APHA World Show is Coming to September! Performance Halter Classes Debut and Much More

The APHA World Show will be here before you know it, so it’s not too early to start making plans now. The show takes place September 20–October 1 at the Will Rogers Memorial Center in Fort Worth, Texas. Full details at apha.com/oawcs.

Is Your Horse Qualified?

The first step in (most) World Show journeys is getting your horse qualified for the premier Paint Horse show. Qualification is based on participation only, not points earned.

To qualify, your horse must exhibit in four APHA-approved events to eight judges during the qualifying period: June 1, 2016–May 31, 2017. Weanlings and yearlings, 2- and 3-year-old performance horses, and 4-year-old speed-event horses are not required to qualify.

Designated specialty disciplines—like speed, over fences, roping, working cow horse and cutting, among others—must only compete at two APHA-approved shows during the qualifying period, with no minimum judges. Read the full qualification guidelines here.

Reiners, cutters and cow horses have the opportunity to qualify at select competitions designated as APHA World Show qualifying events. Check them out below or at apha.com/oawcs/dates.

National Cutting Horse Association/American Cutting Horse Association qualifying events
National Reining Horse Association qualifying events
National Reined Cow Horse Association qualifying events

Note: Specialty classes (including Challenges, Sweepstakes and futurity classes) do not require qualification to enter. But if world championship classes will be entered as well, the horse must be qualified.

New Events

Performance halter and solid Paint-bred ranch events make their debut in 2017. The halter classes require full qualification, but the solid ranch classes only require two shows with four judges to qualify in 2017, due to the announcement timeline.

• Performance Halter Mares
• Performance Halter Stallions
• Performance Halter Geldings
• Performance Halter SPB Mares
• Performance Halter SPB Stallions
• Performance Halter SPB Geldings
• SPB Ranch Riding
• SPB Ranch Trail

New Opportunities for Solids

Remember, solid Paint-breds have a host of events in which they can compete for world championship titles and even the Amateur and Open Solid Paint-Bred all-around titles. Select Paints can also compete in Challenge, Sweepstakes, Breeders Futurity and Farnam Stakes classes, too.

If your solid Paint-bred has two APHA-registered parents and a Paint characteristic, he might qualify for a Regular Registry status change if he carries a Paint pattern gene. Read about the new RG-070.E. rule for details.

Cash on the Line

Need a few thousand reasons to bring your Paint to the World Show?

• $600,000+ awarded in cash & prizes!
• $50,000+ payout in the Farnam Pleasure Stakes
• $40,000 added in reining challenges
• $18,000 added in working cow horse challenges
• $14,000 added in cutting challenges
• $16,000 added in Western pleasure and hunter under saddle challenges/sweepstakes
• $8,000 added in ranch events
• $10,500 added in barrel racing sweepstakes/futurities
• $1,000 added in roping
• $20,000 bonus payout in select halter events
• $145,000 estimated Breeders’ Futurity payouts

Special Reminders

Expected show schedule/premium book released: April–May 2017

Pre-Entry, Stall & RV deadline: August 1, 2017

Remember, all horses competing in the Youth World Show must be owned or lease by the Youth exhibitor or related family per Rule YP-015 by May 15 to be eligible. In addition, any horse shown at the Youth World Show will not be eligible to show at the APHA Open/Amateur World Show (in the same year) by the immediate previous owner/lessor as described in AM-020 and YP-015.

Classes no longer offered at the APHA Open/Amateur World Show as of 2017:

• Broodmares
• Breeders’ Futurity reining, cutting and barrel racing

Put our future World Show dates on your calendar!

2018 AjPHA Youth World Show: June 25–July 7, 2018
2018 APHA Open/Amateur World Show: September 19–30, 2018
Qualifying Dates: June 1, 2017–May 31, 2018

2019 AjPHA Youth World Show: June 24–July 6, 2019
2019 APHA Open/Amateur World Show: September 18–29, 2019
Qualifying Dates: June 1, 2018–May 31, 2019