SHOW RULES

WESTERN RIDERS OF VIRGINIA, INC.

HORSE SHOW RULES

RULE 1 - COGGINS

Proof of Negative Coggins is required. All horses brought onto Western Riders of Virginia (WRV) grounds must have a current Negative Coggins.

RULE 2 – ADMISSION TO SHOW GROUNDS

   All non-members will pay an admission fee.

·         Age 6 & under will be admitted free.

RULE 3 – RULES

·         All classes will be run by WESTERN RIDERS OF VIRGINIA Rules.

·         Any rider who objects shall forfeit entry fee and be dismissed from the ring.

RULE 4 – SHOW/CLASS SCHEDULE

·         Show/class schedules will be run as printed with no alternates and no added classes excluding any typographical errors.

RULE 5 – DIVISIONS

·         Riders age based on January 1 of current year.

Pleasure                                                                                              Speed

Halter /Showmanship                                                   Pee Wee Pony Speed 10 & under

Pee-Wee 10 & under Pony Pleasure                          14 & under Pony speed  

14 & under Pony Pleasure                                             14 & under Horse Speed

18 & Under Horse or Pony Pleasure                           18 & under Horse or Pony Speed                  

 Open Horse or Pony Pleasure                                     Open Horse Speed

40 & over Horse or Pony Pleasure                              40 & over Horse or Pony Speed

Roping

                      “A” Calf Roping

                       “B” Calf Roping

                      “A” Ladies Breakaway Calf Roping

                      “B” Breakaway Calf Roping

RULE 6 – HEIGHT OF HORSE OR PONY

·         Height of a pony shall be under 14 hands.

·         Animals between 14 hands and 14.1 hands, with or without shoes, will be allowed to show in either horse or pony class.  Once entered as a horse or pony they must continue to show in that category all year.

·         Animals above 14.1 hands must be classified as horses.

·         A hand is 4 inches.

RULE 7 – TACK AND DRESS

·         All animals participating in the show shall use WESTERN TACK and REGALIA.

·         All contestants shall be dressed neatly and in APPROPRIATE WESTERN ATTIRE.

·         Appropriate dress will include western collared shirts, western pleasure show attire, western boots or western riding sneakers and western hat/helmet. (No t-shirts, no tank tops, or spaghetti strap shirts, & no baseball caps).

·         Speed and roping classes will wear western hats/helmets or no hats.

·         For Western Riders (non-pointed) Jackpot shows, acceptable dress will include short sleeve T-shirts, short sleeve golf/polo style shirts and baseball caps.

·         For instances of  hot weather, short sleeve T shirts and short sleeve golf/polo style shirts will be accepted as appropriate dress for regular (pointed) Western Rides shows with permission from the Judge or Show Chairperson.

·         Other decisions may be made by the Judge or Show Chairperson at their discretion.

RULE 8 – SPEED PATTERNS

·         Pole Bending- The pattern will consist of six poles with each one set 21 feet apart to maneuver through. The first pole is set at 21 feet from the starting line.  A horse and rider can begin to either the left or the right of the poles.

·         Texas Barrels- The pattern consists of three barrels set up in a straight line with each barrel set 35 feet apart. The first barrel is set 35 feet from the starting line. You can start at either the right side or the left side of the barrels.

·         Barrel Racing- The pattern will consist of three barrels in a triangular "cloverleaf” pattern. The direction can be either one barrel to the right with two to the left, or one barrel to the left with two to the right. The pattern must meet the following conditions:  a) distance from 1^st barrel to timing line and the distance from the 2^nd barrel to timing line are equal; and b) distance from the 1^st barrel to the 3^rd barrel and the distance from the 2^nd barrel to the 3^rd barrel are equal.

RULE 9 – ELECTRONIC TIMERS

·         In the event of an electronic timer breakdown, there will be a re-ride offered.

·         In the event of an entire electronic timer breakdown, the entire class will be run with stopwatches or cancelled by show committee.

RULE 10 – Abuse and Mistreatment of Animals

·         Abusing and mistreating an animal in the ring or on the grounds shall be prohibited.

·         The rider will be asked to leave the ring and/or the grounds.

·         The decision shall be at the discretion of the Judge and/or Show Chairperson.

·         Any complaint of abuse outside the arena shall immediately be taken to the Show Chairperson and/or show committee to be resolved.

·         Any complaint and action taken must be documented in writing and signed by all parties.

Rule 11– Unmanageable Horses and Ponies

·         Any horse or pony that kicks, bites or is unmanageable in the ring or on the grounds will be dismissed if endangering property, persons, or animals.

·         The entry fee will be forfeited.

·         Decision to be made by the Judge and/or Show Committee.

Rule 12– Conduct

·         No alcohol or illegal substances will be allowed on WRV club grounds.

·         No excessive cursing or disorderly conduct will be allowed on the club grounds.

·         Any person showing disorderly conduct or excessive cursing on the club grounds at any time will be suspended from the grounds until the next regular scheduled general meeting.  At such time, there will be a formal hearing.

·         Suspended person or persons shall be notified of the hearing in writing.

·         All accusations and suspensions will be in writing, and include the offense, punishment; all persons involved, including but not limited to the accused, witnesses, accuser, board members notified and voting members of the punishment handed out.

·         All parties must sign and put the complaint in the permanent records of WRV.

Rule 13– Accidents and Injury

·         The club will not be held responsible for accidents or injuries to persons, animals, or property on the show ground.  All participants shall sign a liability release form.

Rule 14– Show Dates

·         The April, May, June, July, August and September shows shall be held on the first Saturday of these months.  Rain date to be scheduled accordingly

Rule 15– Entry Fees

·         All entry fees must be paid for before entering a class in the ring.

·         No entries may be made in a class after the class has been called into the ring.

·         Riders have the right to cancel from class and receive a refund, unless the payout calculations have been completed and then there will be no refund.

Rule 16– Entries/Payout

             6 entries & up                                      4 paybacks (40%, 30%, 20%, 10%)

                5 entries                                              3 paybacks (50%, 30%, 20%)

                4 entries                                              2 paybacks (60%, 40%)

                3 entries                                              1 payback (100%)

                1 or 2 entries                                     May run the class, no payback

·   Appropriate points and ribbons will be awarded.

·   Riders will have the option to cancel if there are 1 or 2 entries in a class.

·   Jackpot Barrels may be run 3-D with 10 or more riders and paid by NBHA payout.

Rule 17– Roping and Lead line

·         No horse or pony shall be entered more than one time in each event except in roping and lead line barrels.

Rule 18– Re-rides

·         No rider shall receive a re-ride due to faulty tack.

Rule 19– Pleasure and Speed Points

·         Points for the day are given in the following manner: 1^st place - 4, 2^nd place - 3, 3^rd place - 2, and 4th place -1.

·         Points will be given to 5^th and 6^th places, for other associations sanctioning our shows.

·         Points for the day will not be given to classes restricted to certain exhibitors such as members only, mother’s classes, ladies classes, or any class not open to every participant in the Horse or Pony Division.

Rule 19a- Roping Points

·         Roping points go to the rider.

·         Points are accumulated from the WESTERN RIDERS OF VIRGINIA jackpot and regular shows for the calendar year.

·         Riders shall receive points in accordance with Virginia Cowboys Association rules.

Rule 20– Awards - Champion and reserve championship awards will be given for points of the day in the following:

                        Pleasure                                                                                      Speed

Halter /Showmanship                                                   Pee Wee Pony Speed 10 & under

Pee-Wee 10 & under Pony Pleasure                          14 & under Pony Speed  

14 & under Pony Pleasure                                           14 & under Horse Speed

18 & Under Horse or Pony Pleasure                          18 & under Horse or Pony Speed

Open Horse or Pony Pleasure                                     Open Horse Speed                                                                                                                             

40 & over Horse or Pony Pleasure                             40 & over Horse or Pony Speed

·         In the event of a tie in any division other than speed, the judge will flip a coin to determine the winner.

·         Speed to be decided by the fastest combined time average of contestants competing in all 3 classes in the division.  If contestants did not compete in 3 classes or had a no time the points leader competing with the most clean times wins the award.

Rule 21– Judge's Participation

·         The judge of any show is not allowed to participate in any events throughout the course of the calendar year whatsoever or have any of his/her horses, ponies, or clients in the ring.

·         The judge’s horses or ponies may not compete even if someone else is riding them.

Rule 22– Decisions

·         All decisions of the judge are FINAL.

·         No persons other than the Judge shall enter the ring during the class unless they are requested by the Judge.

·         No leading of horse or pony in any class unless specified by the class (example: lead line barrels, etc.)

Rule 23– Selling on Club Grounds

·         WESTERN RIDERS OF VIRGINIA reserves the right to disallow the selling of livestock, shoeing of animals, or selling of equipment on the club grounds.

·         Any vendor requesting to do business on WRV grounds must first fill out an application for information purposes of contact and pay appropriate fee when applicable.