For Immediate Release:

New Exhibitor Recognition

The American Quarter Horse Journal -- The American Quarter Horse Association will be recognizing a new level of exhibitors at four of its world championship shows this year.  

At the 2011 Built Ford Tough AQHYA, Adequan Select, Bank of America Amateur and Fedex Open world championship shows, AQHA will recognize the top three Intermediate exhibitors
in each youth, amateur, Select and open class.  

"This is a great way to introduce some of the show or competition-leveling concepts that
AQHA has been exploring over the last couple of years," said AQHA President Peter J. Cofrancesco III. "Recognizing the Intermediate exhibitor is a way to shine the spotlight on
exhibitors who have worked hard to qualify for our world shows and are tough competitors
at our world shows year after year, but don't make it into the top 10."

An Intermediate exhibitor at the AQHA world shows is defined as follows:

• An exhibitor who has never been in the top 10 at a world show in the particular class in
  which they are competing. Halter classes (including performance halter) will be all-
  inclusive, meaning any top-10 placing in halter, regardless of sex division (ex. a top-10 finisher in 3-year-old geldings is not considered an Intermediate exhibitor in any halter
  class even though he/she might have placed outside of the top 10 in a different halter
  class). Open performance classes will be the same. For example, AQHA will not
  separate junior reining from senior reining, or junior western pleasure from senior
  western pleasure, for purposes of determining if an exhibitor is an Intermediate.
  However, AQHA will recognize the Intermediate exhibitors in each of the junior and
  senior open classes.)
• Intermediate will run as classes within classes, not separate. AQHA will not bring back
  the top Intermediate riders for a ride-off or in a separate class.
• Intermediate exhibitor status is based only on an exhibitor's lifetime, combined world
  show record, not on the number of points he/she has accumulated.
• An exhibitor does not have to make it to the finals of his/her class to be considered for
  an Intermediate award.
• There is no entry fee or nomination procedure for an exhibitor to be considered for an Intermediate award.
• The awards will be called the AQHA Intermediate champion, AQHA Intermediate
  reserve champion and the AQHA Intermediate third place.
• Intermediate accomplishments also will appear on the exhibitor's and horse's AQHA
  official record.

The Intermediate exhibitor recognition package will include an 8-inch clear globe for first
place and 6-inch clear globes for second and third place. Each Intermediate champion will
also receive a specially designed patch that can be placed on a qualifiers jacket that can be purchased by the exhibitor. The top three Intermediate exhibitors will also have the option to purchase a championship buckle.

AQHA news and information is a service of AQHA publications. For more information
on The American Quarter Horse Journal or America's Horse, visit AQHA Publications.

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Canadian Quarter Horse Association.