By The Numbers: AHA's New Qualification System
Laura Mickelson for The Leader, newsletter of the Minnesota Arabian Horse Association, Inc.
The new point system for qualifying for regional and national shows is now in effect. The complete set of points can be found in the 2005 AHA Handbook which is available online at: http://www.arabianhorses.org/membership/Membership_Handbook.asp AHA will mail a copy at no charge to any member who requests one.
Members are urged to pay close attention to the number of horses in classes and to check the show results on the AHA web site to make sure of the points earned. The number of points is being reviewed with a report due to the AHA Board at their August meeting, so if you have comments or suggestions, please contact your Regional Director, Dean Meier or one of you MAHA delegates, officers, or board members. Better yet, attend a meeting and make your opinion known in person!
The points needed to qualify for Regional Select Rider classes are not included in the AHA Handbook but the required points are:
Hunter Pleasure Select Rider, AOTR, AAOTR and JOTR requires 10 points
Western Pleasure Select Rider, AOTR, AAOTR and JOTR requires 5 points for purebreds and 4 points for HA/AA.
Country English Pleasure Select AOTR, AAOTR and JOTR requires 2 points.
Highlights:
Points are earned for placing 1-6 with a point earned for each horse beaten and one point for yourself. For example, if you win a class of 10, you get 10 points. If you get 4th in a class of 18, you get 15 points-14 for the horses that you beat and 1 point for yourself. If you get 6th in a class of 6, you get 1 point. Championships do NOT get double points.
Most classes only require 1 or 2 points to qualify for the regionals. The greatest number of points required to qualify for the regionals is 10 (for the largest hunter and western pleasure classes). National qualifying point required range from 1 to 30 points.
You still need to earn a separate qualification for each class you want to show in. You can still qualify for any class in a discipline from any class in that discipline, e.g., an amateur-owner riding in an open western pleasure class can use that qualification for anh one of the following: open, any one age group of amateur-owner (including select rider), any one age group of amateur to ride, or junior horse (assuming the horse is a junior horse).
QUALIFICATIONS EARNED IN 2005
Qualifications for 2005 regional shows earned in 2005 MUST be from points for all classes except scored classes that can use points or scores.
Qualifications for 2005 national shows earned in 2005 MUST be from points for all classes except scored classes that can use points or scores and with the further exception that a Top 5 or better from a regional show continues to qualify you for the nationals.
QUALIFICATIONS EARNED IN 2004
If you are fully qualified from placings (or scores) in 2004, you are qualified for 2005.
If you had a Regional Champion or Reserve in 2004, you are qualified for the corresponding 2005 Regional Show. Starting in 2005, regional Champions and Reserves no longer qualify for a regional show.
If you are partially qualified from placings for any specific class, you are not qualified for 2005 and you MUST use points earned in 2005. This means you have a short qualification season for 2005 so get to those early shows!
If you are partially qualified from scores, you can use scores earned in 2004 and 2005. Qualifying by scores has not changed under the new system.