amateur/horse combination must meet the requirements in a., b. and c. below.

a.  Earn the required number of points to qualify for Amateur Performance Halter at the AQHA World Show OR show at ten (10) shows in a halter class (shows will be counted by show numbers on a one-horse/one-exhibitor basis).

b.  Earn a performance ROM in the open, amateur or youth division during the qualifying period, or if the ROM is earned prior to the qualifying period, earn at least ten (10) riding points in the open, amateur or youth divisions combined during the qualifying period (showmanship points DO NOT count in either the ROM or the ten (10) riding points, nor do Level 1 amateur or youth points or points earned at Introductory shows; however, Level 1 points in the open division will count toward the riding points in open and/or amateur); and

c.  Qualify for, enter and compete in a Level 3 or Level 2 Amateur Performance class other than Showmanship at the AQHA World Show.

If for any reason the horse does not show in an amateur performance class at the Lucas Oil World, the horse will be disqualified from the amateur performance halter class at the Lucas Oil World and will NOT be counted as an entry in that class. Any awards won in amateur performance halter must be relinquished. Entry fees are non-refundable. 

The exhibitor in the amateur performance class at the Lucas Oil World must also be the same exhibitor who qualified the horse for the amateur performance class. Likewise, the exhibitor in the amateur performance halter class at the Lucas Oil World must be the same exhibitor who qualified the horse for the amateur performance halter class. However, it is not necessary for the exhibitor in the amateur performance class to be the same exhibitor in the amateur performance halter class so long as the two different exhibitors are “immediate family members” as defined by AQHA amateur eligibility rules.

3. For state invites to be eligible to enter an Amateur Performance Halter class at the AQHA World Show, an amateur/horse combination must meet the requirements in a., b. and c. below:

a.  Earn at least half the points set as the minimum to qualify in order to be invited as an affiliate/state invitee in each particular class

For example: if the minimum number of points set to qualify for Amateur Performance Halter Geldings is 4, the invitee must have reached at least 2 points in order to be invited – note that if a class requires points that include .5 point, AQHA will round down and require half of THAT number. This program is operated by AQHA, not the affiliate, and exhibitors are invited based on the state in which they reside, not where they show. Once the qualifiers are run (around August 20), AQHA will run the list of those who were top in their class but didn’t qualify. Those invitations will be sent out around August 25. If the first-place horse/exhibitor is tied, all of those ties for first will be invited. AQHA will not go below the first-place points even if the first-place duo will not be attending.

b.  Earn a performance ROM in the open, amateur or youth division during the qualifying period, or if the ROM is earned prior to the qualifying period, earn at least ten (10) riding points in the open, amateur or youth divisions combined during the qualifying period (showmanship points DO NOT count in either the ROM or the ten (10) riding points, nor do Level 1 amateur or youth points or points earned at Introductory shows; however, Level 1 points in the open division will count toward the riding points in open and/or amateur); and

c.  Qualify for, enter and compete in an Amateur Performance class other than Showmanship at the AQHA World Show.

If for any reason the horse does not show in an amateur performance class at the Lucas Oil World, the horse will be disqualified from the amateur performance halter class at the Lucas Oil World and will NOT be counted as an entry in that class. Any awards won in amateur performance halter must be relinquished. Entry fees are non-refundable. 

The exhibitor in the amateur performance class at the Lucas Oil World must be the same exhibitor who qualified the horse for the amateur performance class. Likewise, the exhibitor in the amateur performance halter class at the Lucas Oil World must be the same exhibitor who qualified the horse for the amateur performance halter class. However, it is not necessary for the exhibitor in the amateur performance class to be the same exhibitor in the amateur performance halter class so long as the two different exhibitors are “immediate family members” as defined by AQHA Amateur eligibility rules.

Additionally, rule RAC310.9 has been modified to read, “Horses earning two speed indexes of 80 or higher will receive a Racing Register of Merit.

For the most-updated version of the AQHA Official Handbook of Rules and Regulations, visit www.aqha.com/handbook.

AQHA News and information is a service of the American Quarter Horse Association. For more news and information, follow @AQHAnews on Twitter and visit www.aqha.com/news