Eliminating L1 Championship Qualification – Pros & Cons

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196 – July/August, 2017

By: Brittany Bevis

Just in time to mark the conclusion of the final 2017 Level 1 Championship Show, AQHA made the announcement that, beginning in 2018, Level 1 and Rookie exhibitors will no longer need to qualify to compete at the L1 Championships. The change was made after discussion during the April Executive Committee meeting.

According to an AQHA press release, AQHA Chief Show Officer, Pete Kyle, had this to say about the qualification removal for 2018:

“B&W Rookie and Level 1 are the two levels of AQHA competition designed for everyone, from the beginner to the minimally accomplished competitors,” Kyle says. “The Level 1 Championships were designed to celebrate the accomplishments of all of these riders and their horses in an environment that provides education and fun competition. The goal of this change is to give more people and horses the opportunity to compete at the AQHA Level 1 Championships.”

The decision was met with much debate, particularly among the Level 1 exhibitors who competed at the L1 Championships this year. One particular question was posed: does eliminating qualification for the L1 Championships make the event more inclusive or less prestigious?

For L1 Amateur competitor, Alicia Schwartzbeck, who placed in the Top 15 in Showmanship, Aged Geldings, and Rookie Horsemanship at L1 Championships East with her horse, TooSleepyForScotch, she believes qualification removal is a step towards hurting regional show numbers.

“I think it does take away from the prestige of the show,” she says. “There were already two other ways to qualify if you couldn’t show under the (original rule) of 20 judges: by placing in the Top 10 at your regional show and by going through your state club. So, if you couldn’t haul to enough shows, other options were available. Removing the qualification rule also hurts the regional shows. I’ve already been told by fellow competitors that they probably won’t attend their local regional shows now.

“The L1 classes at the Championships are still very deep, so that requires you to show a certain amount. It also prepares you for the level of competition you will see there, so it’s beneficial to have a requirement. To qualify, I have to make sure I do one show a month from April to September, so I can see how this can be tough for some L1 competitors. I think a good compromise would be lowering the requirement to 10 judges. This would make it more inclusive to those who just can’t haul the miles to go, but still retain a level of accomplishment in being invited to go,” she says.

Click here to read the complete article
196 – July/August, 2017