Share Your Thoughts on 2015 APHA Rule Change Proposals

PHJ press release by: Jessica Hein

APHA.com

A total of 46 rule change proposals will be considered at the 2015 Convention—have YOU weighed in? Take a few minutes to review the proposed rules, which are being considered for the 2016 rule book, and share your thoughts with your national director or—better yet—in person at the 2015 APHA Convention February 27-March 2 in Fort Worth, Texas … EVERYONE is invited to attend.

At Convention, the standing committees vote on the proposals that will move forward, and the Board of Directors vote to pass, amend or fail those proposals that come out of committee.

Share your input on any or all of the rule change proposals with your area’s Board of Directors representatives and members of the appropriate standing committees. A list of 2014 Board of Directors and 2014 Standing Committees is available at apha.com/association/directors.

Read the full text of the rule change proposals here. Following is a brief summary of the rule change proposals that will be considered at the 2015 APHA Convention:

Bylaws

• AII-2—Changes notification time frame for notice of the APHA annual meeting.
• AIII—Outlines where the duties and responsibilities of national directors will be explained and is located.
• AIII-2—Changes the term of national directors.
• AIII-6—Provides for additional information to be required from director nominees.
• AIII-7—Requires directors to serve for three years rather than two and determines how ties will be resolved in the director election.  Also provides for a new type of “at-large” directorships, and specifies that write-in candidates must have a minimum of five votes.
• AIII-8 —Changes the procedures to be followed in case of a vacancy in the Board of Directors.
• AIII-9—Reduces the number of years that must be served to become a director-at-large from 30 down to 25.
• AIII-10—Changes the notice requirement for the annual membership meeting and how directors will be notified.
• AIV-3—Provides that regional clubs should be incorporated as nonprofits and eliminates language not needed.
• AV—Clarifies terminology to be non-gender specific with respect to the recall procedures.
• AIX-2—Deletes the provision that regional clubs may not be called associations.
• AX—Changes the term Zone-0-Rama to Zone Show.

Registration

• RG-070—Change to the color rule to require all Regular Registry registrations to have the same amount of location of color for registration eligibility.
• RG-070-1—Allows the shaft of the penis to qualify a gelding for Regular Registry if the qualifying area meets the size requirements.
• RG-070-2—Allows a predominantly white horse to qualify for Regular Registry if a contrasting area does not meet the size requirements provided that genetic testing proves the horse has a pattern gene.

General Show and Contest

• SC-085—Adds commonly used drugs to the Permitted Therapeutic Substances category and includes guidelines for approximate dosages.
• SC-090-1—Reduces the mileage restriction between shows in Zone 12.  Removes the mileage restrictions between shows held in different countries in Zone 12.
• SC-110—Allows show management to accept additional entries in individual working events until the last exhibitor enters the arena.
• SC-160—Defines where the halter exhibitor’s number is to be displayed on the exhibitor’s back.
• SC-176—Changes the class procedure for judging the Color Class.
• SC-180—Allows Solid Paint-Bred offspring to show in the Produce of Dam and Get of Sire classes.
• SC-245—Modifies and clarifies judging criteria for Western Pleasure to include correctness, quality and degree of difficulty
• SC-290—Allows exhibitor time to count if exhibitor falls off horse after run is completed and they have crossed the finish line in speed events.
• SC-296—Changes the stake race pattern to allow for standardization between other associations at dual-approved events.
• SC-302—Offers Ranch Horse Pleasure for Novice Amateur and Novice Youth.
• SC-302-1—Changes Ranch Horse Pleasure penalties to standardize with other associations.

Amateur

• AM-010—Changes the definition of remuneration for the purposes of Amateur eligibility and standardizes the rules with other associations.
• AM-085—Allows Amateur exhibitors to exhibit a maximum of 3 horses rather than 2 in individual working events.
• AM-135—For Amateur Judged Heeling, allows show management the option of placing a headloop on the steer in classes with 5 or less entries – standardizing the rules with the Open division.
• AM-205—Changes Novice Points from 50 to 100 before becoming ineligible in a specific category.
• AM-205-1—Changes Novice Points from 50 to 75 before becoming ineligible in a specific category.
• AM-205-2—Changes Novice Amateur reinstatement period from 10 years prior to reapplication to 5 years prior.
• AM-210—Allows Amateur to show a non-owned horse in Novice Amateur classes
• AM-210—Allows Amateur to show a non-owned horse in Novice Amateur classes in Zone 12
• AM-245—Allows Novice Amateurs in Zones 12, 13 & 14 to ride one or two handed in a snaffle bit or hackamore with any age horse.
• AM-245-1—Allows Novice Amateurs to ride one or two handed in a snaffle bit or hackamore with any age horse.
• AM-300-1—Further defines reclassification policy for Amateur Walk-Trot cards.
• AM-300-2—Allows Amateur Walk-Trot exhibitors in Zones 12, 13 & 14 to ride one or two handed in a snaffle bit or hackamore with any age horse.
• AM-300-3—Allows Amateur Walk-Trot exhibitors to ride one or two handed in a snaffle bit or hackamore with any age horse.
• AM-310—Creates a new Platinum Amateur Division for Amateurs 50 and Over

Youth

• YP-110—Allow Youth Walk-Trot exhibitors to cross over into showmanship 13 & under and/or novice showmanship (if eligible) at the same show.
• YP-137—For Youth Judged Heeling, allows show management the option of placing a headloop on the steer in classes with 5 or less entries, standardizing the rules with the Open division.
• YP-205—Changes Youth and Open points from 20 to 40 before becoming ineligible in a specific novice youth category.
• YP-205-1—Changes Youth and Open points from 20 to 40 before becoming ineligible in a specific novice youth category. Includes related rules for Novice Amateur.
• YP-245—Offers split age division classes (13 & under and 14-18) for the Novice Youth if entries warrant.

Judges

• JU-000—Reduces the mileage restriction for judges between shows in Zone 12 and removes the mileage restrictions for judges between shows held in different countries in Zone 12.
• JU-000-2—Adds a requirement that European Only judges must attend an approved seminar once every two years instead of every three years.