A.

Two team members and two alternates will be selected for the following events: Showmanship, Horsemanship, Western Pleasure, Reining, Barrel Racing, Hunter Under Saddle.  Alternates will only be allowed to compete if either of the top two youth are unable to do so.

B.

The BRQHYA Congress Team will be chosen by the Youth Director, and Youth Advisor along with the Board of Directors for BRQHA using the criteria of points, sportsmanship and participation. All decisions made by this committee will be final.

C.

Youth must be a member in good standing of BRQHA and BRQHYA to try out for the Congress team.

D.

A Letter of Intent must be submitted to, and received by the Youth Director in order to be considered for the Congress team. Postmark will be used to determine the effective date. No points will accumulate until a Letter of Intent is postmarked, received and accepted by the Youth Director. The Letter of Intent shall consist of the following:   

1.) A copy of the youth’s AQHYA card (must be a current year member),

2.) A copy of the horses papers,

3.) a brief paragraph stating your reason for wanting to represent BRQHYA on the Congress team, 

4.) a signed statement that the rules have been read by the applicant and the parent or legal guardian.

E.

The qualifying shows will be from March 1 until July 31 of each year. Friday shows from March 1 through June 10 will not count for points for the Congress Team. Qualifying points will be taken from the youth’s top seven (7) Blue Ridge shows during the qualifying time. Qualifying points will be based on the number of horses in a class beginning with 9 points if there are 9 or more horses. The scale is as follows

Placing 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9

9 or more horses

9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1

8 horses

8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1

7 horses

7-6-5-4-3-2-1

6 horses

6-5-4-3-2-1

5 horses

5-4-3-2-1

4 horses

4-3-2-1

3 horses

3-2-1

2 horses

2-1

1 horse

1

F.

Acceptance for a position on the Congress Youth Team will be decided from the following Criteria:

1. Selection by points:

Positions will go to the top two (2) individuals in each of the following events, Showmanship, Western Pleasure, Barrel Racing, Hunter Under Saddle, Reining and Horsemanship, based upon their top seven show days. The youth with the most points in each of the events will be given that event to compete in at Congress. If a youth has the most points in more than one (1) event, He or she will be given a choice of which event they would like to compete in at Congress. After choosing one (1) event their name will be dropped from the other events until all youth wishing to participate at Congress are placed in an event. This same rule will apply to the second (2) place youth.   However, if the 14-18 class or the 13 and under class has more participation throughout the year and this has drastically affected the points, this will be taken into consideration when selecting the team and the final decision will be made by the youth director, the youth advisor, and the BRQHA board.

Example: One (1) child leads Showmanship, Horsemanship and Hunter Under Saddle. This child would be given their choice of which event they would like to compete in and the other events would fall to the second (2nd) and third (3rd) place youth, until such time as all youth wishing to go to Congress, that have qualified in the events, have been placed in a slot or no more positions are available. If a second event is to be chosen by an individual ( because we have no one else competing in that event) then the same procedure would be followed of the position going to the person with the highest points and then to 2nd and 3rd highest, etc. 

a. Tie-breakers: In the case of a tie for 1st place, both individuals would go as 1 and 2. In case of a tie for 2nd the individual with the most 1st place finishes would be given the slot, if a tie still remains the situation would be brought before the Board for help in the deciding of the placing.

2. Selection by Participation:

Fundraising: All youth wishing to be considered for this year’s youth team must participate in ALL fundraising activities. If there are extenuating circumstances the Youth Director may allow an individual to miss a fundraiser, but that individual would have to make up whatever his or her share of that fundraiser would have been.
Youth Meetings: If an individual is at the horse show where the meeting is held they will be expected to attend that meeting.
Showing in Classes: All youth wishing to try out for the Congress Youth team must compete in the event they are trying out for at least 50% of the time the class is offered during the qualifying period.

Example: Showmanship is offered 17 times, an individual would have to compete in the Showmanship Class at least 8 times. Hardship cases may be considered by Youth Director along with the Board of Directors of BRQHA.

3. Selection On Sportsmanship:

a. General appearance

b. Attitude: Interference from a parent or a trainer of a child being considered for the Congress Team will be evaluated in this division as much as the youth’s attitude.

c. Actions in and out of the show ring.

G.

After tabulation of the results, a letter will be mailed to each of the youth who have been selected for the Congress Team. This notification will be prior to the BRQHA Futurity. Once an individual has been placed on the team, if they are unable to compete or fulfill their duties as part of the Team, they should notify the Youth Director immediately, so that the next child in line may be allowed to participate. Once a youth has been selected for the team and accepted the position on the team, they will be expected to represent the BRQHYA and to participate with the team at Congress. Family emergencies, illness of youth, illness of the horse or circumstances which might endanger the life of the youth/and or horse will be acceptable cause for not showing at Congress. Failure to show at Congress for any other reason may result in not being considered on future Congress Teams.

H.

At Congress, if a youth desires to stall somewhere other than with the youth team, no additional funds will be paid for stalling. All BRQHYA Congress Team members will be expected to participate in any activities of the BRQHYA while attending Congress.

I.

Each Congress Team youth is required to raise $300.00 in sponsorships toward the expenses of Congress and participate in all fundraisers at the shows. The sponsorship money must be turned in by August 1, 2008.  If a youth cannot raise the sponsorship money then he/she should contact the  youth director immediately and arrangements will be made.  

J.

All Congress Team members are expected to be present for opening ceremonies. If this conflicts with a youths school schedule or school activities, the youth must have special permission from the Youth Director and/or the Board for BRQHA to miss these ceremonies. If the reason for missing opening ceremonies is not accepted, the Team member forfeits his/her place on the team and an alternate will take their place.

K.

If a youth changes their horse in a particular event, their points must start over on the new horse. An exception to this rule would be a medical hardship. A youth wishing to file under the medical hardship must submit, in writing, their request along with a veterinarian statement of the illness or injury to the horse, to the Youth Director for review. This one time exception for a change of horse is at the discretion of the Youth Director and the Board of Directors for BRQHA. This should not be a means of improving a youth’s chances or justifying the purchase or sale of a horse.