AQHA Approves Six New Classes
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By Megan Arszman
Taking advantage of the global pandemic that put a halt to horse showing for a few months, the American Quarter Horse Association used that downtime to develop programming and rules for six new classes, five of them to be seen in most parts of the world.
These more specialized classes stem from conversations with exhibitors and members on how to best take advantage of new interest in events such as Western Dressage, Ranching, and Working Hunter. One new class, Timed Trail, will be exclusive to China, while the others will be available to start earning points beginning with the 2021 show season.
“These classes were proposed by members of AQHA and then vetted through the committee process before ultimately being approved by the Executive Committee,” explains Justin Billings, Chief Show Officer for AQHA. “The membership had a hand in the process each step of the way, from the original idea to the formulation of the specific rules.”
Celebrating Ranching Heritage
Three classes being approved for regular AQHA points are aimed towards the ranching community, especially with Ranching Heritage Challenge. These challenges are open to any horse bred by an AQHA Ranching Heritage Breeder and offer multiple divisions for various ages and skill levels for both horse and rider. The original classes that are part of the Ranching Heritage Challenge are Working Ranch Horse, Ranch Riding, Team Roping, and Barrel Racing. However, AQHA has approved two classes–Cutting and Working Cow Horse–as separate AQHA-pointed classes.
Ranching Heritage Challenge Cutting allows for horses bred within the Ranching Heritage program of AQHA to compete in Cutting without needing to show exactly like Cutting horses that are used solely for competition purposes. Like Cutting seen at National Cutting Horse Association (NCHA) and AQHA events, Ranching Heritage Challenge Cutting (RHCC) sees the horse and rider cut two cattle; however, the equipment allowed is different: Closed reins (romals) are acceptable, as are snaffle bits. At NCHA events, all horses much be shown one-handed with split reins.
In Cutting, judges are looking to see if the horse can demonstrate excellence in herd work by committing to driving, setting up, and working a cow in the center of the arena with minimal disturbance to the herd.
“The horses competing in Ranch Heritage Cutting are bred by and work on the ranch,” explains AQHA Professional Horseman Steve Meadows, who is also a carded judge for AQHA, NSBA, and APHA. “The ranchers are looking for a place to compete with them, but they don’t want to have to compete against the show horses on the circuit.”
Ranching Heritage Working Cow Horse is for horses aged 7 and older that are also bred as part of the Ranching Heritage AQHA program. While it mimics Working Cow horse seen at AQHA shows, exhibitors are given two options when they have completed boxing their cow: either circling the cow or roping it. The equipment is all the same, and the horse’s ability to work the cow is judged the same.
There are four parts to the class, according to the AQHA Rulebook:
