Opening Pathways To Exhibitor Access
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200 – January/February, 2024
By Kory Kumar
When Select Amateur Debby Brehm set out to write an AQHA rule change proposal that would allow herself and her Amateur daughter to share a single horse, she didn’t know it would take eight years of attempts to make it happen. This annual rule change proposal she brought forth for consideration year after year at the AQHA Convention affectionately became known as “Debby’s Rule.”
A Historical Perspective
AQHA Rule SHW400.8 previously allowed for a horse to be shown in no more than one Youth or Amateur subdivision or any type of event. However, the same horse could be shown in a Level 1 class then shown by another exhibitor or the same exhibitor in Level 2 or Level 3 Youth or Amateur divisions. As Debby’s daughter aged out of Youth and moved into the Amateur division, it seemed silly to need two horses for them to show. “I only wanted to show in Western Pleasure and Performance Halter, and I just felt that we should be able to use the same horse for that,” Debby explains. “I also wanted to open the possibilities for other families to share horses, and felt that sharing horses could grow the AQHA,” she says.
As of January 1, 2023, AQHA Rule SHW400.8 was amended to allow for a horse to be shown in no more than two Youth or Amateur subdivisions of any type of event. However, the same horse may be shown in a Level 1 class then shown by another exhibitor or same exhibitor in Level 2 or Level 3 Youth or Amateur division. The implications of this change impact exhibitors in different ways, as well as individual shows. Meanwhile, Debby laughs when she says, “My daughter is focused on building her career now, and she’s not showing. I always figured that by the time I got this passed it wouldn’t be used by my family.”
Concerns and Unintended Consequences
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200 – January/February, 2024
