AQHA showing help

I would one day like to show in AQHA shows with my horse. I'm 17 years old, my horse is 8, neither of us have ever shown AQHA before, and I would like to do the hunter classes and western pleasure. Could you help me with where we would fit in? In terms of the different levels and classes and such? I'm confused about it all!

You would probably be competing in the novice youth and youth classes. Your horse is an aged horse since he is over 6 so you will have to show one-handed in a curb for the western events.

Are you registered with AQHA and have your membership card? It will tell you what classes you qualify to go in.

Yes, I'm an AQHA member. Where do you find what classes you qualify for?

You need to not only be an AQHA member but you also need to have an AQHA Youth ameteur card so that you can show so you'll want to see what type of membership you have, if it's general or ameteur. (sorry about my spelling).

You can go to AQHA.com and log in to see the show schedules and then there should also be a Kentucky AQHA site as well and if you want to gain points at your state level you'll have to be a member of their org too.

As for where will you fit in, you will be a limited rider in all skill sets and will be elidgeable for the Rookie Youth Division, the Novice Youth Division, the Ameteur Youth (competition will be much stronger in that class) etc.

Your age group will be 14-18. If you do a Youth class then it's all ages under 18.

Does that help?

"Amateur youth" isn't a class.

OP, all of this is in the AQHA handbook.

So I could be in Youth and Novice Youth...is Rookie based on the horse or the rider? What about Green?
Also, when will I not be in Youth anymore? I'll be 18 this year.

I meant Youth. There is rookie youth, novice youth, and youth. Youth is broken apart but I think it's 14-18 and then I don't know what the younger is, if it's 11-13 or if it's just up to 13... OP, you can actually request a handbook be mailed to you each year if you would like. It gives you the current rules and regulations.

You could do youth and the novice yount and the rookie and you can do open but since I never showed as a youth I can't explain what it does to your points, I do know that they don't recommend you show in the open classes (green would be an open class).

Rookie is based on the horse and the rider. You both have to have under 10 points.

I think you are a youth until you turn 19 but I would double check that, depends on how they do that.

First off, not all shows are going to have rookie classes. So don't be surprised if you don't see them on the showbill. For these, it is a combination of points from the horse and the rider. The total for both can't be over 10.

The novice youth classes are generally all-age at the regular shows. If split into age ranges, you would be in the 14-18.

For your age, go by your age on Jan. 1. So if you are 18 on that date, that's what you go with for the rest of the year. You'd be in the amateur classes in 2014, then.

I would recommend not going in the green classes. These are open classes and largely filled with trainers and open-caliber horses.

Finally, the AQHA handbook is available to download online.

Starting in 2013, the AQHA classes will be leveled.

So you could show in Novice, Intermediate, or Open Youth. Open in the youth and amateur is still am and youth. That's just the name it's been given. The levels are dependent on your points. You'd be a novice.

Go to AQHA: Home and download the online handbook as that is the most recent version. Also, talk to your trainer about classes that you and your horse are ready for before you go to compete.