After a booming 2015, APHA’s Paint Horse Championships are returning to Zone shows around the world in 2016. Designed with an emphasis on encouraging local participation and recognizing more exhibitors at the regional level, the Paint Horse Championships saw considerable participation in 2015—its first full year—and continued growth is expected for the new year.

“The Paint Horse Championships are APHA’s way of encouraging the grassroots exhibitor and rewarding our Paint Horse exhibitors and horses who might not participate at the world level or have not had success at the World Shows,” Senior Director of Shows Holly Slaughter said. “The program really generated excitement last year and we are looking forward to see the championships continue to grow in 2016.”

The following Paint Horse Championships are tentatively scheduled for 2016:

• Southeast: Jacksonville, Florida, February 19–21 (Zone 9)
• North Central: Denver, Colorado, April 7–10 (POR for Zone 3)
• Western: South Jordan, Utah, May 19–22 (Zone 2)
• South Central: Waco, Texas, May 28–29 (Zone 4)
• Western Canadian: Ponoka, Alberta, August 4–7 (Zone 4)
• Northeast: Logan Township, New Jersey, August 6–7 (Zone 7)
• EuroPaint: Kreuth, Germany, August 22–28 (Zone 12)
• Midwest: Cedar Rapids, Iowa, September 24–25 (Zone 5)

Pending:

• Great Lakes: Cloverdale, Indiana, May 13–15 (Zone 8)
• Northwest: Albany, Oregon, August 11–14 (Zone 1)

Watch for more details as plans develop and show dates are finalized.

Eligibility criteria for Paint Horse Championship classes is outlined below, and APHA encourages all Zone shows to take advantage of this exciting program. Changes to the program for 2016 are in bold and italicized. For more information, contact the APHA Performance Department at (817) 222-8455.

Eligibility

• Both the exhibitor and the horse must meet the eligibility criteria set forth to be eligible to compete in the Paint Horse Championship classes. 
  
  • Amateur and Youth exhibitors must be enrolled in the APHA Amateur or Youth program and meet the ownership/lease requirements as per Rule AM-020 and YP-015 respectively.
• Both the exhibitor and the horse owner/lessee must be current APHA members to be eligible to compete.
• Both exhibitor and horse owner/lessee must be residents of the Zone.
• Horses must be registered with the APHA and shown in their respective Paint Horse Championship breed registry class: Regular Registry or Solid Paint-Bred.

Exhibitor Eligibility

• Exhibitor must reside in the Zone per APHA records and be a current member of APHA.
• Halter classes: An exhibitor who has placed in the Top 5 in a halter class at an APHA World Championship Show in the PAST FIVE (5) YEARS (2011–2015) is NOT eligible to compete in any Paint Horse Championship halter class in any division.
  • Example: Susie placed 5th at the 2014 APHA World Championship Show in Youth Geldings.  Susie is NOT eligible to compete in any Paint Horse Championship Open, Amateur or Youth halter classes.
  • Paint Horse Championship classes must be held prior to the corresponding APHA class and preferably not back-to-back with corresponding APHA class.
• Performance classes: An exhibitor who has placed in the Top 10 in a performance class at an APHA World Championship Show in the PAST FIVE (5) YEARS (2011-2015) is NOT eligible to compete in any Paint Horse Championship performance class in any division.
  • Example: John was the Reserve World Champion at the 2012 APHA World Championship Show in Amateur Horsemanship.  John is NOT eligible to compete in any Paint Horse Championship performance class.
  • EXCEPTIONS:
    • Amateur/Youth Walk-Trot, Novice Amateur/Novice Youth and Intermediate Exhibitor World Show placings and placings in non-pointed World Show classes such as Sweepstakes, Challenge and Futurities DO NOT impact eligibility in regular division championship classes.
    • Amateur/Youth Walk-Trot World Show placings DO count towards exhibitor eligibility criteria in Amateur/Youth Walk-Trot Paint Horse Championship classes.
    • Novice Amateur/Novice Youth World Show placings DO count towards exhibitor eligibility criteria in Novice Amateur/Novice Youth Paint Horse Championship classes.

Horse Eligibility

• Performance classes: A horse that has placed in the Top 10 in a performance class at an APHA World Championship Show in the PAST FIVE (5) YEARS (2011-2015) is NOT eligible to compete in any Paint Horse Championship performance class in any division.
  • Example: Trigger placed 6th in Green Western Pleasure at the 2013 APHA World Championship Show. Trigger is NOT eligible to compete in any Paint Horse Championship performance classes with any exhibitor.
  • EXCEPTIONS:
    • Solid Paint-Bred classes: A Solid Paint-Bred horse that has placed in the Top 5 in a performance class at an APHA World Championship Show in the PAST FIVE (5) YEARS (2011-2015) is NOT eligible to compete in any Paint Horse Championship performance class.
    • Amateur/Youth Walk-Trot, Novice Amateur/Novice Youth and Intermediate Exhibitor World Show placings and placings in non-pointed World Show classes such as Sweepstakes, Challenge and Futurities DO NOT impact eligibility.
    • Novice Amateur/Novice Youth and Amateur/Youth Walk-Trot Paint Horse Championship classes are exempt from horse eligibility requirements, except that they must be owned by a resident of the Zone per APHA records.

 Awards

• Horses must be owned/leased by a resident of the Zone per APHA records. Owner(s)/lessee(s) must be current members of the APHA.
• Halter classes: A horse that has placed in the Top 5 in a halter class at an APHA World Championship Show in the PAST FIVE (5) YEARS (2011-2015) is NOT eligible to compete in any Paint Horse Championship halter class regardless of division.
  • Example: Zip placed 3rd in Open Geldings at the 2013 APHA World Championship Show.  Zip is NOT eligible to compete in any Paint Horse Championship halter classes with any exhibitor.

• APHA will sponsor awards for up to 15 classes per Zone Show.  This will consist of a championship buckle and 2nd-6th place medallions for each class ($3,000 value). If a Zone wants to offer additional classes, the Zone can purchase the additional awards for these classes. 
• APHA will also sponsor up to $3,500 in show awards for each Zone Show that offers Paint Horse Championship classes. This sponsorship will be a reimbursement of the show’s awards expense of up to $3,500 upon the completion of the show and submission of awards receipts.
  
  
  Additional Show Management Guidelines
• Classes 
  • It is up to Zone show management’s discretion to determine the specific classes to offer with approval by APHA under the following guidelines:
    • Halter classes (Regular Registry and Solid Paint-Bred) – the corresponding APHA class must have had at least 5 entries the prior year.
    • Performance classes (Regular Registry) – the corresponding APHA class (all ages combined) must have had at least 10 entries the prior year.
    • Performance classes (Solid Paint-Bred) – the corresponding APHA class must had at least 5 entries the prior year.
• Scheduling
  • It is recommended that classes be offered independently from other APHA-approved classes.

• However, to help alleviate time constraints for shows, classes may be held as a class within a class with APHA-approved classes. If held as a class within a class, awards presentations must be held independently of the regular class awards. Awards presentations must be held in the arena at the completion of the class.
• Paint Horse Championship classes must be held prior to the corresponding APHA class and preferably not back-to-back with corresponding APHA class.

• Judges
  • Classes may be judged by one or two judges only.  
• Entry Fees
  • It is up to the Zone show management to determine the entry fee to help offset costs; however, it is recommended that lower entry fees be offered.
  • There are no fees due to the APHA for these classes.

About APHA

The American Paint Horse Association is the world’s second-largest international equine breed association, registering more than a million horses in 59 nations and territories since it was founded. APHA creates and maintains programs that increase the value of American Paint Horses and enriches members’ experiences with their horses.