Ambassador program/Critique please

[Boyd R]

Paso Fino Ambassador Program

Your horse will earn points for any event that you participate in that is in the public eye. The cost of this will be $.10 per point earned. Points follow the horse not rider. 100% of all cost go to fund the prizes awarded in October. Starting date of the program is the first day of the PFHA Nationals show and ends the day before the start of the PFHA Nationals show.
Any and all events in the public eye will qualify

Such as:
Paso Fino shows 5 points $.50
Open horse shows (double pointed) 10 points $1
Non Paso discipline shows (HJ, Timed, Dress) 10 points $1
Trail rides 5 points $.50
Multi-breed trail rides (double pointed) 10 points $1
Parades (double pointed) 10 points $1
Horse fairs (double pointed) 10 points $1
Horse demos (double pointed) 10 points $1
Show and tell at school (double pointed) 10 points $1
ETC>

Any Category can be broken down and funded by the participants of that category for a high point winner of the category. The GPFHA BOD will assist anyway asked to.
The High Pointe horse of the year will be award a gift purchased by 100% of the proceeds from the program. ANY and ALL DONATIONS excepted.

To enter:
Simply fill out the form supplied by the GPFHA. Either request forms from any BOD member _____________, Or download from the web site _____________ Or simply on a piece of paper fill out your name, horses name, date and location of event, points earned,
If unsure how many you should get. Rule of thumb is if you are in front of a crowd of non Paso owners, 10 points. If in front of primarily Paso owners but a few non Paso owners, 5 points.

[CarolU]

Boyd, we do a high point program in our region. I think they're a great way to encourage participation. I can e-mail you our program if you're interested. We patterned ours after the Utah TW club's program.

I have some questions on yours. Why is there a cost associated for participating each time? I think that might discourage participation, the person who participates most, pays the most. That might be fine, because he/she wins, but what about who participated 2nd most? They still could pay a LOT. This also gives an unfair advantage to show horses, since there are a lot more shows then there are sanctioned trial rides.

We charge a one-time nominaiton fee in each catagory, and the events accepted have to be listed in our region newsletter, so everybody has an equal chance of participating in everything.

We split it up into show catagories, trail catagories, and ambassador (parades, demos, etc.) have an All-Round Champion for horses that comepete in a LOT of things, and have a high point owner (person who volunteers the most) and a high point rookie. You can tailor the catagories for what people in your region participate in. As an example, we're probably going to add a Cow Sorting/Team Penning catagory to ours.

Let me know if you're interested...

But I do think every region should do something like this. It is a great way to get people involved and reward those who are.

[Abejita]

Mason Dixon also has one..the only 'fee' is to join Mason Dixon as a Member... we give out ribbons and also a trophy to first place(pics of the trophy are in this months Regional News in PFHW)
__________________________________________________ _________


Starting with the each membership year (October 1 to September 30) Mason Dixon will be giving high point awards for participation in shows and pleasure activities. Points will be accumulated by horse and rider combination and are not transferable between horses or riders.

The Shows in this program for the 2006 show year are: Northeast Gaited Show, Dillsburg, PA, September 30 October 1, 2006
K.I.L.E. Paso Fino Show, Harrisburg, PA, October 8, 2006
May Day Show, Dillsburg, PA, May 5-6, 2007
Spectacular Show, Lexington, VA, June 15-17, 2007
Paso Fino Show, Howard County Fair, MD, August 6, 2007


The pleasure activities that will be included are:

Organized trail rides
Parades
Judged pleasure rides
Competitive trail rides
Demonstrations
Points will be accumulated for shows according to the following schedule: Placement Points
1st 6
2nd 5
3rd 4
4th 3
5th 2
6th 1
Championship 1st 15
Championship 2nd 12
Championship 3rd 10
Championship 4th 8


Awards will be given for the 1st through 4th high point in each of the following show divisions:

Fino Open
Fino Amateur Owner
Performance Open
Performance Amateur Owner
Pleasure Open
Pleasure Amateur Owner
Country Pleasure
Western Pleasure
Versatility
Sub-Junior Youth
Junior Youth
For the pleasure activities, each submitted and completed Award form (see form attached) will give the horse and rider 5 points. Awards will be given for the 1st through 4th high point in each of the following categories based on the age of the horse:

Horse age 3 to 6
Horse age 7 to 9
Horse age 10 to 12
Horse age 13 to 15
Horse age 16 and over
In order to compile the points, the deadline for submission for these activities is September 15, 2007. The 2008 program for these activities will then start on September 16, 2007.

The awards will be presented at the annual banquet

and here is the very simple award form.

http://www.masondixonpfha.org/awards_mason_dixon_form.pdf

[Boyd R]

Great ideas Carol and thanks this is what I need to put to discussion.

There is nothing wrong with a one time up front fee other than another fee.
For the minimal that we are asking for we hope to get more participation. If individuals want to participate in a category high pointe that is open to them and can be done. We already have a high pointe in the rated show ring and those people may or may not also partake in this.
There could also be more than one award. The amount of participation will dictate how we do the awards from year to year. I see no unfair advantage to show horses. I do a whole lot more trail riding than they go to shows. And the rides do not have to be sactioned. This program is more of an on your honor basis.
if you would e-mail me your program that would be great.

[LynnG]

This is Piedmont PFHA's similar program:

2007 Piedmont Open Circuit Horse Show Program

Purpose: To get people to participate and show Paso Finos to others outside of our breed. Piedmont members must get shows approved ahead of time, added to a list and published to membership. The Password will have published a separate show calendar for these eligible Open Shows. Individuals will have to sign up for the program, with a fee of $10.00 per year.

These all-breed open horse shows are a good way to promote the breed and sell horses, and can help increase membership in PPFHA. The program will provide shows for beginners who do not feel qualified for Asheville or Clemson. Points will be awarded to the rider rather than horse. Horses must be registered and riders must be members of PPFHA. Points will be given for any class a horse competes in for the top six winners in adult classes and to the top six winners in youth classes.

Program Forms include:
Piedmont PFHA Open Horse Shows Program Application Form [pdf file]
Piedmont PFHA Open Horse Shows Program Member Form [doc file]
Piedmont PFHA Open Horse Shows Program Points Worksheet [pdf file]
Piedmont PFHA Open Horse Show Program Eligibility

Riders must be current members of Piedmont PFHA and must be members during each show which is counted towards high point tabulations...

o Riders must pay a yearly fee (if any) determined by Piedmont PFHA
o Adults are 18 years old and over
o Youth are 17 years old and under
o Professionals are 18 years old and defined as pro per PFHA rulebook
o Horses must be PFHA registered
o Shows must be approved by Piedmont PFHA (before or within 10 days after show)
o It is the responsibility of each rider to turn in his/her class/show placement sheet to the Open Competition award program manager for tabulation
Points

o Points will be awarded to the rider, regardless of which Paso Fino is ridden
o Points will only be awarded for shows approved by Piedmont PFHA (before or within 10 days after show)
o Points will be a simple total of individual class scores
o Points will accumulate from September 1 through August 31 for each competition year
o Points will be given for any class a rider has been placed in, whether an open class or an all-Paso Fino class (includes equitation, trail, versatility, pleasure, rail, etc)
o Points will not be awarded for any show or class which awards regular points from the national association (those horses compete in the regular Piedmont high point system)
o Points will be awarded as follows:
First place = 6 pts, 2nd = 5 pts, 3rd = 4 pts, 4th = 3pts, 5th = 2 pts, 6th = 1 pt
Championship points will count double
Paso Fino Fun shows hosted by Piedmont PFHA members will count double

Awards

o Year end high point awards will be given to the individuals with the top six point scores for the competition year
o Awards will be given in three categories: Adult, Youth, and Professional
o Awards will be given out at the annual Piedmont PFHA Awards Banquet
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AND then we have a Piedmont Pathfinders trail riding program, similar to PFHA Pasos For Pleasure.