AQHA Versatility Ranch Horse Rule Change Effective Immediately

The American Quarter Horse Association Executive Committee approved an amendment to Rule SHW554 to specify that points earned in Versatility Ranch Horse classes count only toward ranch-horse division events and will not affect leveling in any other class. Effective immediately, Versatility Ranch Horse exhibitors are subject to the rule change.

During the 2018 AQHA Convention in Jacksonville, Florida, the AQHA Ranching Committee received a rule-change proposal asking AQHA to specify in Rule SHW554 that VRH points do not cross over to AQHA ranch riding points. The Executive Committee approved the rule change protecting exhibitor level status and VRH points.

Effective immediately, the second sentence of SHW554 reads, “Points earned in each individual class only count toward any award or qualification for the ranch-horse division and do not count toward any other award or qualification for any other approved AQHA class or AQHA show award, and shall not affect leveling in any other class.”

This means an exhibitor’s AQHA ranch riding points and Versatility Ranch Horse ranch riding points are calculated separately and are not combined. If an exhibitor has less than 25 points in AQHA ranch riding, (not including VRH ranch riding points), then the exhibitor is Level 1 eligible for 2018.

Levels are formulated from an objective handicapping system that assigns exhibitors and horses to competition levels. That handicapping system is based on real data from AQHA shows. For more information on leveling or how to find your level for 2018, visit aqha.com/leveling.

To read the full rule and for more information on AQHA’s rules and regulations, visitaqha.com/rulebook.

The American Quarter Horse Association is an organization that works because of its members. To find out about the rule change process or to submit a rule-change proposal, go to aqha.com/rulebook.

AQHA News and information is a service of the American Quarter Horse Association. For more news and information, follow @AQHAnews on Twitter and visit aqha.com/news.

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