The OAQHA Provincial Championship will bring together the top Non-Pros across all age divisions (Youth/Amateur/Select) to face-off on a highly challenging pattern. The Championship Finals will offer some of the best prizes and payback of the season to recognize the success, hard work, and dedication of our exhibitors. 

The events offered will be Showmanship, Horsemanship, and Hunt Seat Equitation. Your opportunity to qualify will run concurrently with your Youth, Amateur, or Select class. 25 total exhibitors will be invited to compete in the Finals. 

The Provincial Championship was built with several objectives in mind, key goals as follows:

Support Affiliates/Regional Weekend Shows

• Promote participation at regional affiliate shows by advertising as a qualifying event 
• Promote participation at the OQHA Summer Finale, positioning this show as a Provincial Championship to attract all of Ontario’s finest, while also encouraging participation from beyond Ontario 
• Reduce attrition - give our longstanding exhibitors a reason to show on Canadian soil against the level of competition they crave

• Encourage L1 exhibitors to step up into their Youth/Amateur/Select class at the weekend shows to help support the shows and class sizes
• Give exhibitors something to strive for, and push themselves outside of typical comfort zones with challenging patterns and more diverse competition in the Finals

• Provide a highly competitive environment different from the typical weekend show for exhibitors to prepare for upcoming trips to Congress, World Show, etc. 
• Increase exposure for our exhibitors - use online channels to put Canada on the map, showcasing our top talent

Qualification

One of the key goals of the Provincial Championship is to promote participation at the regional (Area Promotional Club) shows throughout the province of Ontario. Each regional show will serve as a qualifying event.

25 exhibitors will compete in the Finals, by invitation only. To get to this number, 4 qualifiers will be taken from the following 5 events. Additional spots will be filled from the Standby List until we have 25 exhibitors in the Final. See further Standby List details below. 

Qualifying Events 

• Area 2 Spring Kick-off, Ancaster Fairgrounds: May 9-12
• Area 1 Sunsational Summer Circuit, Ilderton Fairgrounds: May 30 - June 2
• Borderland/NLQHA, Emo: June 28 - 30
• Area 3 Summerama, Essa Agriplex: June 29 - July 2
• EOQHA Summer Sizzler, Carp Fairgrounds: August 1 - 4th

Total number of qualifiers from these events = 20  

Once a horse/rider combination has qualified, they are in. This means that if a qualified exhibitor earns another Top 3 score at a later show in the season, the next highest scoring non-qualified exhibitor at that show will receive an invitation. etc. 

Standby List 

A standby list will be kept of the next highest scores of horse/rider combinations not currently qualified. 

The standby list will also be used to fill unused spots in the final so that we have 25 shown in each event. (ie. If a qualifier is unable to attend the event, the next highest score on the standby list would be qualified). 

The standby list will be updated after each qualifying event and sorted from highest average score to lowest. Your score on the standby list will be your best weekend score of the season on a per-qualifying event basis. 

New for 2024 - While we will tabulate all the scores from each show for the standby list we will only post scores of 70 or above. This does not mean that you cannot get in with a score below 70. If we reach that point in the standby list where we are inviting those exhibitors with a score lower than 70 we will make the next 10 highest scores visible. 

Score Tabulation

To ensure a level playing-field exhibitors must show in the Level 3 class in their division (ie. Amateur, Select, Youth) to qualify for the Provincial Championships. Scores will be tabulated using the judge’s scores from the Level 3 at each of the qualifying circuits. 

For circuits with 3 or more judges, scores will be tabulated by taking the average of the exhibitor’s scores over the course of the circuit. The exhibitor’s lowest score will be dropped from the tabulation. 

For circuits with 2 or less judges scores will be tabulated by taking the average of the exhibitor’s scores. The lowest score will not be dropped.

Ties 

Ties will be broken by calculating the average placings of the exhibitors. The exhibitor who placed higher on average over the course of a circuit will be qualified. The tied exhibitor who loses the tie-breaker will be placed at the top of the standby list.

Entry Requirements

Once an exhibitor has qualified they will be sent a “qualifier packet” this will include the entry form for the Provincial Championship event, an overview of the event (rules etc.) as well as the stall booking form for the Summer Finale. This will also include information about the jacket program and allow qualifiers to purchase their jacket. 

The cost to enter each Provincial Championship Finals will be $35 for OQHA members or $50 for non-members. 

Qualifiers must have paid and submitted their entry form by August 9th, 2024. This is to allow those who qualified from the EOQHA show time to enter but also allow us time to invite the standby exhibitors.

The Finals

Pattern Selection 

The intent of the Provincial Championship is to encourage our exhibitors to step up their game and compete on patterns more challenging than typically seen at an Ontario show. 

To select the patterns in an unbiased fashion an AQHA professional horseperson who is not a stakeholder in Ontario will be asked to create and provide the pattern. 

The person selecting the patterns will be given the following parameters:

• Patterns are to be World Show quality (the person selecting the pattern will be given 2023 OAQHA Challenge patterns as a guide)
• Patterns must fit nicely in the Ancaster Fairgrounds Arena

Timing

The Provincial Championship is schedule to run throughout the schedule of the OQHA Summer Finale Show in Ancaster, Ontario at the following times: 

Horsemanship: Wednesday, August 28, last class of the day 

Hunt Seat Equitation: Thursday, August 29, last class of the day

Showmanship: Friday, August 30, last class of the day (There is a full slate of Ranch Riding classes prior to the Showmanship)

Breaks

We will be taking a 30 minute break prior to each Provincial Championship class. This will give exhibitors ample time to prepare their horses after showing in regular AQHA classes all day.

Class Procedure

All 25 horses will perform their pattern. For Horsemanship and Hunt Seat Equitation, as judges complete their score sheets they will be given to score tabulaters. Once all horses have completed their pattern we will take a five minute pause to call back the top 15 horses for rail work. This will ensure the safety of the exhibitors and better visibility for judging. In addition, only the Provincial Champion will be left on the rail when they are announced. For the Showmanship, the top 15 will be called back for placings. 

Stay up to date on all details surrounding the Provincial Championship at this link.